I'm a big fan of 4Sevens' lights, and just 4Sevens as a company. They're small, American owned, use honest lumens ratings (OTF, and more recently ANSI, instead of the industry standard emitter lumen ratings that inflate the capabilities of the lights), and they have fantastic customer service and after-sale service. They've revolutionized what a flashlight is, putting such revolutionary ideas as a moonlight mode (usually around 0.2 lumen and lasting anywhere from 15-33 days on constantly, depending on the light and number of cells). They've also pushed the envelope with their programming, making LEDs work harder and smarter.
The light this review is concerned with is the 4Sevens Quark 123² Turbo (S2 Version). The S2 version of this light is estimated (by 4Sevens) to be 7% brighter than the comparable R5 version. The limited run S3 versions (of which there are only two, both with brushed titanium bodies: a Mini 123 and this model, the Quark 123² Turbo) is a further 7% brighter than this model.
The body is anodized aluminum (type III), and features a deeper head than the regular Quark models. It has a smooth aluminum reflector in lieu of 4Sevens' traditional (and fantastic) orange peel. The LED is perfectly centered and the lens is high quality glass with anti-reflective coating.
Here is the smooth reflector next to a Quark 123² Tactical (warm white).
Overall, the light feels solid as a rock. The squared threads (more reliable, more expensive) are smooth, but came gritty in the box. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; every light I've ever bought has come with gritty threads. Stripping new lights of their grease and applying a bit of Hoppe's gun oil to them is standard practice for me now.
The light features a forward clicky (momentary on, full click for constant light), that is fairly stiff compared to my Olight T20. This isn't a surprise though, considering that this light was build with tactical situations in mind. Wouldn't want to accidentally actuate that switch with Nazi zombies bearing down on you, would you?
The UI is of 4Sevens' tactical variety (exactly the same as their Tactical models). 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).
There's been a lot of talk in the flashlight community about the S2's green tint. It's still a very white light, but as you might have seen in my tint comparison post.
Here it is as compared to several other differently tinted lights.
As you can see, it's green. Oddly enough this doesn't detract from it being usable in everyday tasks (much like cheap LEDs' blue tint doesn't keep them from being useful). It's merely a matter of what's pleasing to the eyes.
When my Turbo arrived I was taken aback by how darned small it is. The pictures of the light by itself make it look very big.
There are plenty of run time data out there for this light and I'm not rich enough to put it through its paces on every mode. Suffice it to say that this light is incredibly efficient, owing to both the software and the hardware. My year and a half year old Olight T20 has a high mode of 220 emitter lumens (around 170 OTF). This light features an ANSI rating of 200 lumens. Considering that the R5 version featured 230 OTF lumens, and that the S2 is 7% brighter than the R5, we can guesstimate that this light is putting out around 246 OTF lumens. So, 170 for the Olight and 246 for the Turbo. The Olight burns on high for about an hour and a half. The Turbo's run time on high? Two and a half hours. Coupled with its ability to run for 33 days on moonlight mode...
Yeah, this light's efficient.
You can get it for around $80, less if you're willing to look.
I purchased mine from GoingGear.com. I highly recommend them.
If you're looking for a bright, reliable, efficient, stylish, tough light that's as versatile as can be, then this just might be your light.
The light this review is concerned with is the 4Sevens Quark 123² Turbo (S2 Version). The S2 version of this light is estimated (by 4Sevens) to be 7% brighter than the comparable R5 version. The limited run S3 versions (of which there are only two, both with brushed titanium bodies: a Mini 123 and this model, the Quark 123² Turbo) is a further 7% brighter than this model.
The body is anodized aluminum (type III), and features a deeper head than the regular Quark models. It has a smooth aluminum reflector in lieu of 4Sevens' traditional (and fantastic) orange peel. The LED is perfectly centered and the lens is high quality glass with anti-reflective coating.
Here is the smooth reflector next to a Quark 123² Tactical (warm white).
Overall, the light feels solid as a rock. The squared threads (more reliable, more expensive) are smooth, but came gritty in the box. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; every light I've ever bought has come with gritty threads. Stripping new lights of their grease and applying a bit of Hoppe's gun oil to them is standard practice for me now.
The light features a forward clicky (momentary on, full click for constant light), that is fairly stiff compared to my Olight T20. This isn't a surprise though, considering that this light was build with tactical situations in mind. Wouldn't want to accidentally actuate that switch with Nazi zombies bearing down on you, would you?
The UI is of 4Sevens' tactical variety (exactly the same as their Tactical models). 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).
There's been a lot of talk in the flashlight community about the S2's green tint. It's still a very white light, but as you might have seen in my tint comparison post.
Here it is as compared to several other differently tinted lights.
As you can see, it's green. Oddly enough this doesn't detract from it being usable in everyday tasks (much like cheap LEDs' blue tint doesn't keep them from being useful). It's merely a matter of what's pleasing to the eyes.
When my Turbo arrived I was taken aback by how darned small it is. The pictures of the light by itself make it look very big.
There are plenty of run time data out there for this light and I'm not rich enough to put it through its paces on every mode. Suffice it to say that this light is incredibly efficient, owing to both the software and the hardware. My year and a half year old Olight T20 has a high mode of 220 emitter lumens (around 170 OTF). This light features an ANSI rating of 200 lumens. Considering that the R5 version featured 230 OTF lumens, and that the S2 is 7% brighter than the R5, we can guesstimate that this light is putting out around 246 OTF lumens. So, 170 for the Olight and 246 for the Turbo. The Olight burns on high for about an hour and a half. The Turbo's run time on high? Two and a half hours. Coupled with its ability to run for 33 days on moonlight mode...
Yeah, this light's efficient.
You can get it for around $80, less if you're willing to look.
I purchased mine from GoingGear.com. I highly recommend them.
If you're looking for a bright, reliable, efficient, stylish, tough light that's as versatile as can be, then this just might be your light.
