Ah, the wonders of LEDs. When they first made their way to flashlights we were amazed at how bright and efficient they were, and how smooth the beam could be. We loved them, though a distinction quickly grew between the newer hotshot LED lights and the older incandescents: the color of the light produced. We realized that, perhaps through years of incandescent conditioning or even eons of seeing color by the light of the sun, LEDs looked like crap.
Cold, sterile crap.
But here were are in 2011, and partners, it's a new day.
This is the 4Sevens Quark 123² Tactical with a warm white Cree XP-G (Q5).
It features an anodized aluminum (type III) body, sapphire and anti-reflective coated glass lens, forward clicky tail switch, and a wonderfully warm tint.
It's compact, light, and easy to carry as an EDC light.
Max output is rated at around 160 lumens (out the front ratings, not emitter4Sevens doesn't roll that way), and the lowest low (called the "moonlight" mode) is a smooth 0.15 lumen.
There were two different bins of warm LEDs used in this run of these lights. One was a rosy, reddish-tinged yellow and the other was an orangish yellow. This light is the former.
First, a little bit about LED color.
Most white LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a phosphor coating on top that converts a portion of the blue wavelength light into different colors. The converted wavelengths of light and the portion of the blue light that remains blue comes out and our eyes see white light. The more phosphor you apply to the blue LED, the "warmer" the light appears to our eyes. The drawback: the more phosphor on the LED, the less output it will have.
I can demonstrate the phosphor deposited on the LED by exposing it to UV light.
Under normal sunlight:
Exposed to UV light:
Regular "cool white" LEDs also fluoresce when exposed to UV light, but they usually just turn a sort of light pink color. The warm white LED turns a vibrant dark pink.
XP-G S2 cool white on the right (the light pink of the regular LED doesn't show up in the picture):
Back to the light.
It's a 4Sevens, so it oozes quality. The anodizing is perfect and everything is tight. It features squared threads that will be smoother and last longer. The LED is perfectly centered within the reflector. Regulation is great, and the light is very thrifty with batteries. It uses CR123s (see my SureFire 6P review for instructions on getting them on the cheap).
The light features a forward clicky (momentary on, full click for constant light).
The UI is of 4Sevens' tactical variety. There are two settings that you can save at any given time, and you assign the mode to those two settings: head tightened and head loosened.
To program the light you need to turn it on (full click or hold at half-click) and twist the head from tight to loose (or loose to tight, it doesn't matter; this isn't rocket science) and stop on the position you wish to program (tightened or loosened head). The light will flash several times, then go directly to the moonlight mode. To cycle through the modes you need to turn the light off and then back on.
The order of the modes is:
Moonlight > Low > Medium > High > Turbo > S.O.S. > Strobe > Beacon
Stop on the one you want (if you overshoot it you can go back through them) and wait ten seconds. The light will flash again and your mode will be set.
I keep mine set at moonlight (head loosened) and turbo (head tightened).
The beam quality is superb. This light is not a dedicated thrower, but it can still reach out there. The reflector features an orange peel texture.
The tint compared to the XP-G S2:
Some more tint shots:
This light has become my EDC light, replacing my Olight T20-M.
Critiques:
As with all Quark lights, it's supposed to be current regulated in all modes. This means that it shouldn't exhibit any PWM (a cheaper, less efficient way to regulate lower levels) flickering at lower levels.
Well, mine does. In fact, every one of my 4Sevens lights do on at least one level: this light on levels 2 and 3, my Quark 123² Turbo on level 2, and my Quark RGB on moonlight. It's not really detrimental, but it still irks me since they're all supposed to be fully current regulated.
Other than the PWM use I have no other critiques.
This light is tough, reliable, bright, efficient, stylish, easy to carry, and has a great warranty and a great company backing it.
Cold, sterile crap.
But here were are in 2011, and partners, it's a new day.
This is the 4Sevens Quark 123² Tactical with a warm white Cree XP-G (Q5).
It features an anodized aluminum (type III) body, sapphire and anti-reflective coated glass lens, forward clicky tail switch, and a wonderfully warm tint.
It's compact, light, and easy to carry as an EDC light.
Max output is rated at around 160 lumens (out the front ratings, not emitter4Sevens doesn't roll that way), and the lowest low (called the "moonlight" mode) is a smooth 0.15 lumen.
There were two different bins of warm LEDs used in this run of these lights. One was a rosy, reddish-tinged yellow and the other was an orangish yellow. This light is the former.
First, a little bit about LED color.
Most white LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a phosphor coating on top that converts a portion of the blue wavelength light into different colors. The converted wavelengths of light and the portion of the blue light that remains blue comes out and our eyes see white light. The more phosphor you apply to the blue LED, the "warmer" the light appears to our eyes. The drawback: the more phosphor on the LED, the less output it will have.
I can demonstrate the phosphor deposited on the LED by exposing it to UV light.
Under normal sunlight:
Exposed to UV light:
Regular "cool white" LEDs also fluoresce when exposed to UV light, but they usually just turn a sort of light pink color. The warm white LED turns a vibrant dark pink.
XP-G S2 cool white on the right (the light pink of the regular LED doesn't show up in the picture):
Back to the light.
It's a 4Sevens, so it oozes quality. The anodizing is perfect and everything is tight. It features squared threads that will be smoother and last longer. The LED is perfectly centered within the reflector. Regulation is great, and the light is very thrifty with batteries. It uses CR123s (see my SureFire 6P review for instructions on getting them on the cheap).
The light features a forward clicky (momentary on, full click for constant light).
The UI is of 4Sevens' tactical variety. There are two settings that you can save at any given time, and you assign the mode to those two settings: head tightened and head loosened.
To program the light you need to turn it on (full click or hold at half-click) and twist the head from tight to loose (or loose to tight, it doesn't matter; this isn't rocket science) and stop on the position you wish to program (tightened or loosened head). The light will flash several times, then go directly to the moonlight mode. To cycle through the modes you need to turn the light off and then back on.
The order of the modes is:
Moonlight > Low > Medium > High > Turbo > S.O.S. > Strobe > Beacon
Stop on the one you want (if you overshoot it you can go back through them) and wait ten seconds. The light will flash again and your mode will be set.
I keep mine set at moonlight (head loosened) and turbo (head tightened).
The beam quality is superb. This light is not a dedicated thrower, but it can still reach out there. The reflector features an orange peel texture.
The tint compared to the XP-G S2:
Some more tint shots:
This light has become my EDC light, replacing my Olight T20-M.
Critiques:
As with all Quark lights, it's supposed to be current regulated in all modes. This means that it shouldn't exhibit any PWM (a cheaper, less efficient way to regulate lower levels) flickering at lower levels.
Well, mine does. In fact, every one of my 4Sevens lights do on at least one level: this light on levels 2 and 3, my Quark 123² Turbo on level 2, and my Quark RGB on moonlight. It's not really detrimental, but it still irks me since they're all supposed to be fully current regulated.
Other than the PWM use I have no other critiques.
This light is tough, reliable, bright, efficient, stylish, easy to carry, and has a great warranty and a great company backing it.
