Customer Reviews

4Sevens Quark 123 LED Flashlight - R5 Edition

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered my Quark 123 after watching Nutnfancy's review at the Shotshow 2010.

First off, what a great little light it is ! Very lightweight and compact. The modes are easy to select...Click it on and then gently tap the on/off button to toggle through them. Tighten the front end all the way down and you have access to Turbo-bright mode - and Self Defense Strobe !

Loosen the front 1/2 turn for more precise lighting such as Moonlight, Low, Med, High, SOS, Low-Strobe - very versatile little Light !

Pros:
-Price is reasonable for how versatile and bright it is.
-Moonlight mode is a must have, make sure the model you choose has it.
-Comes with a nice Lanyard.
-Comes with a battery.
-Waterproof and O-ring sealed on each end, also comes with extra O-rings.
-Extremely versatile, lightweight, and compact.
-Absolutely perfect as an everyday carry light.

Cons:
-belt clip is very stiff and makes screwing the flashlight back together difficult.
-Included sheath is worthless, the top strap is way too firm for the amount of Velcro that's included. (needs 50% more to hook to)
-Sheath has a ring to attach to something, but no belt loop?
-The threads are not annodized.
-The rubber-band finger attachment is just silly, if it had some rotation to it - could be useful...but it doesn't so I threw it away along with the sheath.

My Verdict:
-Buy the Quark 123, or it's bigger brothers, maks sure you get moonlight mode!
-Four 7's needs to enhance the Sheath and finger attachment, or leave them out entirely - and lower the price.

The Quark (4sevens) 123 comes in both a tactical (with a protruding clickie switch) and non-tactical (reverse clickie) version. I generally prefer non-tactical flashlights due to the fact that they can act as electronic candles and stand on end.

The Tactical Quark 123 is a great performing light but the BIG difference is in its user interface. Most of today's lights from either Olight, Fenix, Nightcore etc... have the same basic multi-level brightness interface. With the light on, just tap the clickie softly to advance to the next level. Very simple. With the tactical Quark however, it's more confusing. In general operation you'll need to "program" 2 of its brightness levels. With the light turned on, this is (often) awkwardly accomplished by quickly twisting the bezel (head) 4x and stopping with either the head tightened or loosened-- ie; memory spot 1 and 2. After a few seconds the light blinks. You switch it off/on quickly to THEN cycle through the lumen levels by clicking the switch on/off until you get to see the various levels. When you get to the one you desire, you stop... and wait for the light to blink which signifies that the level is "locked-in". Then do the same for the next desired setting. Then each time the light is turned on, it will ONLY work on the 2 levels you've programmed...with the bezel either tightened or loosened. If you don't like a setting, you must go through the above described ritual again. That's what I dislike about the tactical operation.

Meanwhile the standard version works like most others. Use whatever level of brightness you want at any time, including the emergency modes... strobe, sos and beacon. Much more flexible in my mind.

The beams of both versions have a yellowish tint, expecially on the lower and mid-modes.

The lumen levels are all useful in their own ways. "Moon mode" is the dimmist setting of ANY flashlight I've ever seen!-- at less than 1 lumen. Then there's low, medium, high and super-high (170 lumens). I actually think this light (on high) seems a tad brighter than both the Fenix P2D & P3D (the latter being rated for 215 lumens!)

On moon-mode, runtime is about 15 days. The highest setting will give you light for about an hour (and the light will get HOT if left on!!) Uses only 1- CR123 battery.

The 4 stars is a combined rating. I give the tactical 3 stars and the standard 5 stars.

One LED. Brightest on the market. Period

I give a big F-U to surefire and their outrageous prices. I use Streamlight on my firearms and the Quark series for my pocket lights. They blind, they stun, they do everything a light is suppose to. Did I mention they have strobe?

The small frame Quark 123 is the perfect size flashlight to carry in your pocket daily.

Though this flashlight is tiny, not a lot bigger than the AA battery that powers it, it feels incredibly solid. Every element is "heavy duty" it seems. The various settings let you set it for very low to very bright. I use the very low setting to be able to see when I go to bed without disturbing my wife, who is usually already asleep. Looking forward to camping, when I can turn it up very bright!