QUARK PRE-FLASH.......CURED!!?? WHAT!!??

Is it true?

Well I got my Quark 123x2 Turbo X yesterday, and THERE IS NO SIGN OF A PRE-FLASH AT ALL. I have used every setting dozens of times, and there is no hint of pre-flash on any of the levels. Even when I go from max to moonlight. Even when I turn it on in max then turn it off then twist the head & turn it back on in moonlight. Even when I go from max to low...or to medium - no pre-flash. Even when I turn it on in max then off for several minutes then twist the head & turn it on in moonlight...no pre-flash. Even when I use CR123's or when I use RCR123's. This thing even has the tactical UI. I say that because my quarks with the tactical UI seem to have worse pre-flash than my quarks with the regular UI.

As far as I know 4sevens has made no announcement regarding this found cure, and they haven't released any reports to the medical community detailing missions of going deep into the African jungles or voyages into the abyss of the Pacific looking for this cure. But here we are.....cured. So could this mean that all of the future quarks will be cured? I don't know, but sure looks promising.

A word on this new light - the Quark 123x2 Turbo X. What a cool & different light. It has a tiny body with a big ol head, and looks really cool to me. It legos with all my other quarks - Quark AA, AA2, 123, 123x2, 18650 body, and all my switches (reverse clickies & tactical clickies & of course the turbo clickies.) This thing looks hilarious on a 123 body & a AA body, but very very cool. It seems to be best balanced on the (soon to be discontinued) 18650 body. But, my favorite is the body it came on - the 123x2 turbo body. Very compact & very powerful.

It throws very well and is bright for such a small light sporting the XM-L LED (450 OTF lumens.) It was comparable to my EagleTac M3C4 single XM-L on high (level 4, not max). It does not throw as well as the EagleTac, but competes with it a lot better than I would have thought. It also has better spill than I would have thought, and a tighter hot spot than expected. Outstanding light!

BUT, the most unexpected thing about the Turbo X is that - THERE'S NO PRE-FLASH!

Here's some pics...

Below is the Quark 123x2 Turbo X next to a AA battery


Below is the Turbo X head on an 18650 body with a Flat Turbo Tailcap (sold seperately at 4sevens)


Below is the Turbo X head on the 18650 body tail standing (with the Flat Tailcap)


Below is the Turbo X head on a Quark AA body with the deep carry pocket clip. (This is my EDC light, but normally with a regular R5 head...so the light is a little worn.) Because of the large head & short AA body the deep carry pocket clip flexes out a bit. Probably would be best without a clip in this configuration.


Sorry I didn't have any of my other quarks with me for more photos (I'm at my office & the rest of my lights are at home.) But, I checked them last night, and they all fit this head, and work fine so long as I'm using Li-ion batteries. Voltage range on this light is 3.0v - 9.0v, so two AA batteries would not work. The higher voltage li-ions work great though, even on a single cell.

David at 4sevens posted some photos of the Turbo X head on a 123 body on this thread...very cool - ClickHere

Are there any other "new generation" Quarks out there that have been cured of pre-flash?

nice review! nice to hear about the "pre-flash" solution! too bad the quark AA2 i got recently still has the pre-flash. maybe that model starts the "cured" quarks. i noticed you use li-ions, have you tried two 14500's in an AA2 body driving this head?

please let us know how bright it is or just let us know which configuration and li-ion batt drives this new head to max lumens!

roadkill1109 said:

nice review! nice to hear about the "pre-flash" solution! too bad the quark AA2 i got recently still has the pre-flash. maybe that model starts the "cured" quarks. i noticed you use li-ions, have you tried two 14500's in an AA2 body driving this head?

please let us know how bright it is or just let us know which configuration and li-ion batt drives this new head to max lumens!

Click to expand...

I tried out all the options last night & it worked on 2 14500's in my AA2 tube. It, as mentioned, worked on 2 rcr123's, and worked on one 18650 no problem. The output looked to be about the same to me, but I didn't have side by side comparisons. It makes sense (to me anyway) that it would be a little brighter & may have better regulation with two cells, but I have no way of confirming this.

The only think I have'nt tried is using one 17670 Li-ion in the 123x2 tube. When I bought it 4sevens told me that those don't usually fit, but others said all you need to do is peal off the white sticker on the outside of the battery to get it to fit....will still be snug tho. So, I ordered a couple & will hopefully get them today to try it out.

This is such a cool light, and a perfect addition to my quark collection.

Outdoorsman5 said:

I tried out all the options last night & it worked on 2 14500's in my AA2 tube. It, as mentioned, worked on 2 rcr123's, and worked on one 18650 no problem. The output looked to be about the same to me, but I didn't have side by side comparisons. It makes sense (to me anyway) that it would be a little brighter & may have better regulation with two cells, but I have no way of confirming this.

The only think I have'nt tried is using one 17670 Li-ion in the 123x2 tube. When I bought it 4sevens told me that those don't usually fit, but others said all you need to do is peal off the white sticker on the outside of the battery to get it to fit....will still be snug tho. So, I ordered a couple & will hopefully get them today to try it out.

This is such a cool light, and a perfect addition to my quark collection.

Click to expand...

Yeah you said it, i think i'll order mine too. This will make a fantastic EDC! Oh yeah, what holster did this come with? is it any good?

roadkill1109 said:

Yeah you said it, i think i'll order mine too. This will make a fantastic EDC! Oh yeah, what holster did this come with? is it any good?

Click to expand...

The holster is the same quality & design as the other quark holsters, just a little wider. You put the light into the holster tail down. It's a good fit. The bottom half is narrow enough to grip the light and then there is enough room up top to accommodate the larger head. The flap wraps around easily & is held down by velcro.

Outdoorsman5 said:

The holster is the same quality & design as the other quark holsters, just a little wider. You put the light into the holster tail down. It's a good fit. The bottom half is narrow enough to grip the light and then there is enough room up top to accommodate the larger head. The flap wraps around easily & is held down by velcro.

Click to expand...

Thanks man! Can't wait to receive mine! wooot!

Thanks Outdoorsman5. Great to hear all about the TurboX... I really want one even though the Quark S2s are bright enough for my needs. Promising news about the preflash too. I've got used to it, and it's not a huge problem because I don't use moonlight, but still, with such nice lights, why not have NO problems?

CR123 said:

Thanks Outdoorsman5. Great to hear all about the TurboX... I really want one even though the Quark S2s are bright enough for my needs. Promising news about the preflash too. I've got used to it, and it's not a huge problem because I don't use moonlight, but still, with such nice lights, why not have NO problems?

Click to expand...

hehe, just for kicks, i looked straight at my S2's LED, which i leave on moonlight the entire night, press the button, then BAM! now i have a big black spot in the middle of my eyes, THANK YOU PREFLASH! hahaha

CR123 said:

Thanks Outdoorsman5. Great to hear all about the TurboX... I really want one even though the Quark S2s are bright enough for my needs. Promising news about the preflash too. I've got used to it, and it's not a huge problem because I don't use moonlight, but still, with such nice lights, why not have NO problems?

Click to expand...

What!!?? U don't use moonlight?? What kind of flashoholic are u?Lol
Can't live without moonmode!!!

Thanks Outdoorsman5 for the mini review and pics! Awesome stuff. I really like the looks of this little light, but I just got an EagleTac T20C2 MK II and have both the old and the new HO XM-L modules for it. But I really like my Quark123x2 Turbo S3 Ti model so I'm just gonna have to break down and get one of these! Really looks great! Appreciate the time you took for this. Thanks again! (my wallet however isn't saying a word. What's it's problem?))

I think they should apply the "cure" to all the new Quarks sold and offer a discount on the ones in stock that still have this issue. I have 5 Quarks and it only bothers me in the tactical model but I'd love an option to have it "fixed".

I would be very hesitant to make that proclamation based on one sample. It's well known that the pre-flash varies wildly from "blinding" to "non-existent"(depending on who you talk to).

That said, I hope you're right.(If only to silence the complainers ;p)

At the very least, I'm happy you got the latter version.

preflash had never really bothered me on my quarks, even though I'd think it would if I had never tried one. Still would be good news if gone for good.

...and thank you for the pictures and lego advice, invaluable. I'd like to try two 14500 in a 2AA tube.

Does it fit in the holster with the 18650 tube without any issues? Would the 2AA tube with tac tail fit?

Preflash isn't occurring on my Quark Tactical if I set the lower mode on the "loose bezel".

I get less flash if I reverse that. At first I thought it was cured when I switched from tight = high to loose = high but back again with a vengeance. It's just annoying but it makes it seem like a less than highest quality product.

Nokoff said:

preflash had never really bothered me on my quarks, even though I'd think it would if I had never tried one. Still would be good news if gone for good.

...and thank you for the pictures and lego advice, invaluable. I'd like to try two 14500 in a 2AA tube.

Does it fit in the holster with the 18650 tube without any issues? Would the 2AA tube with tac tail fit?

Click to expand...

It does fit. I put the Quark 123x2 Turbo X head in all of these configurations and each of these works - 1x123 tube using rcr123, 2x123 tube using two rcr123's and the 17670 fit as well, 1xAA tube using a 14500, AAx2 tube using two 14500's, and the 18650 body using one 18650 or one 17670 or even two rcr123's. Also, all tail switches lego with this light. I tried a quark line reverse clicky & forward clicky, and they both fit. And, of course the turbo forward clicky works and the turbo "Flat" forward clicky works.

I have not tried to holster the light with the 18650 tube. I have the light with me now, but left my 18650 tube & holster at home. Will check this evening.

Something I wanted to mention on this thread. I took the Turbo X out with me on my run this morning before the sun came up. I also took my Olight M30 with me as well. The Olight M30 has similar lumen ratings (700 lumens at the emitter & 520 OTF.) These lights look almost the same on max except the Turbo X throws a good bit better. I have loved my Olight M30 the most because it is so small & compact. I still chose it over my EagleTac M3C4 single XM-L light on a trip recently just because the olight is so small. BUT, this Turbo X blows me away because it is practically the same out put with better throw and HALF THE SIZE!! I can't believe it, and had no idea this thing was going to perform so well. To date, this is one of the coolest lights on the planet IMO.

I like numbers. I'll be happy to read what the lux @ 1m is.

I'd love to know the lux too, this is the first thrower I've bought in 6 months
I was going for all flood for the last while. There's a few buildings were 100 feet is needed.
Plus I've wanted a moonlight mode / and ack my eyes mode in a single light for awhile now
I ordered mine the Saturday I got the newsletter, so should come in the male soon

Thanks for going through all the body styles :thumbsup: I love Lego, I have a Quark AA and ordered the 18650 body recently. I also own the Quark neutral 123x2