Not Impressed by the 4Sevens Quark123^2

Zippokovich

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
14
I'm still only verging on a torch collector - owning 3 good quality large torches, 2 good quality keyring ones and 2 mag-lights.



But my latest purchase, a Quark123^2, disappointed me.



Its bright sure and has plenty of modes but for running 123 primaries its not noticeably brighter than my Nitecore D20 Q5 running on lithium AAs. It is smaller and lighter than the D20 but that's not really an issue to me and the Quark feel really thin for its weight saving which makes it feel insubstantial and fragile (in comparison)



Then there is the beams - the Quark is strongly focused on spill which is ok, its not ideal at all times but you can't fault it on a choice factor like that. What annoys me more is the beam pattern. A lot I read about the Quark was 'perfectly centred LED' and 'artifact free beam' but I have a test for beam patterns - I shine the torch at the ceiling and rotate the torch - if the pattern is perfect i shouldn't see any movement. In the Quark I do - its hot spot, though diffused and harder to see, is not perfectly spherical.



However that is a very minor complaint - what isn't is the UIs. The Quark's inst bad but it has problems - the special modes are to easily accessed and get in the way of the normal modes cycle - I would prefer a more conventional 'hidden system'. The UI also lacks a memory - it should ether come on in the mode you turned it off in, or the tactical version should be able to cycle like normal but should always come on in the mode you choose - that would be perfect.



However even with that it can't compete in my opinion with the PD system - you can easily get to min and max and choose the level you want and crucially it remembers where you set it! There are no flashing modes but I don't need them.



In the end the D20 was cheaper (albeit on sale), its a length i like more, its weightier, it feels sturdier, its beam is better, its UI is better for me and it's fit and finish is just of a higher quality.



This isn't indicative of 4sevens ether - I also bought a Preon Revo SS at the same time and that is superb quality, right up there with the D20 - its pretty much faultless.



So yeh this isn't a complaint its just a personal commentary on a torch I didn't think lived up to the hype. Its not a bad torch at all and some criticisms are personal opinion - but this isn't the jesus torch I thought it would be :p
 
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