Quark AA^2 or LD20?

[squaat]

Okay I have a mini dilema. Awhile back I bought my brother and L2D Q5. Now he's gone an lost it.

Being a kind and caring flashaholic older brother I am going to replace it for him.

I was originally going to replace it with an LD20 but then I started thinking about the Quark AA^2. So I did reading about the Quarks and they seem rather good to me, although the do have some drawbacks.

1. Pre Flash issue
2. No tail lockout

However the Beacon mode, moonlight and well spread output levels appeal to me.

So what do you guys think, would you choose a quark AA^2 or a LD20?
Anyone own both (or a quark and an L2D)? if so what are your thoughts? Do you feel that the Quark is superior to LD20/L2D? if so why?

I also have an L2D Q5 with the rude looking diffuser and Red Filter. What should I do if I do buy a Quark? Should I:

1. Give my brother the quark?
2. Keep the Quark myself and give him my L2D?

Oh and one more question... anyone have any luck getting the fenix diffuser onto a quark? It seemed like people were having trouble

 

[Toaster]

I would probably buy myself the Quark 2AA Titanium XP-G R4 and gift the L2D to my bro. It's the perfect excuse to treat yourself to an upgrade

 

[sol-leks]

I would probably buy myself the Quark 2AA Titanium XP-G R4 and gift the L2D to my bro. It's the perfect excuse to treat yourself to an upgrade

+1

EDIT: Actually, I'd buy the Quark, keep the L2D, and give your brother a stick with some glow in the dark paint on it. But hey, I don't like my brother very much.

 

[ThesaurZA]

I could not decide either between these two; so I ordered both. I haven't received them yet, but when I do I'll be doing some serious testing.

I ordered them before the Quark Ti was announced...but if knew about the Ti I think I would also have gone for the QAAx2 Ti...I guess you can't beat the more advanced XPG LED technology.

 

[CaNo]

Quark. This one is a no brainer.

 

[CaNo]

Keep it for yourself.

 

[berry580]

I would probably buy myself the Quark 2AA Titanium XP-G R4 and gift the L2D to my bro. It's the perfect excuse to treat yourself to an upgrade

Agreed.

But if you don't want the Ti version, then i suppose even the normal version is still better than the LD20.
No lockout shouldn't really that big of an issue, just take the batteries out.
As with the flash, its a minor issue, it would only occur if you went on high before going to low (within 10 secs?). So if you just turned on the light to a lower level straight away, the flash wouldn't be there.
Besides, the flash is very brief (not even a sec) and not that bright anyway.

 

[metawaffle]

I have the LD20 and the Quark 123 tactical, and on balance I'd go with... Quark.

Quality-wise, they're much like each other, but the Quarks have that fantastic low low setting, and the tactical version is neatly programmable. Reversible clip on the Quark, too.

Like everyone else, I'd go for the R4 Ti version, too.

 

[Mr. Tone]

I have the AA warm Quark, AA warm Tactical Quark, Fenix L2D CE, and Fenix LD20. If I had to get rid of any it would be the Fenix lights. They are great but the Quarks are better for my needs. The neutral warm tint option is, for me, quite preferable over the cold, blueish Fenix tints.

Is your brother into flashlights? If not the Quark tactical might be best for him. You program 2 modes and then that is it. You have the bezel tight mode and the bezel loose mode. No switching around modes so it is good for the KISS need.

 

[ninjaboigt]

i have a quark AA2 tactical netraul...and i like it over my fenixes for two main reasons...pocket clip and knurling...

the pre flash isnt a major problem. and the tailcaps now have anodizing on it so it should lock out, mines does.

as for the questiion of the rude looking diffuser, i have shaved a rib of the diffuser and it now fits my quark, not deep like the way its made for fenix, but it stays on there good enough, unless i swung my arm pretty hard and fast, then it would fall off. Quark should have some more acssories in the future...

and maybe with a pocket clip, ur bro wont lose it...as fast...

 

[CaNo]

Truthfully in the beginning... I judged the book by its cover. The Quarks look almost exactly like Fenix lights. I told myself... why am I going to buy a Quark light, if I already have a Fenix, and they both function the same exact way... (non tactical versions) (Btw I am comparing the Fenix L2D and the Quark 2xAA)

One day I was just in a curious mood, and said "what the hell", and bought the Quark. Currently the Quark is my best flashlight and serves as my primary. It is not the most expensive light I own by far, but the beam quality is so extremely impressive with it's XP-E cree. Once you have them side by side, you will have no choice but to respect how beautiful the beam of a Quark really is. Also it throws further than my L2D as well, and is way brighter. Fenix says the L2D is 180 lumens on turbo, while the Quark says it is 170 lumens... OTF. Meaning that the Quarks actual brightness is around the 220+ lumen range (I am not sure exact numbers).

Plain and simple, you have to own one in order to appreciate this light. I love all my Fenix lights do not get me wrong, but in this situation I will go with the Quark 100%. Take the plunge, you won't regret it, and believe me... you will thank us later. (I am sure) :thumbsup:

 

[f22shift]

i'd say the quark. it's the update that fenix shouldve done instead of being lazy
if they can fix the preflash it'll be perfect but for now it's liveable.

 

[IceRat]

Buy the Quark and compare the two, then give him the one you like the least.

 

[bcwang]

I have a L2D rb100 and the pre-flash is significantly worse than the almost not noticeable one on my Quark AAx2. Did they revise the circuit in the fenix ld20 to have less pre-flash than a Quark?

 

[squaat]

Ahhh the Ti version... Is it worth almost twice the price though. Being Ti Alone wouldn't justify it for me, but the XPG-R4 emitter sounds promising, though how much of an improvement will it be? Will they tune it for longer runtime or more lumens?

Decisions, decisions.... Well I gotta make my mind up soon 4sevens stage 2 or preording ends in a couple of days

 

[hotlight]

I have both-ld20 and quark aa2(neutral white tint).....

I like the quark tint better. both lights work the same, if you don't need a moon mode than go with the fenix.

the preflash is not a big deal.... close your eyes(look away) or cover the light at startup.

the quark is better for around the same price. get the quark. while your at it, get a tactical switch for the quark(with the tact. switch, the quark blows away the ld20)IMO

 

[CaNo]

You guys forgot to mention that the LD20 lacks knurling... while the Quark had fixed that problem with their line. I cannot even count how many times I had dropped my Fenix lights due to their slippery bodies...

 

[squaat]

Cool thanks for all the advice.

So I pulled the trigger and pre-ordered the Quark Ti AA^2.... yeah it's twice the price, but it's been a while since I bought myself a light. (man that's totally not what I originally intended to do... well I guess that flashaholicism for you :laughing

So I'm pretty sure I'll keep the quark and send the L2D onto my bro.

However the L2D was my first real light, I'd hate to part with it.... So if I was a true flashaholic I would keep the both the Quark Ti and L2D and send my brother another Quark regular

Can't wait to see what an XP-G will do.

 

[Swedpat]

I like my LD20. But recently I ordered among other lights a Quark AA2. Much better knurling and much lower brightness levels make this light very attractive. I chosed the neutral white version because I have experienced how much superior the warmer tint is than the cool when it comes to see colours and details at dark coloured objects as green and brown. Also the warmer tint is very comfortable for the eyes. I found the tactical to be too complicated so therefore I chosed the regular.

Regards, Patric

 

[nanotech17]

i use my Q2AA with my newly acquired Powerex Imedion cells with Maha Wizard charger and its now serve as my primary light,better than my modded L2D R2.