New Quark AA Tactical Impressions

Got it today and am impressed. Beautiful packaging, but now to the good stuff.
Pluses:
Bright light(compared to what I am used to)
Small and light. Disappears in pocket.
Clickie is crisp and smooth.
UI not too complicated.

Minuses:
Nothing to speak of yet.

Overall I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Would recommend this light for anyone looking for a 2 mode programmable light.

I'm curious, if you can't think of any cons, why 4.5/5?

Thanks for the input, I'll be getting a regular here pretty soon (pending I get my paycheck in a timely fashion )

Glad you're enjoying it. In my opinion, the Quark Tactical UI is one of the best out there - very flexible to fit your individual needs, yet requiring no fiddling around with modes and levels once it's programmed how you want it.

lunchboxtheman said:

I'm curious, if you can't think of any cons, why 4.5/5?

Thanks for the input, I'll be getting a regular here pretty soon (pending I get my paycheck in a timely fashion )

Click to expand...

Not sure why, first impressions great flashlight but not the "perfect" one. Hope this makes sense.

PeaceOfMind said:

Glad you're enjoying it. In my opinion, the Quark Tactical UI is one of the best out there - very flexible to fit your individual needs, yet requiring no fiddling around with modes and levels once it's programmed how you want it.

Click to expand...

+1 The tactical UI really appeals to me personally.

-Mayo

I really like the Quark Tactical as well being able to program my own settings has become something I really look for in a new light. The only thing I don't like about the Tacticals is I like 3 modes a hi/med and low. With the Quark Tactical I can only have two of the three, in the future I would love to see a 3 mode programmable Quark like the Jetbeam IBS or something similar to it.

How about tightened head program-loosen head program just like the current models and then add another programmable mode by loosening the head a little more.

jhc37013 said:

How about tightened head program-loosen head program just like the current models and then add another programmable mode by loosening the head a little more.

Click to expand...

That is impossible with the current design, because, inside the head, where the circuit board contacts the body, is a copper trace that tells the light if it is tightened or loosened. When the head is loosened, the contact doesn't make contact with the body, which tells the IC that the head is loosened, and to switch to the mode that is saved for that setting.

Back on topic,

I myself LOVE the tactical interface. I hate having to cycle through modes to get to what I want. With my 2 Quarks, I leave it set to turbo on head tightened, and high on head loosened, unless I need another mode for whatever reason.

~Brian

bstrickler said:

That is impossible with the current design, because, inside the head, where the circuit board contacts the body, is a copper trace that tells the light if it is tightened or loosened. When the head is loosened, the contact doesn't make contact with the body, which tells the IC that the head is loosened, and to switch to the mode that is saved for that setting.

Back on topic,


~Brian

Click to expand...

I'm not so sure we got off topic, the thread is Quark AA impressions followed by a bit of talk about the UI.

As far has the loosen the head I was thinking future Quark design and the Maelstrom design is what got me thinking about it.

lunchboxtheman said:

I'm curious, if you can't think of any cons, why 4.5/5?

Thanks for the input, I'll be getting a regular here pretty soon (pending I get my paycheck in a timely fashion )

Click to expand...

Maybe the weight. Some said it was a bit heavy.

dealgrabber2002 said:

Maybe the weight. Some said it was a bit heavy.

Click to expand...

A bit heavy compared to what? A feather?

the.Mtn.Man said:

A bit heavy compared to what? A feather?

Click to expand...

Yes feather. jk... comparing to other AA lights like Mini AA, ITP A2.

Hey OP,
You'll be very happy with that light. I've been running mine since Christmas and it's a near perfect EDC. I recommend low/high or med/max brightness combos

dealgrabber2002 said:

Yes feather. jk... comparing to other AA lights like Mini AA, ITP A2.

Click to expand...

Yep it will be big and heavy compared to those. But in an absolute sense it's light, I never feel mine while carrying and it's more fairly compared to the full size AA lights like the LD10.

dealgrabber2002 said:

Yes feather. jk... comparing to other AA lights like Mini AA, ITP A2.

Click to expand...

I know, I was being tongue-in-cheek.

Anyway, I'm not sure the Quark AA could be any smaller and lighter while still having the same features, but it's not exactly a boat anchor as it is.

If it was not designed to lego with other Quark parts they could probably take down the diameter a good bit but this is to keep compatibility with 17/16mm cell bodies.

jhc37013 said:

I really like the Quark Tactical as well being able to program my own settings has become something I really look for in a new light. The only thing I don't like about the Tacticals is I like 3 modes a hi/med and low. With the Quark Tactical I can only have two of the three, in the future I would love to see a 3 mode programmable Quark like the Jetbeam IBS or something similar to it.

How about tightened head program-loosen head program just like the current models and then add another programmable mode by loosening the head a little more.

Click to expand...

bstrickler said:

That is impossible with the current design, because, inside the head, where the circuit board contacts the body, is a copper trace that tells the light if it is tightened or loosened. When the head is loosened, the contact doesn't make contact with the body, which tells the IC that the head is loosened, and to switch to the mode that is saved for that setting.

Click to expand...

I think a possible improvement to the UI to allow 3 programmed modes without changing the physical design would be to have one mode programmed for head tightened, and two modes programmed for head loosened. The two loosened modes could by cycled between really quickly by turning off and on (not nearly as painful as trying to cycle through a huge number of modes - it would be more of a Surefire E-Series feel with the head loosened, except with modes of your choice). This way you could have one choice of a "main" level that can be accessed with no clicking around, and two more "secondary" modes that can be selected with pretty minimal work.

I like the "tighten the head for one selected mode and loosen the head for all of them" approach.

I bought one of these for my cousin and he loves everything about it other than that I gave him two bad NiMH cells and no charger with it.

Just got a 2AAT-NW in the mail yesterday, so my first impressions:

Good:
- the 2AA body is a good length
- Turbo is a great brightness and the neutral is a gorgeous tint
- beamshot is flawless like all Quarks
- price is amazing for what you're getting

Bad:
- the inside of the body opposite the threads has chipped anodizing all the way around:


- the positive contact has chipped plating on it:


Interestingly, I just received a QminiAA-NW, and it also has the weird chipped contact in the head. My older QminiAA-WW (on the left below) does not:


None of these are deal-breakers mind you, I still love the lights immensely. I just get the impression after inspecting my newest NW lights vs. my older ones that build quality has changed a little. This being my first tactical UI light, I love the interface, it's perfect. Will be picking up tactical heads for myself whenever possible from now on.

calipsoii said:

Interestingly, I just received a QminiAA-NW, and it also has the weird chipped contact in the head.

Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I notice the same thing here. Mine came in the mail yesterday (QMiNi AA NW), and close inspection reveals that the gold-colored plating has the "chipped" appearance around the edge, as if the plating wasn't spread evenly across the entire surface of the contact, though it's not nearly as extreme as yours; just a thin ring of exposed metal around the perimeter. The light functions perfectly, so I'm not going to worry about it, but it does appear to be a quality control issue (either that or a cost savings one: less material in the lights means lower manufacturing costs, spread across several thousand lights and it could add up to significant savings).

Edit: Although looking at the photos in this review, posted in January 2010, I'm seeing similar "chipping" on the positive contact, so it appears that the MiNis have always been like that.