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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Quark AA2 flashlight review and Pass Around
- Thread starter BushcraftBrainTrust
- Start date
Quark AA2
Specs: 2xAA batteries (0.9V~4.2V total), 5.8” long, 0.86” in diameter, 2.2 oz. heavy
Moonlight: 0.2 lumens, 30 days
Low: 3.5 lumens, 5 days
Medium: 18 lumens, 24 hours
High: 70 lumens, 5 hours
Max: 170 lumens, 1.3 hours
Strobe, ?, 2.5 hours
Beacon, ?, 18 hours
The AA2 is another great light. Its length allows it to be easily used as a kubotan/yawara, although I personally felt it was a little thin for this, and I have relatively small hands. It comes with a great bikini-style silicon hand strap. It is molded with "4Sevens" and "Hand Strap" and has 2 tubes at the ends for sliding over the ends of the flashlight that are 90 degrees to the center strap which gets wider where it goes over the back of your hand. Like the AA's "Finger Ring" this retention device was also very secure and did a great job of keeping the light attached to my hand and would also work for jogging, again as long as you don’t mind a sweaty hand. I think that I would have liked to have both styles of retention devices for this light, depending on my particular use for the light at that time (the hand strap is too long for use with the AA, but the finger ring should fit both). The hand strap allows you plenty of dexterity with your fingers if you need to do something, so the light isn’t really too much in the way when strapped to your hand. For self-defense the hand strap would be excellent, allowing the light to be used to temporarily blind someone, in place of a roll of quarters, to use either end to stab the eye to throat areas, to strike pressure points and also allowing you to use your fingers for eye strikes, etc., all without releasing the flashlight. My biggest complaint is that I sometimes had trouble clicking this one on in the position my hand was in at the time, so I would have to slightly change hand positions before I could turn it on, something I did not have a problem with with the AA. The "tactical" model addresses this problem by replacing the flat, recessed tail clicky with a rounded one that is not recessed, but then you lose the ability to tail stand this light for use as a lamp. I think with practice you can keep your hand in the correct position for reaching the recessed tail clicky that comes with this model.
All of the light power levels are the same as the AA except for the Max (and possibly the Strobe and Beacon, but this info is not published). When I compared it to my Task Force 2C, the AA2 was nearly as bright. The 2C is widely stated to be between 180 to 210 lumens, with mine being closer to the 180 lumen range, so the claimed 170 lumens of the AA2 is probably pretty accurate. The light quality of the AA2 is pretty white, so doesn’t enjoy the warmer yellow tint that some prefer for more color rendition accuracy. I’m perfectly okay with pure white. The AA2 has a very bright hot spot while still allowing a huge flood so it’s good for closer work as well as fairly far viewing. The 2C is a major thrower and far out threw the AA2, but doesn’t have the flood that the AA2 has. I would prefer the AA2’s flood for EDC use, but I really like the 2C for distance detail work, like in SAR. All of this is subjective and will be left to what the end user’s needs and preferences are.
As far as durability goes, the finish starting wearing off in all the regular areas, especially along corners and on the clip (something those of you who clip black-finished knives into their pockets are all too familiar with). I don’t think this light as a HAIII finish, which would have been nice, but would also bump the price up more. Typically I feel that HAIII is a requirement for a light, but I could overlook it for this light. Perhaps a brushed aluminum finish as an option would have been nice, as there’s nothing there to wear off so the light looks newer much longer. I purposefully did not do any durability testing as this was not my light to destroy, but I did drop this light by accident when I had it clipped to my belt and sat down. It dinged up a corner when it struck a rock, but this did not in any way effect the use of the light. Not exactly an endurance test, but at least a good sign. Again, I didn’t do any shock-resistance testing and do not know if these are usable as weapons lights.
If I remember correctly the batteries fit just a little loosely in the AA2, but fit snugly in the AA. Perhaps whoever has the light next can confirm this. I don’t like loose fitting batteries in a self-defense flashlight and I find it distracting. The extra space may be necessary to fit lithium and rechargeable batteries, which are sometimes larger in diameter. This doesn’t explain why the AA fit more snugly, so it is most likely a quality control issue.
For reasons I can’t explain I preferred the AA over the AA2. Perhaps it was because it disappeared in my hand or was easily forgotten clipped into my pocket, or maybe because it was just so darn cute, or maybe it was the fact that when I had it in my hands I could pretend to be a giant and would walk around kicking over my kids block cities ala Godzilla’s Tokyo and crushing their Little People like poor unsuspecting 1970's Japanese (we’ll discuss my wide array of psychological issues in a separate thread entitled “LOL, Do You Remember When Kage Tried To Take Over The World?”
. Despite my odd and disturbing preferences for the Quark AA, the AA2 just made more sense to me, especially when you compare the specs of the two lights. The AA2 is only 2 inches longer, but is the same diameter and weighs less than 2 ounces more. With those slight differences you get a light that has 80 lumens more power in Max mode, which is significant at longer distances, and you get considerably better burn times. I figured with twice the batteries you would get twice the run times, but instead you get 3 times the burn in Moonlight, 2.5 times the burn in Low, 4 times the burn in Medium, almost 2.5 times the burn in High, and slightly longer at Max, but with 80 lumens more power. Surprisingly Strobe and Beacon have the same stated run times, but I’m not sure why. Perhaps more power, but the times don’t match the other times. From a standpoint of monetary and power economy, there’s no reason to buy the AA over the AA2, unless the length is that much of an issue. There’s only a couple of dollars difference between them, but you get considerably more power and run time.
I was considering getting a Zebralight for my EDC headlamp, but I'm so impressed with these lights that I may skip that to save the weight of a defensive flashlight and a seperate headlamp and instead get the AA2 and a head strap for it. Two lights are better than one, but a limited budget and the desire to shed excess weight in my EDC may make this light the answer I'm looking for.
I would certainly recommend either of these lights to anybody looking for a good quality LED flashlight. The price may seem excessive to some, but to flashaholics in the know this light is priced fairly for what you get. They are feature-filled lights that have been well-thought out by a company that knows flashlights. The components are of the highest quality, the user interface is simple and not too gimmicky, the light seems built to last and the price is in line with others of this quality. What's not to like?
It's always fun to try out new toys and with flashlights, as it is with knives, they're more fun to play with than most things. I'm sure I missed some things, so I may chime in again later, but again I wanted to thank BBT for the chance to try out a great light.
Specs: 2xAA batteries (0.9V~4.2V total), 5.8” long, 0.86” in diameter, 2.2 oz. heavy
Moonlight: 0.2 lumens, 30 days
Low: 3.5 lumens, 5 days
Medium: 18 lumens, 24 hours
High: 70 lumens, 5 hours
Max: 170 lumens, 1.3 hours
Strobe, ?, 2.5 hours
Beacon, ?, 18 hours
The AA2 is another great light. Its length allows it to be easily used as a kubotan/yawara, although I personally felt it was a little thin for this, and I have relatively small hands. It comes with a great bikini-style silicon hand strap. It is molded with "4Sevens" and "Hand Strap" and has 2 tubes at the ends for sliding over the ends of the flashlight that are 90 degrees to the center strap which gets wider where it goes over the back of your hand. Like the AA's "Finger Ring" this retention device was also very secure and did a great job of keeping the light attached to my hand and would also work for jogging, again as long as you don’t mind a sweaty hand. I think that I would have liked to have both styles of retention devices for this light, depending on my particular use for the light at that time (the hand strap is too long for use with the AA, but the finger ring should fit both). The hand strap allows you plenty of dexterity with your fingers if you need to do something, so the light isn’t really too much in the way when strapped to your hand. For self-defense the hand strap would be excellent, allowing the light to be used to temporarily blind someone, in place of a roll of quarters, to use either end to stab the eye to throat areas, to strike pressure points and also allowing you to use your fingers for eye strikes, etc., all without releasing the flashlight. My biggest complaint is that I sometimes had trouble clicking this one on in the position my hand was in at the time, so I would have to slightly change hand positions before I could turn it on, something I did not have a problem with with the AA. The "tactical" model addresses this problem by replacing the flat, recessed tail clicky with a rounded one that is not recessed, but then you lose the ability to tail stand this light for use as a lamp. I think with practice you can keep your hand in the correct position for reaching the recessed tail clicky that comes with this model.
All of the light power levels are the same as the AA except for the Max (and possibly the Strobe and Beacon, but this info is not published). When I compared it to my Task Force 2C, the AA2 was nearly as bright. The 2C is widely stated to be between 180 to 210 lumens, with mine being closer to the 180 lumen range, so the claimed 170 lumens of the AA2 is probably pretty accurate. The light quality of the AA2 is pretty white, so doesn’t enjoy the warmer yellow tint that some prefer for more color rendition accuracy. I’m perfectly okay with pure white. The AA2 has a very bright hot spot while still allowing a huge flood so it’s good for closer work as well as fairly far viewing. The 2C is a major thrower and far out threw the AA2, but doesn’t have the flood that the AA2 has. I would prefer the AA2’s flood for EDC use, but I really like the 2C for distance detail work, like in SAR. All of this is subjective and will be left to what the end user’s needs and preferences are.
As far as durability goes, the finish starting wearing off in all the regular areas, especially along corners and on the clip (something those of you who clip black-finished knives into their pockets are all too familiar with). I don’t think this light as a HAIII finish, which would have been nice, but would also bump the price up more. Typically I feel that HAIII is a requirement for a light, but I could overlook it for this light. Perhaps a brushed aluminum finish as an option would have been nice, as there’s nothing there to wear off so the light looks newer much longer. I purposefully did not do any durability testing as this was not my light to destroy, but I did drop this light by accident when I had it clipped to my belt and sat down. It dinged up a corner when it struck a rock, but this did not in any way effect the use of the light. Not exactly an endurance test, but at least a good sign. Again, I didn’t do any shock-resistance testing and do not know if these are usable as weapons lights.
If I remember correctly the batteries fit just a little loosely in the AA2, but fit snugly in the AA. Perhaps whoever has the light next can confirm this. I don’t like loose fitting batteries in a self-defense flashlight and I find it distracting. The extra space may be necessary to fit lithium and rechargeable batteries, which are sometimes larger in diameter. This doesn’t explain why the AA fit more snugly, so it is most likely a quality control issue.
For reasons I can’t explain I preferred the AA over the AA2. Perhaps it was because it disappeared in my hand or was easily forgotten clipped into my pocket, or maybe because it was just so darn cute, or maybe it was the fact that when I had it in my hands I could pretend to be a giant and would walk around kicking over my kids block cities ala Godzilla’s Tokyo and crushing their Little People like poor unsuspecting 1970's Japanese (we’ll discuss my wide array of psychological issues in a separate thread entitled “LOL, Do You Remember When Kage Tried To Take Over The World?”
. Despite my odd and disturbing preferences for the Quark AA, the AA2 just made more sense to me, especially when you compare the specs of the two lights. The AA2 is only 2 inches longer, but is the same diameter and weighs less than 2 ounces more. With those slight differences you get a light that has 80 lumens more power in Max mode, which is significant at longer distances, and you get considerably better burn times. I figured with twice the batteries you would get twice the run times, but instead you get 3 times the burn in Moonlight, 2.5 times the burn in Low, 4 times the burn in Medium, almost 2.5 times the burn in High, and slightly longer at Max, but with 80 lumens more power. Surprisingly Strobe and Beacon have the same stated run times, but I’m not sure why. Perhaps more power, but the times don’t match the other times. From a standpoint of monetary and power economy, there’s no reason to buy the AA over the AA2, unless the length is that much of an issue. There’s only a couple of dollars difference between them, but you get considerably more power and run time.I was considering getting a Zebralight for my EDC headlamp, but I'm so impressed with these lights that I may skip that to save the weight of a defensive flashlight and a seperate headlamp and instead get the AA2 and a head strap for it. Two lights are better than one, but a limited budget and the desire to shed excess weight in my EDC may make this light the answer I'm looking for.
I would certainly recommend either of these lights to anybody looking for a good quality LED flashlight. The price may seem excessive to some, but to flashaholics in the know this light is priced fairly for what you get. They are feature-filled lights that have been well-thought out by a company that knows flashlights. The components are of the highest quality, the user interface is simple and not too gimmicky, the light seems built to last and the price is in line with others of this quality. What's not to like?
It's always fun to try out new toys and with flashlights, as it is with knives, they're more fun to play with than most things. I'm sure I missed some things, so I may chime in again later, but again I wanted to thank BBT for the chance to try out a great light.
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Many thanks! PM sent.
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- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 7,499
Ok. Just played around in the dark kitchen with a maglight, my fenix LP1, and these 2. I noticed the Quark AA2 has some dings on it, on both ends. Perhaps it wsa dropped? They do nothing to performance. it is easily the brightest small light I have ever held. I like my fenix the best for one-handed use--the button is easiest to click. One the downsided to that, if you replace the fenix in the inclued case, the light turns on with a slight bump and "poof" your batteries will soon be gone.
The Quark AA is approx the same size as the fenix, yet seems more robust and I like the clip a lot. I could get used to holding it differently in order to click the button. A downfall is the sensitivity of the button moving from steady beam to strobe feature.
The mag is the weakest of the group, but easiest to find-they are sold everywhere. Don't remember the model, it is the approx size of the AA2 and takes 2 AA batteries too. I have not converted it to LED (probably never will). I like it for mostly ease of use: I can hook it under my baseball cap tucked behind my ear for an improvised headlamp. I also have it taped so I can hold it with my teeth for hands free use.
Thanks for letting me play with these! Please send me the next person's address. I will put these to work a couple more days before mailing them. Where did you buy them?
The Quark AA is approx the same size as the fenix, yet seems more robust and I like the clip a lot. I could get used to holding it differently in order to click the button. A downfall is the sensitivity of the button moving from steady beam to strobe feature.
The mag is the weakest of the group, but easiest to find-they are sold everywhere. Don't remember the model, it is the approx size of the AA2 and takes 2 AA batteries too. I have not converted it to LED (probably never will). I like it for mostly ease of use: I can hook it under my baseball cap tucked behind my ear for an improvised headlamp. I also have it taped so I can hold it with my teeth for hands free use.
Thanks for letting me play with these! Please send me the next person's address. I will put these to work a couple more days before mailing them. Where did you buy them?
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I buy almost all my lights at 4Sevens.com. Good people, nice selection, and great prices.:thumbup:
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Rockwolf, Bear asked to do some drop tests (3-4' on concrete) on the Quark AA2, and with my permission did the tests. It passed.:thumbup:
No more drop tests though. I think it survived at least few years worth of simulated drops already.:thumbup:
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On its way to Garrett Schmidt.
- Joined
- May 17, 2006
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- 450
sweet....lookin forward to it....review to follow
- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 450
got them today....give me a few days of use to let yall know what I think....initial impression is good....very much like the fenix lights that I have or have seen....user interface is very similar except for the few more modes of operation thrown in....i think I am liking the larger one so far but that may change after a few days....too bad I am not going camping for a few weeks otherwise i would love to give the moonlight mode a try on an a few night trip to see if its worth having...at this point I would say it is....one other little quick thing: the diffuser tip for the fenix lights does fit on these lights...that is something I was wondering....the fit is tight but you could easily fix that with a few swipes of a file or dremel or something.....when I take some pics, I'll try to get some with it on....in the moonlight mode, the diffuser hardly lights up and that is something I think would be great in the tent as a "nightlight" so you can find the light in the dark....more to come...stay tuned
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Garrett PMed you candlelight001 address
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Here is the Pass Around list. Standard BF Pass Around rules apply. You will be receiving both the Quark AA2 and Quark AA lights to play with. If you could, can you post what you think of the lights (mini review). Please ship with delivery confirmation.
Thanks,
BBT
kage
redbeAR15
Rockywolf
Garrett Schmidt * lights are here
crm3137 (no address)
candlelight001
chickenplucker
Thanks,
BBT
kage
redbeAR15
Rockywolf
Garrett Schmidt * lights are here
crm3137 (no address)
candlelight001
chickenplucker
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2008
- Messages
- 764
Hey folks,
I'm headed out of town (wedding!, my own) on Wed, can you skip me in list until after September 1? Hate for it to get hung up on my end. If it's already en route I'll turn it around super quick. Thanks!
I'm headed out of town (wedding!, my own) on Wed, can you skip me in list until after September 1? Hate for it to get hung up on my end. If it's already en route I'll turn it around super quick. Thanks!
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Thanks for the heads up. They are going to chickenplucker tomorrow.
Just promise me there will be there will be no Moras or fire steels involved in the wedding. Save those for your first anniversary.:thumbup:
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chickenplucker should have it by Sat....will write a longer review later
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Got the package safely!:thumbup: