Opinions/Recommendations Quark 123² R2//SF 6PX

Hi Folks,

Let me preface by saying this light will be my first and only for a while. When I first began reading here I became infatuated with getting a SF (E1B or E2DL) and however solid they may be - the price isn't working for me.

My main uses will be 1) Walking my dog at night, 2) Lighting up a large dooryard (throw is important) looking for Bear/Skunk/Unwanted people, 3) Blinding a possible attacker (~150/200 lumen high mode)

Now, I really want a pocket clip on my flashlight, this means a lot to me as I will EDC the light. I also would like to spend less than $80/$100 max. I want dual-mode and I would like high to last for approx.. 2 hours.

I was impressed by being able to own a SF 6PX for $80, but it's a tad larger than an EDC light w/ no pocket clip.

As I began expanding my horizons past SF, I found the Quark 123² R2 which appears to be a really awesome light and matches what I wanted in the E1B, but in my price range.

Can anyone validate my opinions on this Quark light or suggest a reasonable alternative?

Thanks!
Rhon

Nitelight,

The Quark is a very solid choice. My honest opinion is that the single cell versions or the 2xAA are better choices simply because you buy one and then buy just the bodies and end up with a seriously flexible light that will run on almost any battery type. The output differences will be nil on the high end.

If there are any further doubts about the Quark, check out my thread here to see what the can do at their lowest levels... something else to consider when the power goes out.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3519028#post3519028

The bottom line: They are extremely capable lights for the money and there is no reason not to consider one as an EDC, it will do all you're asking of it above.

I personally like the tactical interface, but that's just me. Hope this helps.

Darvis

Alright, so you got me thinking and looking into the Quark AA² R5 Edition. I had never even considered a AA model flashlight, I assumed that LED's were better flashlights and likewise CR123's produced better lighting.

Can you/anyone say good things about the R5? Batteries would surely be cheaper.

Not to change the topic or start a flame war, but is the only point in a CR123 battery simply the size and it produces a similar power to the AA?

Thanks!
Rhon

The CR123 produces roughly twice as much power as an AA.

carrot said:

The CR123 produces roughly twice as much power as an AA.

Click to expand...

I don't think its quite as harsh as that.
In fact they are pretty much on par. If you are talking about NiMh then maybe.

Energiser L91 AA - 1.5v with 2900mAh = 4350mWh
vs
3.0v and 1500mAh = 4500mWh

carrot said:

The CR123 produces roughly twice as much power as an AA.

Click to expand...

"Power" yes, but perhaps not twice the runtime or twice the brightness in real life applications.

Thanks for the information guys.

Can anyone say good things about either the Quark 123x2 or AAx2?

-Rhon

I just got the 123-2 tactical and I am returning it because of the very bright preflash in Low. I used it last night walking the dogs, using High to see ahead and Low for close-up. Not all the time, but a lot of the time on Low, the light will flash like a camera when you turn it on. This seems to be something inherent to the tactical models. When you're aiming the light at your feet, you don't want a flash that bright. Otherwise it is almost a perfect light for me.

Also the 123-2 uses a higher voltage head (3-9V) so be aware of that if you plan on using it to lego with other bodies (0.9-4.2V). All of them work fine with 1 li-ion cell, but the 123-2 won't be regulated for most of the time (not a big deal IMO).

Can I use the AAx2 head with a 123x2 or 123 body while using normal everyday C123 batteries? The 4Sevens website says to use a 3.7v battery.

Thanks!
Rhon

Update: I called 4Sevens and they said I could buy the 123x2 light and a AAx2 body and would be fine to run either respective battery style, is this correct?

jsalmika said:

"Power" yes, but perhaps not twice the runtime or twice the brightness in real life applications.

Click to expand...

Offering twice the voltage makes for a more efficient driver, or a driver that can push the LED harder, especially in their respective cell configurations.

One only really need to look at the Quark Mini 123 and AA and AA^2 -- they all use the same driver, but the 123 is more than twice as bright as the AA, and about on par with the AA^2. But really, any 1.5-4.7v driver will demonstrate this. The Quarks are just the most common example these days.

It does not matter whether you use AA lithium primary or AA NiMH or AA alkaline from a maximum output perspective. Since we are theorizing about the effectiveness of the form factor, we can simply take the best voltage output we can expect, which is a nominal 1.7 (from lithium primaries). Additionally, consider that an AA lithium primary has a very similar discharge curve to 123 primaries, and relatively similar capacities.

However, the main difference is the lower voltage (1.7 vs 3.0) and that makes all the difference for high output lights. In order to step up the voltage to the Vin of a typical power LED, a driver for 1xAA must boost the voltage to around 3V, so to run the LED at 1A (3W) it needs to pull at least 1.76A from the battery (assuming 100% driver efficiency for simplicity) whereas the driver for 1x123 needn't bother boosting the voltage at all, so it can draw 1A from the battery (again, assuming 100% driver efficiency). As a generalization, the higher A you draw from a battery, the less efficient the battery is, since batteries perform best under lower draws. Since pulling 1.76A from a battery is generally a lot to ask, it's pretty unreasonable to expect equal output AND runtime from an AA when compared to a 123, despite the case that a simple Watt-hours comparison shows they are on equal footing.

A couple of things:

First off, this is a critical point made by brted:

"Also the 123-2 uses a higher voltage head (3-9V) so be aware of that if you plan on using it to lego with other bodies (0.9-4.2V). All of them work fine with 1 li-ion cell, but the 123-2 won't be regulated for most of the time (not a big deal IMO)"

Any of these models: 1xAA, 1x123, 2xAA can interchange bodies and be expected to run within the regulation parameters, making for a vary flexible light should you want the option of multiple battery types. For under $100.00, you end up with, essentially, three light types that cover most battery scenarios and light (length) sizes.

Yes, the 2x123 module has the advantage of increased output, but you lose some of that regualted flexibility and (and this is my opinion only) you save some money since you're not using 2 relatively expensive cr123 primaries. That, and I am just not a fan of double 123 lights due to the need to be extra careful about the cells matching from a voltage perspective. Again, not a big deal, but something one has to be aware of when feeding the light.

The single cell versions help to eliminate this concern and for dual cell lights, I prefer the double NiMh chemistry over that of the lithium

Preflash is the one bugger about this light for me, every one of my tactical lights has the low mode pre-flash, hence the reason why I chose other lights for my EDC. However, the Quarks do not have pre-flash on High if that's the mode you use most.

That said, I would never part with the Quarks simply because of their lego-ability and insane, and I mean, INSANE runtimes in moon mode.

As for the XP-E vs XP-G, to me, the beam profiles, outputs, and runtimes are so close that I would not take one over the other. If the XP-G R5 is the model you have your sights on, it will be as good as any other.

BTW, based on your price point, you might do well spending some time in the LED B/S/T forum. For your range, or perhaps a few bucks more, you may be able to score a very capable Surefire L1 or maybe even an HDS/Ra Clicky...

The HDS is quite the light (perhaps my all-time favorite) and the L1 is one of my EDC rotation lights just because of it's exceptional build and beam profile and awesome UI. I think it's the best surefire model I've ever used. I usually leave the house with one of each and a 47's ReVo as my "holy trinity" of lights.

Nitelight said:

Can I use the AAx2 head with a 123x2 or 123 body while using normal everyday C123 batteries? The 4Sevens website says to use a 3.7v battery.

Thanks!
Rhon

Update: I called 4Sevens and they said I could buy the 123x2 light and a AAx2 body and would be fine to run either respective battery style, is this correct?

Click to expand...

You may not use the 2xAA head on a 2x123 body. All AA compatible heads in the Quark lineup accept a maximum voltage of 4.2v. Using 2x123 (two primaries) is 2x3.0v which is 6.0v, you will burn out the electronics.

The only exception to the case is when you use a 2x123-sized single lithium-ion rechargeable, which is about 4.2v. Such a battery is known to us as the 17670.

However, the input voltage of the 2x123 head is 3.0-9.0v. It will be able to run on both 2x123 and 2xAA just fine, although performance on alkalines is most likely to be sub-par in comparison to the AA head. You will want to use lithium primaries or rechargeable NiMH or rechargeable lithium-ion.

However, you can use the low voltage head (2xAA) on a 1x123 body. It's perfectly safe and in fact the Quark 123 comes exactly this head.

In other words, 47s customer service is exactly right.

The 6PX Pro is not a modular light.
The Quark Tactical lights are. If you buy the AA2 light and decide you want to use CR123a batteries you just need to buy a 1 X CR123a body for it. Likewise, you can get a shorter 1 X AA body for it (with lesser output and run times) or the bigger 18650 body for it. Another advantage of the Tactical series of lights from Quark is that you can program the different modes to different brightness levels so you're not locked in to 15/200 lumens like you would be with the 6PXP. The 6PXP has to be turned on, off, then on again to get to high while the Tactical just needs you to tighten the head (or loosen if you programmed it that way) and then turn it on. Easy.

Hello all, it could be that I'm tired and up late (12:21am), but it seems some people say you can use different power sources for the Quark Tactical head, and some say you can't. I was going to buy the 123x2 tactical R5. But then after reading the beginning of this thread I was almost going to get the AA version and get a body for the 123x2. But they some say you can't run 2 123's in the AA versions. Has anyone actually tried the different bodies with the different heads? I will probably want the most power possible, but the option of switching to AA's if I have no 123's is appealing.

carrot said:

However, the input voltage of the 2x123 head is 3.0-9.0v. It will be able to run on both 2x123 and 2xAA just fine, although performance on alkalines is most likely to be sub-par in comparison to the AA head. You will want to use lithium primaries or rechargeable NiMH or rechargeable lithium-ion.

In other words, 47s customer service is exactly right.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the clearest answer, Carrot. I ended up pulling the trigger on the 123-2 R5. I'll pick up the AA-2 body a bit later. Thanks for the help all!

-Rhon

BFG1997 said:

Hello all, it could be that I'm tired and up late (12:21am), but it seems some people say you can use different power sources for the Quark Tactical head, and some say you can't. I was going to buy the 123x2 tactical R5. But then after reading the beginning of this thread I was almost going to get the AA version and get a body for the 123x2. But they some say you can't run 2 123's in the AA versions. Has anyone actually tried the different bodies with the different heads? I will probably want the most power possible, but the option of switching to AA's if I have no 123's is appealing.

Click to expand...

There are, essentially, two different heads: one rated for 0.9-4.2V and the other rated for 3.0-9.0V. The 123-2 light comes with the latter while all of rest of the line comes with the former. If you buy any version of this light other than the 123-2 then you can run any battery combination except for 2 X CR123a. If you get the 123-2 then you can run any battery combination other than 1 X AA but keep in mind that 2 X AA is already borderline as far as voltage is concerned and you probably won't get full output or it won't last very long if you do.

If you got the 2x123 light and head, you could use a 2AA body for it. But not the other way around. If you put 2x123 body on a 2AA head you would burn it out because the 2AA isn't made to take the voltage. The 2x123 head can easily take the 2AA voltage.

However, either the 2AA or 2x123 lights are going to be a little big for edc. At least they are for me. While I don't edc my 2AA Quark, I do have a 1AA body for it if I do. I think this may be the best route for you. The 2AA puts out more than enough light (200+ lumens) and if you want to edc you can just change out the body for a single AA. If you go with a 14500 you will still have the power of the 2AA also.

1xAA (Alkaline,Nimh,Energizer Lithium) nominal volt = 1.5 volt
1XCR123 (non rechargeable ) nominal volt volt = 3 volt

AA head volt range = 0.9 - 4.2 volt
123 head volt range = 3 - 9 volt

The basic drill is battery volt must not exceed head volt. If battery volt exceed head volt, you'll burn the flashlight driver or probably the LED.

The only Quark I really like is the 123 X 2. It is not only the brightest but I think you have the best shot at a non-greenish tint (I'm not a big fan of greenish light). My 123 X 2 R5 has a nice white tint. My 123 X 1 is greenish. I also have a neutral white 123 X 2 and it is very nice too. Not as bright as the R5 but a little more throw and really nice tint. Anyway, great choice IMO. EZ to pocket carry and really lights your path. 4Sevens gives great customer service too.

I got my 123-2 in the mail an hour ago. The light on it is very white and extremely bright. 230 lumens is a killer. I ordered this Thursday afternoon at 11am and paid for the $5 priority shipping. Great service from 4Sevens.

To note an above comment, I do not think the 123-2 is too big for pocket carry at all! I have it in my pocket now and can't even tell it's there. Thing is only 4.5 inches. Same size as the E1B just about.

Can't wait for it to get dark. Long walk tonight with the pups.

Thanks for the help everyone!