Stress_Test
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 1,334
Well I caved in and ordered a Quark after months of saying I didn't need any more AA lights! 
There were two things that pushed me over the edge. First, in using (and loaning out) my Fenix L1D at work, it was kind of a pain to have to keep cycling through the modes each time I turned the thing on. The "half-press" thing works fine most times, but not when you're in a hurry or under stress. A couple of times I either missed the mode I wanted or pushed too hard and clicked the light all the way off. It was a bit annoying because I'm one of those guys who wants a tool to just work and do it's job with a minimum of fuss, so I can focus on the task at hand and not the tool. Result: Quark Tactical interface to the rescue!
The second thing was when I was out for a run at night, using my TK11 one night, and a SureFire G2 w/R2 drop in another night. In both cases (but especially with the G2 due to the floodier nature) I was disliking the cool white of those lights. In humid air, the cool white beams caused a hazy look that gave you that "dreamscape" feeling where everything around you is fuzzy and indistinct. I've used my TK20 in a misty rain before, and it seemed to make things clearer. So, I thought gee it'd be nice to have another light with a neutral emitter. Result: Neutral Quark to the rescue!
So, because there were those two features lacking in my other lights (well, there is the TK20, but it's a bit too large in some cases), I ordered up a neutral Quark Tactical AA. Which leads to the question in the title....
I figured all the neutral Quarks would be sold out by now, but there were still tactical models available even now. Did the tactical models not really catch on? Or did people going for the tactical models also want max brightness, and order the R2 cool white versions?
To me the tactical model seems the best of all worlds, because you still have all the modes available, but the interface lets you use just two at a time so the others don't get in the way unless you program them. So, in my case that means I'll program a medium/max configuration, which is what I use most of the time... BUT, if I find myself in a situation needing extended run time (long power outage, etc.), I can reprogram and select the low or moon mode.
Seems like a win-win to me, but like I said maybe the tacticals didn't catch on too well...
There were two things that pushed me over the edge. First, in using (and loaning out) my Fenix L1D at work, it was kind of a pain to have to keep cycling through the modes each time I turned the thing on. The "half-press" thing works fine most times, but not when you're in a hurry or under stress. A couple of times I either missed the mode I wanted or pushed too hard and clicked the light all the way off. It was a bit annoying because I'm one of those guys who wants a tool to just work and do it's job with a minimum of fuss, so I can focus on the task at hand and not the tool. Result: Quark Tactical interface to the rescue!
The second thing was when I was out for a run at night, using my TK11 one night, and a SureFire G2 w/R2 drop in another night. In both cases (but especially with the G2 due to the floodier nature) I was disliking the cool white of those lights. In humid air, the cool white beams caused a hazy look that gave you that "dreamscape" feeling where everything around you is fuzzy and indistinct. I've used my TK20 in a misty rain before, and it seemed to make things clearer. So, I thought gee it'd be nice to have another light with a neutral emitter. Result: Neutral Quark to the rescue!
So, because there were those two features lacking in my other lights (well, there is the TK20, but it's a bit too large in some cases), I ordered up a neutral Quark Tactical AA. Which leads to the question in the title....
I figured all the neutral Quarks would be sold out by now, but there were still tactical models available even now. Did the tactical models not really catch on? Or did people going for the tactical models also want max brightness, and order the R2 cool white versions?
To me the tactical model seems the best of all worlds, because you still have all the modes available, but the interface lets you use just two at a time so the others don't get in the way unless you program them. So, in my case that means I'll program a medium/max configuration, which is what I use most of the time... BUT, if I find myself in a situation needing extended run time (long power outage, etc.), I can reprogram and select the low or moon mode.
Seems like a win-win to me, but like I said maybe the tacticals didn't catch on too well...
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