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Body: Keeping with the same clean cylindrical design concept, the battery tube is totally covered in knurling on its exterior. The entire light is coated in black Type 3 anodizing which is consistent throughout. Unlike the other models in the current Quark series, there is no clip attached to the Quark 123. The interior diameter of the battery tube accommodates most of the supported battery types easily accept for protected 16340 and CR123 cells. The threads on either end of the battery tube are well cut and mate nicely with those on the head and tail cap. The Quarks are advertised as having square-cut threads, though they're rather fine and you probably won't notice the difference to regular threads, unlike those on the recent JETBeam's for example. There are also rubber o-rings placed behind the threads for water resistance. The tail cap houses a reverse push button switch in the case of the regular version of the Quark CR123. The switching mechanism has average tension and travel. It provides a positive tactile feedback when fully engaged. The rubber switch cap sits recessed within the tail cap with this regular version, so tail standing is possible. There are holes machined into the tail cap for lanyard attachments as well. The rubber hand grip attachment allows the light to be held while allowing your fingers to be free for use.
Bezel/Head:The Quark series of flashlights are the initial offering by relatively new manufacturer 4Sevens. The current line of Quarks are available in either regular or tactical versions. The light reviewed here is the Quark 123 Regular. Right up the front is a smooth bezel. An sapphire-coated impact-resistant lens sits slightly recessed within the bezel. Behind the lens is a medium-textured which has a very well-polished surface finish with no flaws or blemished to be found. The LED sits perfectly aligned at the bottom of the reflector cup. Looking in from the rear, the battery contact points on the PCB can be seen. There is a physical reverse polarity protection design implemented by means of two raised crescent-shaped surfaces. The exterior of the head has a plain cylindrical shape with no unnecessary aesthetic machining. A large area of its surface is covered by a band of diamond-textured knurling which provides good grip and allows for easy twists of the head.
Output:The Quark CR123 Regular provides 5 modes with the head loosened and 2 modes with it tightened. Cycling through the output modes is done by half-pressing the switch and is similar to those of some Fenix flashlights.
Tightened head:
Maximum > Strobe
The beam profile has a medium sized hot spot tapering smoothly towards the corona. Between the Low to High output levels, the beam has an almost perfectly white tint when compared to sunlight, but there is a slight tint shift towards the cool side when running the light on maximum output level. The Quark CR123 is advertised to output a maximum of 170 lumens, tests done with this review sample produced a peak of 181 lumens. The electronics does an excellent job at regulating output on all battery configuration supported as can be seen from the runtime graphs below, while providing good runtimes as well. Which ever battery configuration you decide to use, you can expect relatively good performance.
Output modes are as follows:
Off > Moonlight (0.5 lumens) > Low (3 lumens) > Medium (18 lumens) > High (80 lumens) > Max (181 lumens) > SOS
Runtime Plot: Runtime with a CR123 and 16340
are shown below.
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Batteries
|
Level
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Runtime
|
Percentage
|
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1x 16340 750mAh
|
Maximum
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34 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x 16340 750mAh
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High
|
2 hrs 19 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x 16340 750mAh
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Medium
|
11 hrs 09 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x 16340 750mAh
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Low
|
~ 2.5 days
|
50 %
|
|
1x 16340 750mAh
|
Moonnight
|
~ 15 days
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50 %
|
|
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
|
Maximum
|
1 hrs 01 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
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High
|
4 hrs 54 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
|
Medium
|
29 hrs 20 mins
|
50 %
|
|
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
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Low
|
~ 2.5 days
|
50 %
|
|
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
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Moonnight
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~ 15 days
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50 %
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Switch: The switch is a rubber covered textured
clickie and is fully recessed in the tailcap which allows
the light to stand on end and be used as an electric
candle. Despite the fact that the switch is recessed,
it is very easy to use. Click on, click off, press for
momentary, twist to change output from bright to dim,
and back again. The dimming system is very unique, using
a piston-like ring inside the tailcap to change output.
Conclusions:The Good - Clean and compact body design. Well-designed pocket clip. Well regulated output performance on all supported battery types.
The Bad - Nothing significant.
The Relative - Beam has a neutral white tint, accept on Max level which shifts slightly to a cooler tint. Uses a reverse push button. Is able to tail stand.
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