Any more pure flood lights like the quark RGB?

[knifeminion]

Let me start by saying that I love my quark RGB, but it's a love/hate relationship. I love all it does! But hate that U.I. I cringe when someone asks for a light when I have it. It's impossible for them to use it! I have to give them a minute long instructions just to get what they need, at that point they hand it back and say "you do it." :fail:
I like the light, didn't think I would ever like neutral, but it grew on me and will be what my next light is if I can get it.
What really sold me was the flood part of it, so useful for in close, where my eyes aren't as strong as they use to be. It makes working on things like bike parts great, having come from a super thrower like the SR3 (almost perfect UI! AKA the ring!!!!) as my EDC it made thing easier. Except where that UI comes in. I don't like blinkys, and going through 3-4 every time I want a lower level sucks.:mecry:

I also have the Zebralight h30 in CW. It's bar none the best head light I have used. I can set up a total camp site with it on low in complete darkness, and not worry about the bugs followed the bats dive bombing me! But it's no good for EDC. The pocket clip is a joke! And I don't do neck or head carry for EDC... It also turns on in the pocket so you have to loosen the battery cap, adding to the pain of using it as EDC.

So what I'm looking for is a tail switch that turns the light on/off only. A different method of selecting levels. AKA ring or head rotate. A NW light. That all important flood, AKA no hot spot/all hot spot as the case may be. 3-8 levels.
Price is odd, needs to be sub $100, or if I think it can replace the RGB, sub $200.

I'm open to all forms of discussion on this guys! let it rip!
PS. My first post!

 

[Imon]

Re: Any more like the quark RGB?

I was thinking hard about which one of my lights had RGB functionality and so far only my Streamlight Sidewinder came to mind.
A really useful light around the house, unfortunately the 5mm LEDs for the Red, Blue, and Green lights could be brighter - the red in particular. Fortunately the UI is super easy to learn and your nonflasholics should have no problem picking it up. Also, it's kind of large.

 

[ACRbling]

I just received my Quark 123/2 Tactical NW and I think it fits your whole criteria.

The beam is all flood with a huge hotspot which smoothly blends in with the spill. Great tint to it too.

Get the tactical UI so all you have to do is program 2 modes and that's all you have to deal with.

The awesome thing is, you could just purchase the head from 4sevens for 39.00 and run it on your existing RGB body.

Tell me that's not awesome?!

 

[carrot]

I get what you're saying. Unfortunately there are not very many lights that offer a flood like the RGB, however on some lights it may be possible to remove the reflector without compromising the structure of the light and will result in the same flood beam that you treasure.

The McGizmo Sapphire 25 is not nearly or anywhere close to as bright as your Quark but it also has the pure flood. The larger, though rare and discontinued Mule offerings are a good deal more expensive than your budget and just about exactly what you are looking for.

Besides that, Peak may be able to accommodate your needs, as they are a very good and affordable custom flashlight shop. $50-100, usually.

Beyond that, look at Surefire's A2, A2L, and AZ2, which offer the flood you are looking for as low level only. High level is brighter and throwy.

 

[red02]

no other all flood lights? surely you jest.

Look up the Dereelight CL1H NOHS.
-you use any P60 dropin so the choice of NW, CW, or colors is yours and the light engine is fully swappable.

 

[PCC]

Using a diffusion film over the lens will instantly make any flashlight into a floody light. Want it to be completely flood? Add more film or take out the reflector. You'll lose OTF lumens either way but it will be nothing but light and no hotspot.

 

[Cataract]

Malkoff drop-in with 20 degree optics is great! simple on-off, but one mode only... unless you use the special tailcap switch, but again, not a ring-type selector...

 

[red02]

Nailbender has 40 or 60 deg optics which might fit the bill.

 

[carrot]

no other all flood lights? surely you jest.
.

I said not many

 

[knifeminion]

no other all flood lights? surely you jest.

Look up the Dereelight CL1H NOHS.
-you use any P60 dropin so the choice of NW, CW, or colors is yours and the light engine is fully swappable.

Anyone know more about this lights? I've heard of dereelight. But know nothing of them, I.E. where they stand in the minds of CPfers.
How do they change there modes? Is there a memory? It just says "change level by push switch" I'm assuming the tail switch.

Thanks guys! Keep your thoughts coming!

 

[jblackwood]

Anyone know more about this lights? I've heard of dereelight. But know nothing of them, I.E. where they stand in the minds of CPfers.
How do they change there modes? Is there a memory? It just says "change level by push switch" I'm assuming the tail switch.

Thanks guys! Keep your thoughts coming!

If you do a search, Dereelights are held pretty highly in a lot of minds. You don't see too many threads talking about them too much because unlike Fenix, 4sevens, and even most Surefire models, all Dereelights are easily modded. You just switch out a pill if you want different output levels/beam patterns/colors. Each pill can have 1, 2, 3, or 4 modes depending on what you get. Hence the reason for the slightly vague instructions on how to change modes. Look at Flashcrazy's flashlightconnection dot com and you'll find better instructions. You can get most emitters from Dereelight or Flashcrazy but really you can use most any P60 drop in in all of their lights as long as you're mindful of power requirements, except the C2H (that has it's own smaller pills to switch out).

Switching modes is usually accomplished with a forward clicky. You engage the switch repeatedly until you get the level you want, then push farther to latch it on with the click. I think most of the pills offered now may be low-medium-high and then back to low with no special modes available. There is a memory so whatever level you leave it on when you switch it off is the level it will be set to when you next switch it on. On the C2H (the EDC model), there are two mediums and a lower low to make four levels and you can modify it to either ramp up or down (starting on high or on low). As far as I know, there was some talk about a reverse switch for their lights, but I never stayed on top of that to see if it ever made it past the vapor stages. Us Dereelight owners can have a new light at a fraction of the cost of an entirely new light due to the modular system, which is a big reason you don't see much talk about getting new Dereelights . . . we don't need to do so, we can always have the most recent, efficient emitter for much less than the cost of a new light! I've even read of people using the Javelins as a AA host for Malkoff dropins, though I've read of people using Solar Force hosts as well. :shrug:

To add to carrot's post about McGizmo mules and such, the Sundrop may also be somewhat acceptable, though I don't know of any colors available unless you use a filter on the lens or something of that nature. I'm with you, though. I really wish 4sevens had made the RGB with a Preon UI.

 

[knifeminion]

Cool! Thanks for the info! it helped a lot!
On a side note, does anyone know why my reverse clicky from 4sevens always makes the RGB advance to the next level no matter how long I wait?

 

[carrot]

Cool! Thanks for the info! it helped a lot!
On a side note, does anyone know why my reverse clicky from 4sevens always makes the RGB advance to the next level no matter how long I wait?

That's simply the way the RGB is designed. Other lights have different UIs programmed into their circuits.

 

[knifeminion]

That's simply the way the RGB is designed. Other lights have different UIs programmed into their circuits.

But it doesn't do it with the forward that came with it. I just was wondering if I was doing something wrong.
But if that's how it is supposed to behave then it's going on the chopping block, as that's 10 times worse!

 

[carrot]

Your RGB came with a forward clicky?

My RGB came direct from 47s, and uses a reverse clicky. Reverse meaning there is no momentary output and when the light is on and you tap it lightly the light blinks off.

The UI on the RGB is logical and sane, though not necessarily ideal.

The way the UI works is as follows:
- When the light is already on, tapping the reverse clicky causes the RGB to go to the next mode. Always.
- When the light is off, clicking the clicky causes the RGB to turn on in the last mode it was set at. Always.
- When the light is on and you turn the bezel to color, it goes to the next color. Always.
- When the light is off and you turn the bezel to color, it will come back on in the same color that it was last turned off at. Always.

Additionally, in order to differentiate between switching modes and simply being turned off the light must have a short "reset" period when it is off. If you turn off the light briefly, and then turn it back on, it will switch to the next mode. If you turn off the light for more than a certain amount of seconds, and then turn it back on, it will come back on in the same mode.

One slightly weird thing is if you have the light on white, then switch it off, then turn the bezel to color, then switch it back on (in a short period of time) it will come on to the last color you used, but it will also move on to the next mode. It makes sense based on the way the circuit works, but does not make sense for the user in normal usage.

The RGB remembers the output level for white output and colored output separately. Unless you cycle levels (by turning the light on and off in a brief period of time), it will not change the output level. The RGB also remembers the color that you last used. If you never turn the bezel when the light is ON, then it will never switch colors.

If this is not the case, or it skips levels, then there may be a bad contact, most likely in the switch and can probably be rectified by a new switch. Or perhaps by simply tightening the switch.

The RGB UI is not exactly ideal, but it is predictable.

 

[ebow86]

I had 2 quark RGB's, one was defective in that it wouldn't remember what color mode it was left in after you shut it off, the second one I recieved had a terrible tint and didn't seem near as bright as the last. Both lights skipped modes, the second being the worse of the 2. A shame too, I really liked the light but the quality issues were just too much so I ended up returning it for a refund.

 

[knifeminion]

Mine doesn't work like that. Not with the tail switch I bought for it. I got a 123-2 tactical R2 for the Prisim. At the same time I got a RGB NW head and a flat reverse clicky.

I cannot get it to act the way you describe no matter what with the reverse, and I can only get it to stay on the last level with the forward.
It always advances color, either from off or on. As in I can turn it off and back on and it will be the same. Wait out the timer on the flat, it still goes up (AKA moonlight->low)
If I have it off and tighten loosen the head, all still while it's off. It will still change color.

So what I end up with is never knowing/remembering what color it will be when I loosen it.
And with the flat never having the level I left it at.

How would I tighten the switch to see if that helps?