I've been looking to replace my edc for some time....I have a fenix lod AAA...great size and output for its size...however, I would like to upgrade to a clicky, AA, long runtime, high output, tailstand, edc size, clip, under $60-70.....I've been reading most of the current threads on AA leds in the forum, but can't seem to decide......looking at either the nitecore d10r2, AAquark, Jet I Pro w/IBS V3, or any suggestions from you guys.....I'm really concerned about having a small light that I don't notice carrying and one that can go from low low to high output with ease, something that I can clip to cargo shorts and use on dog walks/backyard investigations/household tasks.....not really too happy with the quark reports of stiff clicky/clip that shows light in pocket and larger size....also seems that the jet is larger as well, but has great output....the nitecore is ?? because of the piston and lower high output than the others.....so maybe you guys can stear me in the right directions with these choices or another thought...:thumbsup:
AA final decision ?!
- Thread starter sj29
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If you could use a twisty, I'd suggest the Nitecore EZ AA, about $50.00. Mine twists on with one hand easily. Two levels. Comes on dim, then 1/3 turn and bright. Tiny and easy to carry, but enough bigger than AAA that its easier to use. Second suggestion would be Nitecore D10 AA. Really nice light with excellent user interface, but quite a bit bigger than the EZ.
I am i fan of simple thats why I would suggest a LD10. Its just a twist away to turbo from low.
It`s a struggle to decide...so many really nice ones. The D-10 is one of my fav light. The operation is cool...fun.
If you want a really nice beam in all respects the 47`s might be your choice...dispite the tough rubber switch.
I guess right now there is nothing the Fenix has over the 47`s...but it`s proven it`s self to be a very dependable light.
And most the others are well loved by their owners...
Good luck!
If you want a really nice beam in all respects the 47`s might be your choice...dispite the tough rubber switch.
I guess right now there is nothing the Fenix has over the 47`s...but it`s proven it`s self to be a very dependable light.
And most the others are well loved by their owners...
Good luck!
The D10 is a wonderful EDC. It's smaller than the Quark AA and has a tighter clip (but it's an optional extra which you have to install, which is a real pain.)
I like the size of the Quark in my hand and the beam even better than the wonderful D10.
The stiff clicky is loosening up a bit, and 4Sevens has promised an easier to use rubber cap is coming soon.
The clicky on the tactical model may be a bit easier to use. I have one on order to compare with the regular model and may end up keeping both.
You can't go wrong with either light.
Enjoy.
I like the size of the Quark in my hand and the beam even better than the wonderful D10.
The stiff clicky is loosening up a bit, and 4Sevens has promised an easier to use rubber cap is coming soon.
The clicky on the tactical model may be a bit easier to use. I have one on order to compare with the regular model and may end up keeping both.
You can't go wrong with either light.
Enjoy.
Well what we do know is the spill on the Quark is super wide...but not as bright as the D10. The hot spot on the Quark is smaller and more intense...so probably will throw further.
On AA power I think the D-10 will put more lumen.
With both powered by 14500 (3 volts) the Quark will probably out lumen the D10.
On the lower settings the Quark will probably run longer.
You can buy different bodies for the Quark...$20 each.
You can pick any level you want with the D10 and it`s smaller.
The former Jet beams are known to really kick out the lumen...I see no reason these new one would not be at the top of the heap in that respect. I don`t know if different bodies are/will be available. They look good.
On AA power I think the D-10 will put more lumen.
With both powered by 14500 (3 volts) the Quark will probably out lumen the D10.
On the lower settings the Quark will probably run longer.
You can buy different bodies for the Quark...$20 each.
You can pick any level you want with the D10 and it`s smaller.
The former Jet beams are known to really kick out the lumen...I see no reason these new one would not be at the top of the heap in that respect. I don`t know if different bodies are/will be available. They look good.
loanshark
Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 226
Get the D10. You won't regret it.
burntoshine
Enlightened
NITECORE D10
solid, quiet piston drive; 1000 times better than standard clickies.
user interface is great and so easy to use.
also, it fits great in the fenix L1D holster which you can buy from lighthound...
here
i cut the plastic piece off the top of my holster for better comfort.
solid, quiet piston drive; 1000 times better than standard clickies.
user interface is great and so easy to use.
also, it fits great in the fenix L1D holster which you can buy from lighthound...
here
i cut the plastic piece off the top of my holster for better comfort.
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The D10 is pretty small and has a nice beam but I ended up selling mine because the piston drive combined with the UI drove me nuts. YMMV.
The Quark tactical models sound intriguing but are not yet available. The Fenix L1T v2 is also a great KISS light and Fenix has proven to be a quality manufacturer.
The Quark tactical models sound intriguing but are not yet available. The Fenix L1T v2 is also a great KISS light and Fenix has proven to be a quality manufacturer.
still can't seem to decide which iu I will like the best between the nitecore d10 and the jetbeam v3.....I'll probably just get one first and then purchase the other.....
I still struggle with the fact that the jetbeam v3 has great output for throw (love that), the d10 is small, with a high clip and low low and the quarkAA seems to have great output with neutral(warmer) tint and good quality build...
which one first
I still struggle with the fact that the jetbeam v3 has great output for throw (love that), the d10 is small, with a high clip and low low and the quarkAA seems to have great output with neutral(warmer) tint and good quality build...
which one first
sappyg
Enlightened
still can't seem to decide which iu I will like the best between the nitecore d10 and the jetbeam v3.....I'll probably just get one first and then purchase the other.....
..
go for the d10 1st. proven reliability and form factor puts it over the top.
NonSenCe
Flashlight Enthusiast
buing them all seems the way to go.. well i am well on my way of going that way myself. i got d10, but i just had to buy the jetbeam (older version) when i saw one for sale in market place for decent price. the bexel up and down carry clip was one of selling points in this one. but basically just couldnt resist. hah. and now i think i must get the quark tactical because i want the foward clicky.
about d10: great light in my mind. the silent "clicky" is nice feature and in my books, the proven quality does make it more appealing than the newer lights. the ui needs some getting used to. but i have to say i do use the lowlow most and then just ramp up to almost highest mode if i need it. the middle modes are pretty useless to me actually. mainly because the ramping is too fast in my sample.
if you want proven and well liked flashlight. get d10. you can easily sell it for someone in mp if you dont like it.
if you want versatility of programming.. light modes and strobe etc in the sequence you like it to be.. and the ability to change them time to time. get jetbeam.
quark.. still very new and unknown sample. designed by flashaholic and definately tries very hard to do some things better than others in same pricerange. very competetive features. robustness comes with size disadvantage to d10.
just depends how small you want it to be. for instance jetbeam is longer than d10 so it might be more confortable to use if you have big hands.
about d10: great light in my mind. the silent "clicky" is nice feature and in my books, the proven quality does make it more appealing than the newer lights. the ui needs some getting used to. but i have to say i do use the lowlow most and then just ramp up to almost highest mode if i need it. the middle modes are pretty useless to me actually. mainly because the ramping is too fast in my sample.
if you want proven and well liked flashlight. get d10. you can easily sell it for someone in mp if you dont like it.
if you want versatility of programming.. light modes and strobe etc in the sequence you like it to be.. and the ability to change them time to time. get jetbeam.
quark.. still very new and unknown sample. designed by flashaholic and definately tries very hard to do some things better than others in same pricerange. very competetive features. robustness comes with size disadvantage to d10.
just depends how small you want it to be. for instance jetbeam is longer than d10 so it might be more confortable to use if you have big hands.
jblackwood
Enlightened
Since you went with the Nitecore for reliability (heck I have two!) remember, the Quark has a 10 year warranty on it from the same people who first offered lifetime warranties on Fenix flashlights. I hope you got your D10 from 4sevens, because they warranty their Nitecores for life as well (just started that policy). I think you'd have to work VERY hard to find somone on this thread who'd bad mouth 4sevens' customer service. They're second to non.
On that note, I just got my Quark AA. To my eyes, it's hotspot and spill are brighter than both my D10's. Please keep in mind I'm comparing it to GDP and Q5 d10's . . . I never got the R2. Also, you didn't mention tint, and I hate it when people start to talk about trends in tints as belonging to this model or that manufacturer. Most assembly lines do NOT I repeat, NOT verify tint before the LED goes into the build. Most vendors who offer warm or neutral tints do so after they come off the assembly line. Case in point:
I've seen people talking about the great neutral tints of both GDP and Q5 D10's. I've had two D10's, one was slightly green. I sent it back because it whined too much. The next one I got didn't whine, but it's the greenest little light I've got, foget that, it's the greenest light I have. My GDP is the second most blue (more purple really) light I have. I actually EDC it because the beam profile is so smooth with the best transition from spot to spill that I've ever seen. After owning the EZAA, though, it's hard not to notice that violet hue.
Fenix LD10? I've got one that arrived last week from 4sevens. Not bad mouthing either 4sevens OR Fenix, but that's the MOST blue light I've ever seen, and I'm comparing it to those cheap dollar store blue lights. Still, though, I like the design of the LD series. I have an LD20 and I ordered the LD10 as a gift.
jhc37013, for your purposes, the LD10 and the Quark AA have the same UI, except the Fenix LD10's low is still high enough to wreck your night vision. The Quark AA: Turbo is higher and when you loosen the head, you've got a low that's 0.3 lumens. Perfect for night vision. There are two more modes in the Quark AA than in the LD10: beacon and moonlight, which is the low low I was talking about. If that entices you (don't forget about the easily removable clip) try this new light.
On that note, I just got my Quark AA. To my eyes, it's hotspot and spill are brighter than both my D10's. Please keep in mind I'm comparing it to GDP and Q5 d10's . . . I never got the R2. Also, you didn't mention tint, and I hate it when people start to talk about trends in tints as belonging to this model or that manufacturer. Most assembly lines do NOT I repeat, NOT verify tint before the LED goes into the build. Most vendors who offer warm or neutral tints do so after they come off the assembly line. Case in point:
I've seen people talking about the great neutral tints of both GDP and Q5 D10's. I've had two D10's, one was slightly green. I sent it back because it whined too much. The next one I got didn't whine, but it's the greenest little light I've got, foget that, it's the greenest light I have. My GDP is the second most blue (more purple really) light I have. I actually EDC it because the beam profile is so smooth with the best transition from spot to spill that I've ever seen. After owning the EZAA, though, it's hard not to notice that violet hue.
Fenix LD10? I've got one that arrived last week from 4sevens. Not bad mouthing either 4sevens OR Fenix, but that's the MOST blue light I've ever seen, and I'm comparing it to those cheap dollar store blue lights. Still, though, I like the design of the LD series. I have an LD20 and I ordered the LD10 as a gift.
jhc37013, for your purposes, the LD10 and the Quark AA have the same UI, except the Fenix LD10's low is still high enough to wreck your night vision. The Quark AA: Turbo is higher and when you loosen the head, you've got a low that's 0.3 lumens. Perfect for night vision. There are two more modes in the Quark AA than in the LD10: beacon and moonlight, which is the low low I was talking about. If that entices you (don't forget about the easily removable clip) try this new light.
Just to clarify. If you talk about discussing the tint within a particular tint bin it's true that there is the variation between LEDs. Nevertheless vendors who offer warm or neutral tints offer different tint bins. If you have a choice between e.g. a neutral Q3 5A and a cool R2 WC they are guaranteed to be different. There will be differences between Q3 5As, but any of them will be much warmer than any R2 WC.
jblackwood
Enlightened
I totally agree with you. Often people discuss not tint bins like you just did, but rather "I like the tint on my nitecore D10, you will too." There's just no way to guarantee someone else will get the same tint you did, even within the same bin. Remember, Q3 is just the generation of cree, it's 5A which refers to the tint. Lots of vendors just discuss Q3, Q4, or Q5, now they're mentioning R2 as well. That's got nothing to do with tint, more the "generation" of cree tech. Now, as far as beam profiles, at least, that should be consistent, at least if the plant where the lights were assembled. That means that the reflectors should come off the line more or less the same AND the led will be well centered. But tint? I see no way to guarantee that unless a number and letter other than Q is mentioned . . . preferably A or B for me!
