70th Birthday gift for my Father.

Zen Ape · Mar 30, 2011

My Father is turning 70 this coming August and although I have a few things lined up, I'd like to give him something shiny and special that would see some practical use. The couple times I've seen him this last year (we are on opposite sides of the country) he has expressed interest with my Quark 123^2 and was blown away by how bright it was. He like most aren't used to seeing small pocketable lights putting out the same kind of light he used to see when he was a beat cop carrying a small club sized mag light.

I was thinking about something he might be able to EDC. I doubt he would carry it in his pocket, but he normally carries a small kit he would probably tuck it away in. I was also thinking Titanium just for cool factor, it is a special gift after all. The Quark Preon 2 in Ti came to mind. Something that could slip into a shirt pocket if needed, multiple settings and seems straight forward enough to not overly confuse an old man. ;-) So with these things in mind:

1. Must be Titanium
2. Must be something that could fit within EDC parameters.
3. Must take non rechargeable batteries. I don't want to send him down that road. I'm willing to send along a 20 pack of CR123's, but would prefer to keep it simple for him with AA or AAA.

Would love to know what others thought?

Thefo · Mar 30, 2011

How about the Quark Mini 123 TI, runs on 123 primaries (no leaking alkaline s to deal with and longer runtime), twist UI is super reliable and easy to use, easily slips into a shirt pocket, includes a nice adjustable lanyard, 180 OTF is nice and bright but the 3 OTF low mode is great for bathroom trips at night. I got one last Dec and use it all the time, it's a great little light.

srfreddy · Mar 30, 2011

Zen Ape said:
My Father is turning 70 this coming August and although I have a few things lined up, I'd like to give him something shiny and special that would see some practical use. The couple times I've seen him this last year (we are on opposite sides of the country) he has expressed interest with my Quark 123^2 and was blown away by how bright it was. He like most aren't used to seeing small pocketable lights putting out the same kind of light he used to see when he was a beat cop carrying a small club sized mag light.

I was thinking about something he might be able to EDC. I doubt he would carry it in his pocket, but he normally carries a small kit he would probably tuck it away in. I was also thinking Titanium just for cool factor, it is a special gift after all. The Quark Preon 2 in Ti came to mind. Something that could slip into a shirt pocket if needed, multiple settings and seems straight forward enough to not overly confuse an old man. ;-) So with these things in mind:

1. Must be Titanium
2. Must be something that could fit within EDC parameters.
3. Must take non rechargeable batteries. I don't want to send him down that road. I'm willing to send along a 20 pack of CR123's, but would prefer to keep it simple for him with AA or AAA.

Would love to know what others thought?

The Preon 2 sounds like a good option.

CarpentryHero · Mar 30, 2011

My dads only 64 and already fumbles with twist lights. Wasn't there a ti brushed turbo S2 or S3 from Quark?
That's a beauty

CarpentryHero · Mar 30, 2011

Quark 123 x2 turbo s3 titanium
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_427&products_id=2557

I apologize for postin the link but I'm unable to post pics From my phone

srfreddy · Mar 31, 2011

CarpentryHero said:
Quark 123 x2 turbo s3 titanium
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_427&products_id=2557

I apologize for postin the link but I'm unable to post pics From my phone

I think the UI would be a bit confusing, and the AAA batteries of the Preon would be easier for Dad to find.

CarpentryHero · Mar 31, 2011

If he's already eyeing up his sons light, maybe he understands the ui well enough, or would ask. Although if I had a choice id get my dad a tactical quark and program it for him

SeanHatfield · Mar 31, 2011

I'd think that people who are not used to high-output flashlights also never used a multi-mode flashlight. So brightness changing by just "turning it off and on again" would confuse the hell out of them.
So maybe a Quark Tactical interface is better. Just program it for "high" and "low" (or "turbo" and "low", or something), and let him use only those two modes. Chances are, two modes of a Quark will cover 100% of his uses.

Chevy-SS · Mar 31, 2011

SeanHatfield said:
I'd think that people who are not used to high-output flashlights also never used a multi-mode flashlight. So brightness changing by just "turning it off and on again" would confuse the hell out of them.
So maybe a Quark Tactical interface is better. Just program it for "high" and "low" (or "turbo" and "low", or something), and let him use only those two modes. Chances are, two modes of a Quark will cover 100% of his uses.

+1 - I think you are right on the money here. In the past 12 months, I gave away about 20 of the Quark AA*2 Tacticals to non-flashoholics and I would always pre-program them to hi-med. Everyone was very happy!

To the OP - I think your thoughts about a Preon2 are pretty good. I recently gave my father a Quark 123*2 Tactical (pre-set on hi/med) and he just loves that light. He usually carries it, though he did comment about it being a little big for pocket. So then I gave him a iTP EOS A3 Upgrade XP-G R5 (uses one AAA), and he put that on his keychain, so he has a light with him at all times now. Plus, the little iTP pumps out almost 100 lumens, so that is plenty for most folks.

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Zen Ape · Mar 31, 2011

Chevy-SS said:
+1 - I think you are right on the money here. In the past 12 months, I gave away about 20 of the Quark AA*2 Tacticals to non-flashoholics and I would always pre-program them to hi-med. Everyone was very happy!

To the OP - I think your thoughts about a Preon2 are pretty good. I recently gave my father a Quark 123*2 Tactical (pre-set on hi/med) and he just loves that light. He usually carries it, though he did comment about it being a little big for pocket. So then I gave him a iTP EOS A3 Upgrade XP-G R5 (uses one AAA), and he put that on his keychain, so he has a light with him at all times now. Plus, the little iTP pumps out almost 100 lumens, so that is plenty for most folks.

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Yeah the more and more I think about it, the more and more I'm leaning toward the Preon. I'll have it shipped to me so I can get the hang of it and then walk him through it. The Tactical sounds very nice though, will have to go to 4Sevens site and see if they offer it in a Ti. It would be my first experience with the Tactical UI though. Ultimately I would like him to have a very low low, a very high high, and a solid med which I'm sure he would use the majority of the time. I'm getting a little worried about all these comment about alkalines leaking though, and knowing he will play with the high I'm wondering how common a problem that might be and if my worries are valid.

Zeruel · Mar 31, 2011

Zen Ape said:
Yeah the more and more I think about it, the more and more I'm leaning toward the Preon. I'll have it shipped to me so I can get the hang of it and then walk him through it. The Tactical sounds very nice though, will have to go to 4Sevens site and see if they offer it in a Ti. It would be my first experience with the Tactical UI though. Ultimately I would like him to have a very low low, a very high high, and a solid med which I'm sure he would use the majority of the time. I'm getting a little worried about all these comment about alkalines leaking though, and knowing he will play with the high I'm wondering how common a problem that might be and if my worries are valid.

Comparing to Quark 123x2 Tactical, Quark AA Tactical is an alternative for a smaller edc package. Pre-setting for him is a piece of cake, just twist the head 4 times consecutively starting from a loose (to set the loose head mode) or a tightened head (to set the tightened head mode). Your worry about alkalines is not unfounded, they leak especially if the equipment you're using with them is not being used constantly. Prior to CPF, I've to dump 2 Maglites because the alkalines leaked and jammed themselves in the body tube, which made them almost impossible to remove. Go for Energizer Lithium, a great and safer option if he's not using rechargeables, they're more expensive but for good reasons.

Zen Ape · Apr 1, 2011

Zeruel said:
Go for Energizer Lithium, a great and safer option if he's not using rechargeables, they're more expensive but for good reasons.

Love the fact that I can learn something new every day around here. I had no idea these were even an option. If I go with the Preon, I'll send a long an 8 pack with instructions to use the Energizer Advanced or Ultimate Lithium batteries only. Thanks for the great tip!

srfreddy · Apr 1, 2011

Zen Ape said:
Love the fact that I can learn something new every day around here. I had no idea these were even an option. If I go with the Preon, I'll send a long an 8 pack with instructions to use the Energizer Advanced or Ultimate Lithium batteries only. Thanks for the great tip!

FYI, if you've got a big lots near you, they're supposed to be selling 4 packs of AAA ultimates for $5.

70th Birthday gift for my Father.

Zen Ape

Newly Enlightened

Thefo

Newly Enlightened

srfreddy

Enlightened

CarpentryHero

Flashlight Enthusiast

CarpentryHero

Flashlight Enthusiast

srfreddy

Enlightened

CarpentryHero

Flashlight Enthusiast

SeanHatfield

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Chevy-SS

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Zen Ape

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Zeruel

Flashlight Enthusiast

Zen Ape

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srfreddy

Enlightened

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