Stress_Test
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 1,334
A quick look at the 4Sevens Quark "TurboX" neutral white.
I haven't seen much about the TurboX line here on CPF, so I thought I'd post a little info and a couple of photos.
"As received", the light is in perfect condition with no cosmetic issues. Both head and tailcap threads feel good. There was a bit of lube on the o-rings, but the light must have been sitting a while because things felt a little sticky or tacky when I first unscrewed the head and tail. I added a little extra lube for good measure.
The emitter is well centered and has no apparent flaws in the dome or die. The reflector is nice and clean, and the lens is perfect. I'm especially glad about the lens; it's nice and clear with no flaws. I kind of have a pet peeve about lenses, because I've gotten some brand-new lights out of the box that had cloudy lenses (a Fenix TK11 R5, and two Quark Minis).
The forward-click (momentary style) tail switch has a long travel before the "click" engages. This is nice in a way because you can almost use it like a momentary-only SureFire 6P/G2/C2... tail switch, if you lay your thumb on it right.
Also, the body tube was wide enough to accept an AW 17670 Li-Ion cell, even with the silver label still on there. It's a slightly snug fit, but it goes in easily enough to not worry about rubbing the plastic wrapper off. The cell I had handy was reading about 4 volts, and a current measurement at the tail, on maximum output, gave a reading of about 1.4 amps. Based on this, I'd be leery about running it off a single RCR123a unless it was an IMR that could handle the current. A RCR123a is rated at 750mAh capacity, which would put it pretty close to a 2C discharge rate on the light's maximum mode.
The beam is nice and symmetrical, with 4 faint "lobes" around the center hotspot, which I believe is a result of the XM-L shape and it's location in the reflector. If the lobes bother you, just remind yourself that this means the emitter is at the optimum focal point for best throw
The beam color temperature seems to be towards the high end of the neutral white scale. In fact, I'd venture a guess that these may be the "outdoor white" emitters from Cree. Compared to the old Fenix TK20, the TurboX neutral is much cooler. If you consider the TK20, or neutral lights in general to be too yellow or gold for your taste, the TurboX neutral may be more to your liking. Note that the XM-Ls in general seem to have some yellow tint to them, but this isn't the same thing as color temp.
So far I'm really pleased with it, and I haven't even had the chance to try it out in the dark yet. I'm kind of surprised that we haven't seen more about these lights on CPF, but it maybe the new 4sevens neutral lights got a bad rep here early on and that's been holding back sales. If so that's a shame, because tint and color temperature are highly subjective things, and a color that one person hates may be perfect to another person. Really I've found that you won't really know until you take the plunge and try the light out in person. Yeah, sometimes you'll end up with something you don't like, but you can always sell it or gift it to someone. The flip side is that every now and then you get a real gem of a light.
I think I've got one here. :thumbsup:
TurboX with Fenix TK11-R2 and SureFire C2
If you thought the head on the TK10 was too big when that light first came out, then you'll really be surprised by the TurboX head! It's a big sucker!
TurboX in the hand. I'm about 6'4" and have large, but not huge, hands.
SureFire C2 in the hand for size reference
Beamshot of the TurboX neutral (left) and Fenix TK11-R2 (right). The X is on medium, and the TK11 is on low mode (about 65 lumens). This was taken in the afternoon, with the room blinds closed. The camera was set on "daylight" white balance.
By the way, if you have your own TurboX photos, please feel free to post 'em up in this thread, especially beamshots because that's what people usually want to see when looking for light review info, and there's just not that much out there in general on the TurboX. Thanks!
I haven't seen much about the TurboX line here on CPF, so I thought I'd post a little info and a couple of photos.
"As received", the light is in perfect condition with no cosmetic issues. Both head and tailcap threads feel good. There was a bit of lube on the o-rings, but the light must have been sitting a while because things felt a little sticky or tacky when I first unscrewed the head and tail. I added a little extra lube for good measure.
The emitter is well centered and has no apparent flaws in the dome or die. The reflector is nice and clean, and the lens is perfect. I'm especially glad about the lens; it's nice and clear with no flaws. I kind of have a pet peeve about lenses, because I've gotten some brand-new lights out of the box that had cloudy lenses (a Fenix TK11 R5, and two Quark Minis).
The forward-click (momentary style) tail switch has a long travel before the "click" engages. This is nice in a way because you can almost use it like a momentary-only SureFire 6P/G2/C2... tail switch, if you lay your thumb on it right.
Also, the body tube was wide enough to accept an AW 17670 Li-Ion cell, even with the silver label still on there. It's a slightly snug fit, but it goes in easily enough to not worry about rubbing the plastic wrapper off. The cell I had handy was reading about 4 volts, and a current measurement at the tail, on maximum output, gave a reading of about 1.4 amps. Based on this, I'd be leery about running it off a single RCR123a unless it was an IMR that could handle the current. A RCR123a is rated at 750mAh capacity, which would put it pretty close to a 2C discharge rate on the light's maximum mode.
The beam is nice and symmetrical, with 4 faint "lobes" around the center hotspot, which I believe is a result of the XM-L shape and it's location in the reflector. If the lobes bother you, just remind yourself that this means the emitter is at the optimum focal point for best throw
The beam color temperature seems to be towards the high end of the neutral white scale. In fact, I'd venture a guess that these may be the "outdoor white" emitters from Cree. Compared to the old Fenix TK20, the TurboX neutral is much cooler. If you consider the TK20, or neutral lights in general to be too yellow or gold for your taste, the TurboX neutral may be more to your liking. Note that the XM-Ls in general seem to have some yellow tint to them, but this isn't the same thing as color temp.
So far I'm really pleased with it, and I haven't even had the chance to try it out in the dark yet. I'm kind of surprised that we haven't seen more about these lights on CPF, but it maybe the new 4sevens neutral lights got a bad rep here early on and that's been holding back sales. If so that's a shame, because tint and color temperature are highly subjective things, and a color that one person hates may be perfect to another person. Really I've found that you won't really know until you take the plunge and try the light out in person. Yeah, sometimes you'll end up with something you don't like, but you can always sell it or gift it to someone. The flip side is that every now and then you get a real gem of a light.
I think I've got one here. :thumbsup:
TurboX with Fenix TK11-R2 and SureFire C2
If you thought the head on the TK10 was too big when that light first came out, then you'll really be surprised by the TurboX head! It's a big sucker!
TurboX in the hand. I'm about 6'4" and have large, but not huge, hands.
SureFire C2 in the hand for size reference
Beamshot of the TurboX neutral (left) and Fenix TK11-R2 (right). The X is on medium, and the TK11 is on low mode (about 65 lumens). This was taken in the afternoon, with the room blinds closed. The camera was set on "daylight" white balance.
By the way, if you have your own TurboX photos, please feel free to post 'em up in this thread, especially beamshots because that's what people usually want to see when looking for light review info, and there's just not that much out there in general on the TurboX. Thanks!