Short review of new quark 123 tac & 123sq turbo

[threeheadeddog]

Ok, I just recieved my Quark 123 tactical(1-123 battery) and Quark 123 squared turbo(2-123 batteries).

These lights are brand new so I have no idea of the robustness or durability of them.

I did put fresh batteries in both of them and my surefire x300 just to compare the light. I intended to make the 123 turbo my weaponlight on my rifle. Everything I say will refer to the Quarks on MAX leves which the manual states as 230 lumens for the Turbo and 205 lumens for the single cell 123 Tac.

Indoors.

Both the Quarks are noticeably brighter than the x300 indoors. Now forgive me as I dont know the correct "flashlight talk" to say what I am going to say right so just for the sake of argument I will refer to the bright spot in the middle of the beam as the "center" and the less bright area around it as the "outter beam".
The Quark turbo has a tighter center and a tighter outter beam than the x300. The center is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the x300 but tons brighter. The outter beam is more defined and does not simply fade into nothingness like the x300. The outter beam is quite litterly bright right up to the edge then nothing.
The Quark 123 Tac is, at indoor ranges of 15-20ft, essentially a X300on steriods. The center is about the same size the outter beam is about the same size but it fills the area with alot more light. Especially the outter beam. Again it has a definite edge to the outter beam.

Outdoors (distance was paced off at about 45 yards)

At these ranges the outter beam was not really as noticeable on any models. The 2-celled Turbo had a smaller inner beam than the x300. At 45y it was approx 15ft in diameter(also paced off). It was still Very bright in contrast to the x300 and there was no doubt that the light could be used for much further.
The 123 Tac was brighter but not as tight as the x300. The beam though was easliy 3x the area of the Turbo and about 2x that of the x300. The 123 Tac was much more capable of illuminating a large area than eigher of the others. It was also obvious that it was not going to go near as far as the Turbo though.

I ended up deciding to put the 123 tac on the rifle for now because it just light up a much greater area. I have a home on 2 acres and it was just fine for every bit of that. I will run the rifle like it is for a while though I may buy a Tac head for the Turbo or even a 2-cell tac just for the greater battery life.

Just for reverence the manual says the 230 lumen turbo is good for 1.8 hours and the 205 lumen 123 Tac is good for .8 hours.

I hope that I helped someone in reference to what kind of light these put out and I look forward to shooting my rifle(though likely not in next few weeks) and reporting back.

[cfulback32]

Thanks for the review!

I'm thinking about picking up the 1 cell one for a daily carry flashlight. Good to hear that it has some good spill and is nice and bright.

[PA1911]

Thanks for the great reviews, I have been thinking about upgrading my Fenix. Quarks seem like a great value

[Tango374]

Thanks and good job on the reviews

[militarymoron]

I hope that I helped someone in reference to what kind of light these put out and I look forward to shooting my rifle(though likely not in next few weeks) and reporting back.

thanks for posting the info, and do update this when you get to shoot the rifle with it. specifically, what i'm interested in hearing your opinion on is how a multiple mode light works for you vs. a simple single-mode weapon light with momentary-on (only) tailcap, and whether the recoil causes the head to rotate, since the quark 123 is programmed by rotating the head.
with the advances in technology, and continuing my search for smaller, lighter (and cheaper) alternatives for a carbine-mounted light, i've looked and tried a few different hand-held 'tactical' lights. i found that click-on tailcaps were a hinderance (depending on how sensitive the were), even those with momentary-on modes by pressing the tailcap lightly. i found that i'd press it too hard, and click it on. also, depending on the light, recoil can make it switch modes (for those that are controlled by clicking the tail cap), and loosen heads.
what i've hoped to find amongst the various single CR123 or AA battery lights is a less expensive equivalent to the surefire mini-scout light.

[Irish]

I recently received the Quark 123 Tactical as well. I was contemplating adding a mini-review but think I'll add on to your instead. The light is easy to program and takes only a couple of minutes to figure out the sequences. The "max" is very bright and I do not suggest looking into it ;) Also, do not place the light on strobe and point it at your wife, there are only 2 out comes. 1 she has an epileptic fit, which I damn near did, or 2 she hollers at you and either way the outcome isn't great, good thing mine's forgiving :D

Typically I think you're going to want to be using the "Max" mode and it lights up the place with aplomb. Not only will this blind the bad guy temporarily but it will also give you a great light to ID threats and your environment. I don't have much to compare it to other than a Surefire G2 Nitrolon and it crushes the SF in terms of brightness, "throw" and all those other fancy flashlight words.

The one thing I do not like about the 123 Tac is the clip and the way it mounts in the pocket. The clip itself seems sturdy, strong and I don't think I'll have any issues with it. What I don't like is the fact that it's bulb up and quite a bit sticks out of your pocket. I would definitely prefer bulb down and/or have it rest much lower in my pants pocket. If I can figure out a way to flip the clip and get a lower ride in my pocket I will be very happy with this very compact and powerful light that is relatively cheap compared to it's competitors.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7619/knife020.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2776/knife021.jpg

[Dennis]

thanks for posting the info, and do update this when you get to shoot the rifle with it. specifically, what i'm interested in hearing your opinion on is how a multiple mode light works for you vs. a simple single-mode weapon light with momentary-on (only) tailcap, and whether the recoil causes the head to rotate, since the quark 123 is programmed by rotating the head.
with the advances in technology, and continuing my search for smaller, lighter (and cheaper) alternatives for a carbine-mounted light, i've looked and tried a few different hand-held 'tactical' lights. i found that click-on tailcaps were a hinderance (depending on how sensitive the were), even those with momentary-on modes by pressing the tailcap lightly. i found that i'd press it too hard, and click it on. also, depending on the light, recoil can make it switch modes (for those that are controlled by clicking the tail cap), and loosen heads.
what i've hoped to find amongst the various single CR123 or AA battery lights is a less expensive equivalent to the surefire mini-scout light.

I have several Quarks and I seriously doubt recoil could twist the head, but I'll bring some to the next shoot for eval. I hear you on clicks being too easy to click, I prefer twisties for weapon use. I have actually had a Gladius mounted on my primary carbine for a couple years with no issues even though I started it out as a test. This has been shot at all the shoots and more and the mode switching is versatile and positive. I wish they would release more upgraded versions of the Gladius.

Dennis.

[threeheadeddog]

As far as the head turning under recoil. With the 123 tac it simply wont happen in the VTAC mount I am using because the clip is attached to the head of the light and is in a channel in the mount. This makes it only a 1 mode light if used like this.

I will also try the Turbo model in the mount and see if it has head turning issues. Also my intent is to use the 230 lumen and 80 lumen modes as the 2 selectable modes when mounted on the rifle.

[J_Dub_503]

The one thing I do not like about the 123 Tac is the clip and the way it mounts in the pocket. The clip itself seems sturdy, strong and I don't think I'll have any issues with it. What I don't like is the fact that it's bulb up and quite a bit sticks out of your pocket. I would definitely prefer bulb down and/or have it rest much lower in my pants pocket


I do believe that you can switch the bezel and the tailcap around if that helps you any. I don't know it will make it carry bulb down or not, but it's worth a try.

[UDT]

Thanks for the review!

[threeheadeddog]

For reference I still carry my 123 tac daily. It has been beaten and abused, I once even used the bulb end to beat weld spatter off a machine at work(for a minute or so before the "what the #$% am I doing" kicked in).

It does have a permanant clip(the 2 cell flashlights are reversable) that puts the flashlight in bulb up orientation in the pocket. I actually prefer that method as it makes it so that when I grab at the flashlight my thumb naturally goes in the pocket and rests on the clicky. For 1 cell flashlights I prefer bulb up now though I never figured I would. Also I have zero worries about the durability of the bulb end since like I said above I have beaten the piss out of it. It does have scratches and nicks but has always worked. Also since I only keep the flashlight in my front right pocket(an nothing els in that pocket) I now keep the lanyard attached to the light and stuffed in the pocket. This makes it much harded for me to loose the light(I lost it for about a week once and had to use my turbo for daily carry, I missed the 123 tack alot).

Just FYI, I bought my wife a preon a couple of months ago. I was very impressed with the brightness and will likely buy myself one as either a backup or replacement to the 123 tac for work carry. The preon was just exceptionally bright and the AAA'a would be easier to get work to pay for since I go through about 3-5 cr123's a month(and the guy who provides the batteries has only managed to swing 123's a couple of times for me). I have no idea on the preon's durability though because while I beat the crap out of my lights my wifes is usually sitting in the diaper bat next to the softest, fluffyest diapers she can find.

[Vic303]

Preon is a nice light too! Not for tac use obviously, but a great house light for general use. You can get the 2xAAA version and then buy the 1xAAA battery tube and be able to use either 1 or 2 batteries if you like. I did that with my Blue Preon, though it generally runs in 2xAAA mode as it is easier to find after the Monkeys get ahold of it and play with it.