michaelmcgo
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2006
- Messages
- 267
I got my Quark Mini 123 and Preon today after a long time of waiting out the preorders. They were both well worth the wait! 4Sevens is putting out some serious flashlights with the newest tech at unbelievable prices. I got the Quark AAx2 when it first came out (Cree XP-E emitter, but I don't really care it's plenty bright enough for me) and the Quark Mini and Preon just add to the quality and ingenuity that I noticed in the original Quark. I have carried my Quark AAx2 since I got it and really like the quality that this light was made with. It is obviously very similar to the Fenix line of AAx2 lights, but many improvements have been made to the Quark that I've always felt lacking in the Fenix line.
All 4Sevens lights now come with Cree's newest XP-G emitter. This is there most efficient LED, which allows the maximum brightness for the power used. All 4Sevens flashlights have square cut threads, glass lenses, and Type III Anodizing to name a few perks. The two lights I'm reviewing today both work on a 3 brightness UI. On the Preon you click to cycle through the leves, on the Mini you twist and untwist to cycle. A big selling point of the 4Sevens line for me is the simplicity of all of the UI menus. It's clicks and twists and that's it. The useless modes like SOS and Beacon are very buried on all 4Sevens lights, so if you don't want to use them, you will never see them. If you do want to use them, there's a little more clicking than usual, but they're all there.
Quark Mini 123:
The Quark Mini 123 in unbelievably small! I knew it was going to be small, but it is ridiculous how tiny this thing is. The modes are perfectly spaced and I thought I wouldn't like the UI (3 preset modes without memory), but I guess it just takes the right brightness levels to appreciate a simple UI. I am still up in the air as to weather the high is too high . This thing is extremely bright on high and would be perfect in a defensive situation, but the three twists kind of eliminates that option for many situations. The high level may have been better suited a little lower (for a longer runtime), but I'd most likely be complaining about not having a brighter high if that were the case. I think I will grow to like how bright the high it is only because the medium level is perfectly adjusted for working at night at close range. There are definitely times when I can use a light that is so bright it requires a warning.
Preon
The Preon is very nice to hold and fits well in the front left pocket (knife is in the front right and bigger light in the back right next to the wallet). I have never owned a 2xaaa light before because I always thought it was stupid to have a light that was only a little smaller than a 2xAA. The Preon gives up very little in brightness and runtime for the real life benefit of a much smaller full size light. This thing hides in the pocket, yet it is easy to hold and shines much brighter than any 2xAA I had last year. The brightness levels are also great on this guy and the high is incredibly bright for a 2xAAA light. The button is fantastic (aluminum model) and it is very easy to get to high right away (click press, soft press, soft press). I am very glad that 4Sevens went with an all metal button instead of a rubber boot, it gives this light a very unique character. The anodizing on this light is very well done and exudes quality. It has a texture you can't exactly feel but you can sense, almost like it's rubber coated. I do not think I have ever seen a piece of aluminum with better anodizing than my Preon. The price is amazingly low for 2 bodies, 2 clips, and the option of clicky or twisty.
If you are in the market for a new light with a cutting edge emitter, Quark has it in any battery type now. I have an Ra Twisty in the mail and these two lights have taken away a lot of the anticipation that the Ra Twisty had created.
A few simple beam shots. These were taken on the same settings on my camera, but it still adjust to the light and they all look the same brightness. This mostly shows that the two lights are somewhat similar in brightness and beam pattern. The Quark Mini123 is on the left and the Preon is on the right.
Both lights on High:
Both lights on Medium:
Both lights on Low:
All 4Sevens lights now come with Cree's newest XP-G emitter. This is there most efficient LED, which allows the maximum brightness for the power used. All 4Sevens flashlights have square cut threads, glass lenses, and Type III Anodizing to name a few perks. The two lights I'm reviewing today both work on a 3 brightness UI. On the Preon you click to cycle through the leves, on the Mini you twist and untwist to cycle. A big selling point of the 4Sevens line for me is the simplicity of all of the UI menus. It's clicks and twists and that's it. The useless modes like SOS and Beacon are very buried on all 4Sevens lights, so if you don't want to use them, you will never see them. If you do want to use them, there's a little more clicking than usual, but they're all there.
Quark Mini 123:
The Quark Mini 123 in unbelievably small! I knew it was going to be small, but it is ridiculous how tiny this thing is. The modes are perfectly spaced and I thought I wouldn't like the UI (3 preset modes without memory), but I guess it just takes the right brightness levels to appreciate a simple UI. I am still up in the air as to weather the high is too high . This thing is extremely bright on high and would be perfect in a defensive situation, but the three twists kind of eliminates that option for many situations. The high level may have been better suited a little lower (for a longer runtime), but I'd most likely be complaining about not having a brighter high if that were the case. I think I will grow to like how bright the high it is only because the medium level is perfectly adjusted for working at night at close range. There are definitely times when I can use a light that is so bright it requires a warning.
Preon
The Preon is very nice to hold and fits well in the front left pocket (knife is in the front right and bigger light in the back right next to the wallet). I have never owned a 2xaaa light before because I always thought it was stupid to have a light that was only a little smaller than a 2xAA. The Preon gives up very little in brightness and runtime for the real life benefit of a much smaller full size light. This thing hides in the pocket, yet it is easy to hold and shines much brighter than any 2xAA I had last year. The brightness levels are also great on this guy and the high is incredibly bright for a 2xAAA light. The button is fantastic (aluminum model) and it is very easy to get to high right away (click press, soft press, soft press). I am very glad that 4Sevens went with an all metal button instead of a rubber boot, it gives this light a very unique character. The anodizing on this light is very well done and exudes quality. It has a texture you can't exactly feel but you can sense, almost like it's rubber coated. I do not think I have ever seen a piece of aluminum with better anodizing than my Preon. The price is amazingly low for 2 bodies, 2 clips, and the option of clicky or twisty.
If you are in the market for a new light with a cutting edge emitter, Quark has it in any battery type now. I have an Ra Twisty in the mail and these two lights have taken away a lot of the anticipation that the Ra Twisty had created.
A few simple beam shots. These were taken on the same settings on my camera, but it still adjust to the light and they all look the same brightness. This mostly shows that the two lights are somewhat similar in brightness and beam pattern. The Quark Mini123 is on the left and the Preon is on the right.
Both lights on High:
Both lights on Medium:
Both lights on Low:
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:sigh: Congrats on the lights though, always great to receive new gadgets
