Is Klarus quality better than FourSevens ?

[SixCats!]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for yet another Flashlight. This time around, I'd like to buy a single cell Clicky. I'm leaning towards a one cell CR123. I was kinda "hot to trot" for the Quark but, after close inspection of my two cell (AA) Klarus ST-20, I'm thinking that perhaps maybe I should just stick with the Klarus line (the NT-10 if I can find one) as the build quality is top shelf. So, what say ye ol' CPF members ? Should I branch out and try something different (i.e. the Quark) or should I just stick with the Klarus line ? I should mention I have never /seen/inspected a Quark (in person) so I can't speak to it's quality. I must admit, I do like the fact that the Quark has a low low (Moonlight mode) which is lower than the Klarus as well as the fact that the Quark can be Lego'ed. The Quark's price is attractive as well. I dunno, I like the UI on the Klarus with it's two switches. I'm unsure about Quarks UI. Should I just flip a coin?

Regards,
SixCats!

 

[shelm]

at this point i wont comment anything re 4sevens quarks before tobrien thinks again of me bashing

 

[jdhermit]

Hmm...seems like my post on 4Sevens quality mysteriously disappeared...
How odd...


Edited: Sorry, I posted on yet another 4Sevens quality thread and thought I posted here...seems to be a lot of them lately.

 

[ragweed]

4Sevens offers a better Warranty & Customer Service in my opinion.

 

[roadkill1109]

ten-year warranty on the 4Sevens.

Customer Service is top-knotch.

Products? Not sure what new stuff they have.

I still like the old website. The new one's confusing.

As for the Klarus, solid products, rarely will you see a forum member griping about problems with his/her Klarus light.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I think a lot of quality reports tend to be "by feel" or anecdotal. By feel, they both seem to have similar good quality to me. What's really enlightening sometimes is when folks open it up and look at the various springs, soldering, etc.

For me -- and this depends heavily on how you use the light, obviously -- going from Klarus to the Quark is going from one of the best UIs around to one of the rock-bottom worst. Obviously, many people must use their light differently than how I do, and disagree, based on the Quark's popularity. If I were moving from Klarus because I wanted a low low, plus some limited lego-ability (at least the ability to run either CR123 or AA form factor), I'd be looking at Sunwayman. Another fantastically great UI, great quality, insanely low low infinitely adjustable to high high, ability to run different batteries with the AA extender.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

I will never buy anything from Klarus because they ripped off a bunch of 4Sevens designs. In some cases they accepted stolen plans of some of 4Sevens' prototypes. There's no way i can honor that kind of company.

Edit: The following thread discusses some of Klarus' unscrupulous behavior with comments from 4Sevens:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?323205-Preon-Revo-Discontinued-!

Already I can tell you some of our prototype concepts leaked out because a contractor in asia couldn't keep their mouth shut. There are two lights that have been announced and suggested as a concept on cpf that were ripped off from our idea we prototyped over a year ago. Sadly we probably won't be producing that light - the idea was flatly stolen from us. I'll just keep the prototypes on my desk as a perpetual reminder of what can happen especially with the unscrupulous unethical companies in china.

Later in the thread he confirmed that the Klarus XT20 was based on the stolen prototype, and the Klarus Mi10 was a direct rip-off of the Preon ReVO (and when I say "direct rip-off" I mean the lights are identical apart from some very minor cosmetic differences).

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

I will never buy anything from Klarus because they ripped off a bunch of 4Sevens designs. In some cases they accepted stolen plans of some of 4Sevens' prototypes. There's no way i can honor that kind of company.

Edit: The following thread discusses some of Klarus' unscrupulous behavior with comments from 4Sevens:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?323205-Preon-Revo-Discontinued-!


Later in the thread he confirmed that the Klarus XT20 was based on the stolen prototype, and the Klarus Mi10 was a direct rip-off of the Preon ReVO (and when I say "direct rip-off" I mean the lights are identical apart from some very minor cosmetic differences).

I haven't had chance to read the link yet, but there seems mention of another company a contractor. Did Klarus willing take stolen plans, is this provable? If not then they might be just as much a victim.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

I haven't had chance to read the link yet, but there seems mention of another company a contractor. Did Klarus willing take stolen plans, is this provable? If not then they might be just as much a victim.

In the case of the Preon ReVO, Klarus was apparently manufacturing them for 4Sevens and simply put their own branding on it and started selling it as their own light. They also came out with a double-headed flashlight shortly after 4Sevens' prototype plans were stolen from/by another manufacturer.

 

[BIG45-70]

The only light I've ever had fail on me is a 4 sevens. "Good" is the last thing I would call their customer service, as in my experience their 10 year warranty is pretty much worthless. Maybe others have had a better experience but this is mine.

 

[shelm]

In the case of the Preon ReVO, Klarus was apparently manufacturing them for 4Sevens and simply put their own branding on it and started selling it as their own light. They also came out with a double-headed flashlight shortly after 4Sevens' prototype plans were stolen from/by another manufacturer.

2 rumors and never confirmed by either party

 

[Adrenaline_6]

I'm not condoning bad ethics in anyway, but if you really do your research, most products we have come to know and love have been ripped off from someone. It happens more than most people think. The small block ford was not Henry Ford's idea. I met the son of the real inventor. His dad was an engineer for Ford and came up with the idea of the small block V-8 and presented it to Ford. He was told flat out that it would never work. He worked on the design in his basement on his own time, and constructed a model of his V-8 design in wood (which should be in the Smithsonian). He showed it to Henry Ford and Ford stolek the design and took all the credit. He got nothing. Now Henry Ford is an American icon. So do you now never ever buy a Ford? Apple didn't invent the Ipod either. Just saying.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

2 rumors and never confirmed by either party

The circumstantial evidence is pretty damning, and if you read the thread I referenced earlier, it doesn't leave much doubt about what really happened.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

I'm not condoning bad ethics in anyway, but if you really do your research, most products we have come to know and love have been ripped off from someone.

The incident I'm referring to is more than just duplicating someone else's design but outright stealing another company's products and calling them your own.

I've had my say. I'll let the matter rest.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

In the case of the Preon ReVO, Klarus was apparently manufacturing them for 4Sevens and simply put their own branding on it and started selling it as their own light. They also came out with a double-headed flashlight shortly after 4Sevens' prototype plans were stolen from/by another manufacturer.

Bit of a shame. Although I guess there are always at least two sides to every story.

 

[Xmldriver]

Any manufacturer that rips off someone elses design should not be supported in any way. They should be banned from advertising on the forum and the marketplace.

Sent from my XT320 using Tapatalk 2

 

[roadkill1109]

But if Dave had those prototypes patented, he could sue the company that "stole" the design.

There have also been other brands which have "clones" like Fenix TK35, there are some websites which sell these "Clones" which look exactly the same as the TK35, but at about half the price of the original.

 

[Csp203]

Taking a Chinese manufacture to court for ripping you off, good luck with that.

do not tell the warden.

 

[hiuintahs]

Taking a Chinese manufacture to court for ripping you off, good luck with that.
do not tell the warden.

My thoughts too. When all the chatter above about stealing designs, my first thought was: "what country are these lights manufactured in?" 4Sevens isn't totally innocent either.

 

[roadkill1109]

My thoughts too. When all the chatter above about stealing designs, my first thought was: "what country are these lights manufactured in?" 4Sevens isn't totally innocent either.

Well, if you want to minimize cost and increase profit margins, you take it to the Chinese. Just be ready to get your intellectual property rights stolen as patents dont mean sh*t there.

If 4Sevens wanted to be sure, have their lights manufactured there in good ol' US of A but that would definitely drive cost up significantly that people will still just end up buying the Chinese-made brands like J*tbeam, F*nix, etc etc etc.