Posted by Cardinal Awol Is it normal for the Quark to get so hot?! I was sitting here at the computer with the flashlight in my lap, and absentmindedly left it turned on to maximum for a few minutes. Then I remembered and went to turn it off, and the whole flashlight felt pretty hot. Maybe this is normal for all high-end lights? I don't know; my Fenix and my Quark are my first "good" lights. I know the Fenix TK40 has a warning symbol on it, but this Quark is far less powerful. It's just a little 2xAA light. It's actually slightly smaller than the 2xAA Maglite! I do like the rubber handgrip that came with it. I can see how that could be useful in a place like a drain full of water where there's no surface to rest objects on. It can be hard to fumble with a backpack zipper and get things out of your bag when there's a torch in your hand. Also suspect that the momentary switch and super low mode might work well for certain other types of locations. ;)

That's normal. It's good that the outside of the light get hot - otherwise that heat stays on the LED. Max on the Quark is 700 mA, so call it 2.5W of heat or so. It's got to go someplace. It's good to note that most high-end lights have optional superbright modes that can damage the LED if it gets too hot. Hold the light in your hand or put it in a glass of water if you use it on the brightest modes for a while.

And don't diss the Quark on power. In fact, smaller lights have more heat problems than big lights, so it's more important to keep an eye on their heat on the brightest modes.

They will get warm on the highest setting. My mini123 will smolder the inside of your hand if left on high for more than 4-5 minutes. If I'm running it that hard I try to give it a break every so often to cool off. That or switch to a lower mode or grab my TK-30