Quark Mini AA Runtime tests & thoughts

[Tremendo]

I had a few posts in different places, this is a summary of my 2 new Mini AA's.

Overall:
1) Awesome feel, very tiny. Extremely smooth threads right out of the box. Great long lanyard and clip included.
2) Big spot, bigger than anything I have. Also, a huge spill. But enough power on high to still have some decent throw. A great all purpose EDC beam, also for running.
3) Greenish tint. One is more than the other. But all are still less green than my "white" Surefire U2. In use the tints are fine.
4) The UI is awesome and simple. No pre-flash, no 1/2 second wait to change levels, etc. Always goes back to low, and I can twist up levels in less than half a second (very easy 1 handed). And the hidden modes are great, especially since they're hidden and don't get in the way.
5) OK on Alkaline, pretty bright on 1.7v Lithium AA, Extremely bright on 14500!

Power on Protected 14500:
1) Very bright on High, about the same overall as my Quark AA Ti R5 on 14500which is 206 lumens OTF. The Mini has a bigger spot and spill, the Quark Ti has more throw.
2) High runtime is 38 minutes, tested twice with different batteries (Quark AA Ti R5 was 48 minutes on Max with same batteries).
3) Medium runtime is 3 1/2 hours. Medium is much brighter with a 14500 than with Alkaline or Lithium AA's. Medium is a great level, stronger than the Medium on my Quark AA Ti R5, but lower than the Ti's High.
4) Low is the same power as Quark AA Ti R5 Low.

Tint on Protected 14500 vs Quark AA Ti R5:
1) Both Minis are more green than my Ti Quark R5 when on Max, but when on Medium, the Ti is more green.
2) Mini High is same tint as Ti High.
3) As Ti gets brighter, light gets whiter. Mini gets whiter, but not as much.

Power on Alkaline Energizer normal, not Max. (I used the other Mini on 14500 to compare brightness):
1) High Runtime: After 1 hour, same power as Medium on 14500 and stayed like that for 20-30 minutes. At 2 hours, it was between the 14500's Low & High, closer to Low. At 2 1/2 hours, was still a useful light, quite a bit lower. Gave the battery a short rest, and it came back on brighter for a few minutes.
2) Note: Brightness on Medium with Alkaline & Lithium (1.7v) are about the same. High jumps up a bit with Lithium.

Overall: Awesome! I will use it with 14500's, and 1 became my EDC. I bought 2 more after playing with these 2!

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Testing procedure? Visual or with light meter?

Bill

 

[regulator]

Thanks Tremendo. I was curious how long the runtime would be on medium with a 14500 cell - and here it is. I think that Medium with the 14500 is pretty bright. Its kinda nice that you can transform the Mini AA by changing the type of cell it uses.

 

[Tremendo]

Testing procedure? Visual or with light meter?

All visual direct comparisons. I used them inside, outside, ceiling bounce, etc. All runtimes in a glass of water.

Its kinda nice that you can transform the Mini AA by changing the type of cell it uses.

Yeah, and I'm sold on the Medium as well. That will be my main use, with the occasional High burst. And the Low is perfect for me to start on, so I'm very happy with the UI and outputs selected.

 

[Tremendo]

I finally did my 1st run tonight with a Mini AA, I went through running trails with no lights. It gave a great wide spot that I liked and the spill was huge. It's a lot of spill for running, as it's very difficult to not have it hit others as I go by. But the Medium level is probably about perfect, and every once in a while I'd bump it to High for a few seconds. The High really lights up everything, in front, on the sides, etc. I figure I'd get about 2 1/2 hours of runtime using it like that.

The tint was well tested, as the trails were mostly paved black and wet, and there were big green and brown leaves everywhere, as well as puddles. On the leaves, sometimes it was tough to see the depth perspective, unless I bumped it to High. But I realize it's probably better overall, as I have a tendancy to keep lights too bright, and then my eyes get tired faster. And the large spot and bright spill might help with that as well, as my vision will be smoother, and not going so much from bright to dark.

 

[NutSAK]

How are you carrying the light as you run?

 

[Tremendo]

How are you carrying the light as you run?

In my hand. I have the 4Sevens headband, but I prefer a light in hand for directing the light and adjusting power.

 

[moldyoldy]

Ref the miniAA: I received one copy of the miniAA. A very EDC'able size! The latest offerings from 4Sevens are rather nicely designed.

However I have a discordant observation on the MiniAA. My first impressions were disappointment with the output on NiMH. Admittedly it is difficult to compare brightness because of the broader hotspot and spill than with most lights. A ceiling bounce test seems the best test with no instruments.

For example, the MiniAA output on High was well below the Nitecore D10 R2 output on high, not even close. At least close would have been OK. Admittedly the MiniAA output on high using 14500 is impressive - and that is the only reason I am not sending my copy back right away. For another comparison, the output of the miniAA using 14500 cell on Medium is about the same as the output from a Preon I (1xAAA) on High.

My thoughts are that I would rather have another Preon kit than the miniAA. One of my previous customers picked up an LD01 using 10440 cells and still thinks highly of it. Since he already has the charger, perhaps he would be a good candidate for the MiniAA and some 14500 cells. Maybe I lost the lumen lottery with my single copy, maybe not. The tint is fine, no problem. However I am unlikely to keep this MiniAA.

 

[NutSAK]

In my hand. I have the 4Sevens headband, but I prefer a light in hand for directing the light and adjusting power.

The reason I asked was your comment about depth perception. I find that I perceive depth much better if the light is held at a higher position, as in a headband or "overhand" grip. YMMV. Of course, an overhand grip would be very difficult to run with...

I wonder if carrying two lightweight lights, one in a headband and one in hand would help with the depth perception and reduce the mode changing.

 

[Tremendo]

Ref the miniAA:......... My first impressions were disappointment with the output on NiMH.......... For example, the MiniAA output on High was well below the Nitecore D10 R2 output on high, not even close....... Admittedly the MiniAA output on high using 14500 is impressive.......

I just compared my Nitecore DI (Q5) with the Mini AA, using alkalines and NiMH. You are right, the Mini has less output on high, but it's also a much smaller size and cheaper price point. I now have bought 7 (yes 7) Mini AA's and am giving most away as gifts for Christmas loaded with AA's. As I mentioned in my 1st post #5, ok on alkaline, pretty bright on 1.7v, and very bright on 14500.

I wonder if carrying two lightweight lights, one in a headband and one in hand would help with the depth perception and reduce the mode changing.

If you like headbands, that should work great. I went for a walk the other night with my son, Mini AA in my hand, Quark Ti Tactical hanging from my neck set on high. When I used them both, it helped depth perception a lot.

 

[HarveyRich]

I just received my MiNi AA today and am putting it through some runtime tests. So far I've run it on an Eneloop AA on high and was quite surprised to find it going about 2hr 23mins before dropping to below half brightness (visual only)--since the manual and 4 Sevens site say 1.2 hr on high. That must be for Alkaline. I am doing a runtime test on medium on an Eneloop now and will report back as soon as I have some results.

 

[B0wz3r]

The reason I asked was your comment about depth perception. I find that I perceive depth much better if the light is held at a higher position, as in a headband or "overhand" grip. YMMV. Of course, an overhand grip would be very difficult to run with...

I wonder if carrying two lightweight lights, one in a headband and one in hand would help with the depth perception and reduce the mode changing.

Dude... I want to run some perceptual/neurophysiological experiments on you... research in visual perception has shown that greater incident angles between the light source and line of sight provide greater depth perception. If you have better depth perception as the angle of the light source gets closer to your line of sight, you definitely have something unusual going on with your visual neurophysiology. I'm only being partially flippant here though... because what you're saying does not jibe at all with what I know about visual perception. Or, it could just be that I'm confused and didn't understand what you meant... :candle:

 

[AFAustin]

I just received my MiNi AA today and am putting it through some runtime tests. So far I've run it on an Eneloop AA on high and was quite surprised to find it going about 2hr 23mins before dropping to below half brightness (visual only)--since the manual and 4 Sevens site say 1.2 hr on high. That must be for Alkaline. I am doing a runtime test on medium on alkaline now and will report back as soon as I have some results.

Thanks for doing that. Your result on eneloop/high is encouraging---could you tell at what point it began to dim, and was it a gradual dimming or was there a drop off at some point? I've got a Mini AA en route myself and will likely do the same thing you're doing when the holidays permit. :santa:

Andrew

 

[NutSAK]

Dude... I want to run some perceptual/neurophysiological experiments on you... research in visual perception has shown that greater incident angles between the light source and line of sight provide greater depth perception. If you have better depth perception as the angle of the light source gets closer to your line of sight, you definitely have something unusual going on with your visual neurophysiology. I'm only being partially flippant here though... because what you're saying does not jibe at all with what I know about visual perception. Or, it could just be that I'm confused and didn't understand what you meant... :candle:

Actually, I used the wrong term... Mounting a light on your head reduces shadows behind objects better than holding a flashlight lower--in your hand by your waist for instance. This doesn't actually improve depth perception, it just allows you to make out objects better that, with the flashlight held low, might be shadowed by obstacles between the light and the object.

I can understand what you mean about depth perception increasing as the difference between the light source angle and line of sight angle is increased . However, wouldn't that effect be more relevant when looking at closer objects then objects farther away?

 

[wacbzz]

...
3) Medium runtime is 3 1/2 hours...

I thought I read this on the 4Sevens website (well, I know I did since I'm pasting it here):

• Battery: One AA
• Seven Output Modes:
  Low: 2.7 OTF lumens, 60 hours
  Medium: 25 OTF lumens, 18 hours <-------
  High: 90 OTF lumens, 1.3 hours
  Special (hidden) modes:
  Strobe 4 hours
  SOS 12 hours
  Beacon (Hi) 20 hours
  Beacon (Lo) 100 hours​

It looks to me like if you're getting 3.5 tested hours on medium and 4Sevens claims 18 hours, there's some major discrepancy here...:shrug:

I'm just curious because some people have posted that they are using this "18 hour" number as a justification for buying the Quark Mini AA over the Maratac AA.

 

[madmook]

Using a 14500 li-ion battery, the medium mode is brighter than the 25 lumens you get when using standard alkaline or nimh AA's, thus the 14500 drains faster. 4sevens said 18 hours with alkaline... and I don't think anyone has done an eneloop medium runtime yet.

 

[HarveyRich]

Originally Posted by AFAustin:
Thanks for doing that. Your result on eneloop/high is encouraging---could you tell at what point it began to dim, and was it a gradual dimming or was there a drop off at some point?

I wasn't paying much attention to when the spot began to shrink. I would guess that it stayed pretty much in constant regulation out to 1 to 1.5 hrs. The spot gradually shrank then so that the beam was most likely well under 50% of output by 2 hr 20 mins. However, it was still quite usable. Although I cut the run test at that point, the light had a discernible difference between medium and high when I turned it back on a minute later.

 

[dealgrabber2002]

I just received my MiNi AA today and am putting it through some runtime tests. So far I've run it on an Eneloop AA on high and was quite surprised to find it going about 2hr 23mins before dropping to below half brightness (visual only)--since the manual and 4 Sevens site say 1.2 hr on high. That must be for Alkaline. I am doing a runtime test on medium on an Eneloop now and will report back as soon as I have some results.

Eagerly waiting for your runtime for medium on an Eneloop. I mainly use medium mode. Thanks!

 

[Patriot]

I missed the start of this thread but I'm glad that I found it. Thanks for the run time stats. The 3.5 hours on medium w/10440 is a very useful runtime-to-output ratio. I'll probably be picking one of these up after Christmas.

 

[Tremendo]

The 3.5 hours on medium w/10440 is a very useful runtime-to-output ratio. I'll probably be picking one of these up after Christmas.

14500. Make sure you get the right one.