Are you getting/got yourself a warm or neutral Quark?

[geepondy]

I know a lot of you will say "both" but I am interested in one or the other and can't make up my mind. What reasons did/would you pick one over the other?

Here we were all these years trying to get the whitest LED all these years and now we are reverting backwards!

 

[Canuke]

Here we were all these years trying to get the whitest LED all these years and now we are reverting backwards!

I know

More than once I've wondered why I answered this siren call, for exactly that reason. It started with a 5A Dereelight, then I noticed warm white Christmas LED's last year that looked almost perfect, and then I was hooked (123[2] tactical, 123 mini and a CR2 mini for the wife, all warms). Now I'm even thinking about picking up an incan for the first time since I was a kid, for baseline tint reference.

This sort of pattern isn't new, though. I only found out last week that current musical artists are doing new releases in vinyl. It seems to me that we in CPF land have simply repeated the pattern that happened in the music album market, just compressed into a smaller time frame.

Besides, the whole cool-white-is-cool thing is just about played out (HID's are fairly common, and no longer restricted to high-end cars... and I was noticing that except for the cheapies, LED's are now dominant in the flashlight aisle at Target etc.). The idea of having old-style incandescent tint, but with LED efficiency/durability is sufficiently novel among the flashoholics to spark this run, but goes unnoticed in the world at large, much as the vinyl renaissance probably is confined to a certain stripe of audiophile.

I'm having fun with the warms... but I still EDC my 5A Dereelight, have a neutral Preon coming along with a standard cool-white Quark head, and still like to mess around with my favorite pure-whites too. I'll probably have all the tints with me when I go camping in Utah this summer

 

[think2x]

I have one of every one of them except of course the xp-g neutral that ships on the 22nd. There are some of my amateur beam shots in this link.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=3397369

FWIW, I like the neutral a little better but the warm is still VERY NICE.

 

[tolkaze]

going to get warm and neutral preons to go with my cool preon.

I like neutral, but really, most of my lights are cool. Maybe its availability or perhaps that i think i will miss that 20% extra light (often made up for by nicer colours)

Really decided to get them in the end because I always miss out on limited runs so thought I would get them. If I don't like them, there is a good chance someone will adopt them on CPFM

 

[Brian321]

I received my first warm quark last week. And i have to say i love it. I have a few neutrals, but the warm is awesome IMHO. To me the warm gives a nice glow like the sun is setting and it is relaxing to me.

Brian

 

[sol-leks]

depends what you want. On the one hand, I personally would love a neutral quark because I got my first warm light and I found it a bit much, so I think I would really personally love neutral. However, I believe but may be wrong that 47's has warm xp-g's but no neutral xp-g's, I might be wrong though. If that is the case though then you would have to go with warm to get something the most recent LED.

 

[geepondy]

I believe 4 seven's neutral preorders are XP-Gs.

The only incandescent I still play around with is my Surefire E1. The warm tint is more relaxing.

 

[calipsoii]

Just this week received my QminiAA WW, and I'll be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Was totally caught off guard by how warm the light is. I'm constantly playing with it, turning it on and off, but I think that more has to do with the form factor and weight than the tint. It's the perfect size wrapped around a AA, but when it comes down to it, I don't like the warm tint enough to EDC it. I've found at night it's not THAT much better for CRI - things that look blue under a cool-white just look black under the warm one. I have a TK20 in the mail with a neutral emitter, so when it arrives, if I like the tint I might pick up a neutral Quark (or a Preon). Until then, my D10 Tribute's gonna ride around in my pocket.

 

[ASheep]

I ordered a warm Preon 2, because cool LEDs are too harsh for digging around under kitchen plumbing and under cars, I find the reflections hurt my eyes, not so with the warm. I'm also considering a Neutral Quark AA^2, because the neutral is R4 flux, almost as bright as the Cools, while still looking less harsh.
So really, I'm not helpful at all as has already been said, the warm is like holding a sunset in your hand, it's beautiful.

 

[BigBluefish]

I have a neutral quark 123 tactical (no clip) from the run from sometime last year, and it's a great little light.

I recently got a warm Preon 2 and spare 1 x AAA body tube. I really like the XP-G beam pattern and the tint, but am not sold on the lightweight build/style, or the clicky switch, of the Preon. Then again, I generally despise "penlights" and only was tempted by this one because of the tint, the emitter (XP-G) and, well, it's a Quark, so I knew it was going to be pretty darn good for the money. And it is. It's now one of the "house" lights, and in 1 x AAA config, is pretty much perfect for that. Put on the 2 x AAA body, and you can light up a bit more outdoors.

I'll probably grab another neutral tint Quark (but not a Preon) from the upcoming run, or perhaps another warm, either a 2 x AA tactical warm (caj use with my 1 x CR123 tube or a 1 x AA tube) or 2 x CR123 tactical neutral (still impressively bright). I'm being tempted by the Mini CR2 or 123, for the size and price-point, but I'm afraid I'll find them a lbit too lightly constructed for my taste, and so will likely pass on the Minis

 

[Flying Turtle]

The temptation is almost too much for me to get the warm tint QMini AA. I'm thinking I'll really like it. You know it I give away my EZAA to a friend I'll have an opening in the lineup. :shakehead

Geoff

 

[burntoshine]

yeah, i got 4 neutral white minis from the first neutral white run; 2 AAs, a 123 and a Ti 123. i wanted a CR2 and bought a warm white one when they came out, but decided i prefer the neutral white over the warm white. shortly after the xpg neutral white pre-orders opened up, i sold my warm CR2.

i currently have 2 neutral white CR2s on pre-order. i'm tempted to get another NW quark, but the ones i would be interested in, a AA turbo or a single AA clicky aren't available. i could always get another mini though; those are some great little lights. i wouldn't be buying mini number 5 and 6 if they weren't.

by the way, i own a fenix TK20 and i love it; it is one of my favorite lights. also, a good NW replacement for a TK40 is the NW eagletac M2SC4. it uses cr123s, instead of AAs. i've had mine for a few months now and like it a lot better than the TK40.

i've weeded out every cool white i had through modding and selling. warm white is okay, but i prefer neutral. either one is far better than cool.

 

[tre]

I would like to get a neutral (or warm) 123 tatical but there is no such thing. I need the forward clicky and mode programming in a single cr123a format. Oh well. I can wait.:shrug:

 

[mitro]

Truthfully the only way to know what you will like is to get one of each. I'm not saying that in the typical CPF "we all buy too many flashlights" fashion. You need to use both to determine your preference. You can always sell your less favorite one and recoup a good chunk of your money. Just consider it spending a few bucks to make an informed decision.

I have a warm 123^2 and a couple of neutrals from the last run and I've ALMOST decided which I prefer for my uses.

 

[burntoshine]

I would like to get a neutral (or warm) 123 tatical but there is no such thing. I need the forward clicky and mode programming in a single cr123a format. Oh well. I can wait.:shrug:

i see neutral white quarks (from the 1st run) pop up in the buy/sell/trade section from time to time. there was a single AA tactical (at least i think it was tactical) i almost got, but funds were low. maybe you can snag one from there. it won't be a new jazzy xpg neutral, but i'm sure the difference in efficiency isn't all that much.

 

[shark_za]

I ordered some Mini Warm Whites, I find the one I got (mix up on order) to be very specialist and I use it a lot around the house.
Its warming up my winter


I will buy a neutral R4 XP-G but must decide which one.
I have the Q3 NW regular and was hoping to get a Turbo version this time around.

The one model I wanted in WW was the regular AA^2/AA and it was dropped.
The one model I want in Neutral is the Turbo AA^2 and its dropped.

What is neutral like as a tactical light?
A 123^2 tactical is on my wishlist but I cannot say if I want it in cool white or neutral. R5 to R4 is not a big loss in output.

 

[paulr]

I have a neutral 123 mini. I'm not that crazy about it. These are not high CRI leds, they're just warmer in cast than the more blue-ish leds. The color temperature of the Nichia 083 is maybe comparable but the 083's color rendition is far superior (on the other hand the 083 is much less efficient).

I don't understand why everyone is so crazy about the warm white, incan-like color. I thought the idea was to be close to sunlight. I might get a warm 1aa just to see what the fuss is about, but as mentioned I'm just not that crazy about the whole design.

 

[timbo114]

I have a QMiNi AA NW Q35A3 - Quark 123² Tactical Q3 5A (original LTD run) ...

I ordered the QMiNi AA and QMiNi CR2 XP-G 4C0/4D0 & I'll probably end up with another Quark 123² Tactical in neutral XP-G :devil:

 

[burntoshine]

i've been tempted to get a tactical quark for a long time. i really like the idea of being able to set the 2 levels. i might have to pick up a neutral white tactical.

i'd like to play around with a high cri light to see how much different they are. anyone know what's a good (not too expensive) high cri light to get?

 

[ODatsBright]

Are you getting/got yourself a warm or neutral Quark?

Me...both.

The warm is a bit to yellow for me now that I've had it to evaluate since it was purchased a few weeks ago. I've bounced back and forth with loving it and "ahh, no so much". I ended up comparing it my 4500K Nailbender DBS pill and deciding that the neutrals are what I like the most, so I have a CR2 mini and a 123² Tactical on order for the 22nd.

When I get them in hand, things might change back. One thing is for sure, future lights will either be neutral or warm and NOT cool white.