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Packaging

Contents
1x 4Sevens Quark MiNi CR123 warm-White
1x Lanyard
1x 4Sevens CR123 battery
1x Spare rubber o-ring
1x Instruction sheet

Construction

As the MiNi CR123 warm is essentially identical to the regular CR123 aside from the LED's color tint, this section is taken from the earlier review.

The Quark MiNi CR123, just as its name implies, is very small and light weight. It's made of aluminum and coated in black Type 3 anodizing. The head has a pretty simple design with a smooth bezel. Behind this is an AR-coated sapphire lens which allows better light transmission as compared to regular glass. A lightly textured reflectors focuses light from the LED which sits well-centered at the bottom of the reflector cup. The coating on the reflector is nicely polished and consistent with no noticeable flaws. The exterior of the head is mostly covered in diamond-textured knurling which provides ample grip which is good since the light is twist-activated. Viewed from the rear you can see the PCB with electrical contacts for the battery.

The battery tube continues its simple, cylindrical design. It's almost totally covered in knurling on the exterior, with a slightly raised section towards the rear end. There is also a small lanyard hole at the tail end for lanyard attachments. The flat end also allows the light to tail stand easily with no problems. Threads between the head and tail cap mate well and smoothly, no cross-threading or squeaking was experienced during testing. A well-lubricated rubber o-ring sits just behind the threads which provides a moisture seal. On the inside, the battery tube is cleanly finished and has a spring contact at the bottom which prevents the battery from rattling when the head is loosened while switched off.

If you're unfamiliar with any of the terms used in this review, click here for explanations on common flashlight related vocabulary.


Output

The MiNi CR123 provides a total of 7 modes of output. From off position, switching it on presents the low output level. Subsequent off/on twists of the head within 2 seconds cycles through medium then high output levels. The remaining 4 output modes are strobe, S.O.S., beacon (hi) and beacon (lo). These are activated by going through 2 cycles of the low, medium and high output levels. So an overall sequence available is as follows:

Off > Low > Medium > High > Low > Medium > High > Strobe > S.O.S. > Beacon (Hi) > Beacon (Lo)

Take note that there is no memory functionality so it will always revert to the low output mode first after the light is left off for anything more than 2 seconds.

Beam profile provided produces a medium sized hot spot with a smooth corona tapering off to its spill beam. The beam is clean with no noticeable artifacts. As it's name implies, color tint is of a warm white which should help with better color rendition. Do note that the lower overall lumen output of these specifically tinted LED's are generally lower than regular cool white LED's. The low and medium output levels are achieved by means of PWM, though the frequency used is high enough for it to not be noticeable in practical usage unless you intentionally wave the light around looking for signs of this.


Conclusion

The Good - Clean design and well-machined body. Respectable runtime performance. Compact and light weight.

The Bad - Nothing significant.

The Relative - Beam is clean with a warm-white tint. Uses a twist switch. Is able to tail stand.


Gallery (In overlay, use the left/right arrow keys on your keyboard to browse through images.)

Comments

4Sevens Quark MiNi CR123 Warm-White
June 4, 2010
Overall
7.8

Construction
    8.0
Output
    8.0
Value
    7.5

Availability
4Sevens.com
Beam Profile
Medium Spot
Coating
Type 3 Anodizing
Cost
$37
Dimensions
60mm long
20mm at widest Ø
Lens
AR Coated Glass
Light Source
Cree XP-G
Output
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
High 108 Lumens
Medium 22 Lumens
Low 2 Lumens
High Spot 1324 Lux
High Spill 47 Lux
Medium Spot 274 Lux
Medium Spill 10 Lux
Low Spot 26 Lux
Low Spill 1 Lux
Power
1x 16340
1x CR123
Reflector
Textured Aluminum
Runtime
1x CR123 1500mAh e²
High 01:34 to 50%
Medium 06:51 to 50%
Low ~2.5 days
Switch
Twist
Weight
18.7g
35.2g with 1x e² CR123
36.5g with 1x AW 16340