Quark durability?

I was lucky enough to pick up a Quark AA regular S2 on a fire sale for $28 bucks! I received the light today and have been playing with it all night. Its really a great little piece, the tint and modes are ideal for me as an EDC. I was curious as to the durability of this line of lights. I'm military and in combat arms, I carry sure surefire E2L-AA as well, but I do like this for the size and modes.

I have been beatin the hell out of mine for 3 yrs and still going strong. I'm a former MARINE so I'm not real easy on tools. The ten year warranty just makes you want to use it alot. Enjoy and be safe out there.

Not sure about the AA Regular but the Quark 123 is one of the toughest little light I've ever owned. Was my EDC for two years and i've dropped it on concrete, bricks, rocks from various heights from a couple of feet to a three storey building. Lens is still intact, a fair bit of the anodizing has come off and there is a slight dent, but it's still going strong.

BIG45-70 said:

I was lucky enough to pick up a Quark AA regular S2 on a fire sale for $28 bucks! I received the light today and have been playing with it all night. Its really a great little piece, the tint and modes are ideal for me as an EDC. I was curious as to the durability of this line of lights. I'm military and in combat arms, I carry sure surefire E2L-AA as well, but I do like this for the size and modes.

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I have an exact same model, and for the last three years, it has never left my pocket (except to be used) and has taken a lot beating. Swimming (yup, many times) Dropped many times. If you use it hard, make sure to clean the o-rings, it accumulates a lot of dirt over time, then lubricate them with silicon-based grease to keep it water tight!

Make sure to pop in a 14500 cell!

Not convinced? Check out the nutnfancy reviews on youtube on these quarks.

Great to know! I threw a 14500 in and its a sweet little pocket rocket and retains the low. This is the first light I've bought in some time that I haven't been disappointed with.

5 Quarks including a AA, and have not had any issues with them 3+ years of use on the AA and AA^2.

No problems with any of mine (5 personal, + ~dozen gifted)

I'm collecting 1x AA/14500 lights with efficient sub-lumen and single digit lows which I find perfect for camping. All things considered, including manufacturer integrity, warranty, and customer service, I have not found anything that can topple my FourSevens Quarks.

My Quark mini 123 has been dived with to 5 meters (yes, I know I should get a dive light), dropped many times, and lost in the woods for more than a month.
I have also left it running for 20 minutes unattended with an rcr123a in it; burned my hand when picking it up.
through all of this it still works as well as the day I got it. Quarks (especially minis) are some of the toughest lights on the market.

dropped mine off the roof (on concrete), it only scratched the paint.

It was dropped in pool 12 ft deep for a good day and a half (didnt feel like diving down to get it in 60 degrees, i fished it with a brand new net which hadnt been replaced yet when i dropped the light). No water got inside it.

Dropped onto concrete and hard tile on numerous occasions.

left it on car roof and it survived a 25 mile an hour drop to dirt and rock.

Basically just the black paint coming off with some scratches.Light is steal going strong. Only thing id advise is if your going diving with it is put some Teflon tape (that you you on threaded pipes) and put it on the square threads and wrap 4 or 5 times. Those o rings are probably the point of failure if it did go deep under water. im not sure what youd do for the actual head... maybe put the flashlight in a ziplock and use a food sealer to get that sealed good.

Sometimes it amazes me to read about so many here with zero issues on their Quarks whereas my friends and I have faced some issues with it. I still love my Quark lights but I never really placed my full confidence in them. They are still nice lights to play with and I enjoy every moment I have had with my Quarks, just never had full confidence with them that's all.

Well, my Quark X AA Tactical is still ticking after all the stuff I threw at it.

And, believe me, I'm quite harsh on my lights.

Everything I've seen and read suggests that Quarks can take a lot of abuse. They're not indestructible like Surefire or HDS lights, but they're certainly better than average in that department.

Sure there may be some problems every now and then, but rare do they come up with lemons or bad eggs. I have a Turbo X which i wrote to them asking why it didnt seem as bright on turbo running on two CR123's, they sent me a replacement head at no extra charge! (And in not even living in the continental USA)

I also had a problem (it would turn on and off then wouldnt turn on) with my AA2 Turbo which i bought during the clearance sale at going gear, it was probably just due to the fact that the light had been sitting in their inventory for so long, I just had to clean the contacts.... VOILA! Good as new.

I now just wish Dave would sell XPG2 heads separately... I dont need another AA2 tube EGAD! Please Please sell the heads separately! It's still R5's up to now..... egad! :'(

pjandyho said:

Sometimes it amazes me to read about so many here with zero issues on their Quarks whereas my friends and I have faced some issues with it. I still love my Quark lights but I never really placed my full confidence in them. They are still nice lights to play with and I enjoy every moment I have had with my Quarks, just never had full confidence with them that's all.

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The problems I have with Quarks are the one that arrived dead. 4Sevens quickly replace those. Otherwise, the ones that works probably have more abuse than my HDS clicky.

I own six different models and have never had problems with any of them. I've taken my Quark Q P2L and Mini CR2 caving a few times and they've come back out just fine!

I have a quark cr2 on my keys (house and car) so it gets based around in my pocket and draw everyday. Its been to the snow with me twice (camping a week in back country both times) and is currently doing a tour of Thailand with girlfriend and I. Needless to say its chipped and scratch to hell and back yet functions perfectly. Its my favourite light but by far the cheapest I own. Love it.

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I've only had great experiences with four FourSevens lights. This is not universally true though.

Quarks are great beater lights. My first was a 2AA XP-E Tactical which now resides in my BOB for its sheer durability. I have three other Quarks that have all performed flawlessly. The only 4sevens light that failed was a mini AA that got dropped countless times on concrete.

My current EDC is a QT2L I've had for a few months now. It's a great light a d my only regret is I didn't buy two when they were on sale.

A quark light...every flashaholic should own one! hehehe

The only issue I have had with my Quarks is with the retaining ring on one or two tail caps. The retaining ring will loosen just enough to make connection sporadic. The first time it happened I thought I had a faulty light, then I thought to check the tail cap with some small needle nose pliers. It only turned the slightest amount but that was enough to restore good contact. The tail cap tool in the extra boot kit they sell works great and is a lot more convenient to carry than the pliers.