if the ring isn't rattling around, it IS working AS INTENDED. the clip holds the ring in place, the ring holds the clip in place.
Comments on the Quark AA2
- Thread starter LeifUK
- Start date
if the ring isn't rattling around, it IS working AS INTENDED. the clip holds the ring in place, the ring holds the clip in place.
JaguarDave-in-Oz
Enlightened
Now that makes more sense.
Perhaps I merely misinterpreted the meaning of your original words. Your quoting of my post indicated to me you were saying that the way it was INTENDED to work was to lock the ring so it could not be undone with the fingers which is the problem that I was originally describing.
Leif,
Was it the $59 one that you purchased? Did you get stung by Royal Mail and Customs at this end with Tax/Duty and RM's unlawful £8 charge?
I've been looking at getting a similar flashlight but am trying to weight up which one to get and also any other costs to take into consideration esp if ordering from overseas (I'm here in Britain too).
The 4Sevens site seems good because they do free shipping worldwide, only trouble remaining is which postal company it gets shipped with and if its handled by RM at this end or other similar companies that will charge you fees.
I worked out that at the present exchange rate to the dollar of $1.599, if you work on the basis that your item will come the final leg via RM at this end, and you don't want to be charged vat/duty and RM charges you have to aim to stay at $28 or below for total price inc shipping, otherwise if it does get stopped it could become very expensive. That doesn't leave too many options to choose from a removes a lot of decent flashlight brands.
I've been looking at Lumapower, Quarks, iTP's and a few other brands. I was looking for something like a TA-21 but also with moonlight mode and not that expensive. I think the dial to select mode on TA-21 is great. I think the Quarks look great and like a better value alternative to the Fenix lights.
What are you impressions of the Quark AA2 for all the different levels?
Regarding the clip, I'm just wondering how many people find it useful and use it on a regular basis?
Cheers,
John
JaguarDave-in-Oz
Enlightened
I insist on clips on my torches but for mine the quark one allows too much of the torch to stick out of the pockets so on a number of mine I have removed them and fitted a nitecore D10 clip to the tailcap so that it slides much further down into the pocket. I have, however, retained the quark slip on a few torches that don't see daily use.
In terms of how the quark clips work, they seem pretty strong but in many cases mine needed bending a little to get them to grip tight enough for me.
I'd imagine that the ability to reverse the direction of the clip might be of benefit to some people too. I see them as a better design than those I've found on my Fenix torches and way ahead of the Led Lensers that have no clip at all.
On the 2 x 123 Quark Turbo I found that the lip of the clip was a little too close to the fins on the torch head to allow easy one handed slipping over a pocket so I had to bend the lip up a bit at the end. That bending at the end took more force than I expected so I'm impressed with the strength of the spring.
In terms of how the quark clips work, they seem pretty strong but in many cases mine needed bending a little to get them to grip tight enough for me.
I'd imagine that the ability to reverse the direction of the clip might be of benefit to some people too. I see them as a better design than those I've found on my Fenix torches and way ahead of the Led Lensers that have no clip at all.
On the 2 x 123 Quark Turbo I found that the lip of the clip was a little too close to the fins on the torch head to allow easy one handed slipping over a pocket so I had to bend the lip up a bit at the end. That bending at the end took more force than I expected so I'm impressed with the strength of the spring.
Yes, it is the Quark AA2 R5 and cost $59. I arrived home on Friday evening to find a large bundle of clear plastic sheeting next to my front door. Inside I found the torch. I live within inches of a path used by locals so leaving it on the ground outside is concerning. The torch was inside a large jiffy bag with "Charge" marked clearly on the outside. According to the sticker, I have to pay £14, and the parcel is not to be handed to me until I pay! So it looks as if I got away without paying the VAT (£6) and Royal Mail handling fee (£8). I might receive a request for payment via mail later though. That once happened with a lens 15 years ago, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. £18 is the usual limit for not paying fees as you know.
You can find good reviews elsewhere on this site. However, I am impressed by the QAA2. It is VERY bright on turbo, noticeably more so than my Fenix L2D Q5 on turbo. The beam is quite wide with lots of spill, and a nice smooth light distribution, more so than the Fenix. It gets very warm on high indoors, but not outdoors. The moonlight mode is VERY low. It is just enough to use for walking along a dark street at night, or for use when doing amateur astronomy. The next mode is much brighter, and good for use where you want to easily see, but not wake others. My Akoray K06 on low is similar. Build quality is excellent subject to the comments I made earlier. Very nicely finished.
Overall I think this must be one of the best general use 2AA torches on the market. The minor damage to the threads is annoying, but of no practical significance. And other makes have blemishes too.
The £8 RM charge is outrageous, and probably a nice little earlier.
seale_navy
Enlightened
yeahhh.. GBP 8 is expensive... I once got charge for GBP 12 due to Parcel Force delivery cost because custom tax me... Royal Mail is GBP 8 whilst Parcel Force is GBP 12.
Yeah... like if we order from overseas... and it turns out something is wrong with the product. OK, so we return it right... but what about the custom charges paid earlier?
Albeit, we can get back the custom charge, but the hassle to go thru to get the money paid back. I think we have to write a written letter and provide of the necessary evidence that it was return... quite a hassle i guess...
Yeah... like if we order from overseas... and it turns out something is wrong with the product. OK, so we return it right... but what about the custom charges paid earlier?
Albeit, we can get back the custom charge, but the hassle to go thru to get the money paid back. I think we have to write a written letter and provide of the necessary evidence that it was return... quite a hassle i guess...
Buy from Hong Kong instead, you can usually say exactly what you want the customs declaration to say. I doubt Quarks are so good that all other brands are irrelevant.
That's an ideal situation, I wish they did that with my parcels! I have a dispute ongoing at the moment with RM and Revenue & Customs. I'm using their own Postal Services Act 2000 against them because it states that they can not delay a package and hold it to randsom for fees. Also Their labelling states over £18 and a recent delivery I had when I calculated it, it worked out at £18 exactly so I have disputed that.
Just waiting to hear back from R&C at the moment. RM not surprisingly want to keep hold of their £8. I don't have a problem paying the tax but I believe the £8 charge is wrong and is blackmail not royalmail. I don't see why we need to pay more when we've already paid postage or it was included in the price to have it delivered.
Going by the charges they listed for you, it sounds like it will cost just over £50 in total for this flashlight $59 (£38app) + £14app ($22app) £52app total $83 US Dollars in total.
Cheers,
John
I'm curious, if you ordered from 4sevens.pl instead, would you no longer have to pay VAT or whatever customs charges?
For shops? For example http://stores.ebay.com/hkequipment
He wouldn't. However, the price at 4sevens.pl is 56% higher than on 4sevens.com for the Quark AA2 (price including UK shipping is equivalent to US$92).
luke_DF
Newly Enlightened
nope. both countries are members of EU. no import VAT, no custom charges.
Depends on the requirements, the forum is full of happy users of JETbeam, Olight, iTP, Fenix, NiteCore, etc flashlights which can all be ordered from HK.
Well, the original problem is import taxes, fees and high VAT in Europe. But I prefer to pay $60 and not $90 for $60 lights.
Not 4sevens fault, it's just the state of things.
The problem is that 4 Sevens are honest and follow the rules, as indeed they should, and I do not criticise them for honest sale practices. Thus they attach a customs declaration to the parcel, and that means it is subject to tax. Though people here say that most small value parcels (~$60 say) from the US get through without tax i.e. more than 50%.
HK sellers are dishonest, and for example DX simply state that the parcel is a gift, which is not true. The problem is that if customs open a HK parcel, and conclude that it is over the £18 limit, and that it is not a gift, they can confiscate the item, or take legal action against the importer. As the importer, I am legally responsible for fraudulently importing an item, and I am the one liable to prosecution, not DX, even if I thought they were going to add a proper customs declaration to the parcel. This does seem wrong, because it is guilty until proven innocent. And at no stage have I ever asked DX to mark the parcel as a gift when I have ordered from them, but that is what they have done.
Regarding 4Sevens Poland, the prices are higher than buying from the US AND paying the tax and extortionate RM charge of £8. In fact if you buy several items from the US, and pay only one RM charge for the whole lot, it works out much cheaper. Go figure. Maybe 4Sevens is seen as a premium brand, who knows. But a Quark AA2 from the US without tax is a bargain. With tax and RM charge, it is still very price competitive with Fenix et al because it is so bright, in my opinion.
I think it has been said, but Poland is in the EU, therefore VAT (tax) has already been paid at the time of purchase.
luke_DF
Newly Enlightened
it's not so much about "problem with quarks" or that 4sevens somehow needs to bend the rules and be dishonest (although it's a "solution" of sort in terms of making lights more affordable for people here), but more about maybe having a dealer in UK, or maybe lowering the prices on the 4sevens.pl site?
to buy a quark AA2 from US costs 37 pounds + 12 pounds in custom charges and handling fees. 49 pounds all in all, so for an item that sells for 37 pounds it's more than 30% extra. this is not 4sevens' fault of course, but if you're aware of it, maybe there's a way to address it. to buy quark AA2 from poland is actually 54 pounds, which is even more expensive than ordering it from US and getting slapped with charges. this makes little sense. the point of having a store in europe should be making it cheaper for people here to get the lights, hence increasing the sales volume, right?
(it might depend on whether 4sevens.pl are getting their batch of lights from US or straight from manufacturer plant in china, if it's the former that would explain the cost hike)
wow
You repeated much of my earlier post for some reason.
Actually the Quark AA2 costs $58.88 (~£37) which includes insurance (obligatory IM) and an 8% CPF discount, PLUS £14.45 consisting of the VAT and the Royal Mail scam charge. So the total is £51.45.
From 47 Poland, the price is about 60 EURO + 4 EURO shipping -8% CPF discount, so about 59 EURO or £53.5.
