Quark Aspheric Lens Conversion Kit
This kit is a direct drop in for all Quark MKIII lights
This kit will work with older Quarks (non MKIII) if you can manage to separate the head. They are glued shut and can be difficult (or nearly impossible) to remove.
Be sure to check out the "how to" installation video on the videos tab!
Included in the kit:
- White Delrin "reflector" (machined in-house!)
- 2x Aspheric lenses
>Installation note: The lens is convex on both sides. The "taller" curvature needs to be oriented away from the LED, towards the front of the light.
INTRODUCTION:
I've been working on this in the background for over a year. The Quark Aspheric Lens Kit allows you to convert your Quark from a reflector-based light to an aspheric-based light. The white Delrin reflector (machined in-house) helps generate some spill, allowing you to see nearby surroundings while throwing a ton of light down range.
Our aspheric was custom engineered by a specialty optics firm for this specific application. This is the tightest beam you can get in a package this small.
We include 2 lenses because the front of the aspheric is slightly proud of the bezel. Nope, not ideal, but an engineering limitation in this application. If you use the light a lot, you'll need to replace the lens eventually, and we have you covered.
Aspheric Lenses:
An aspheric lens projects an image of the LED die, much like how a slide projector works. It does not gather scattered light like a reflector does. Therefore, the accurate measure of aspheric light performance is distance and not lumens.
Aspherics are common modifications in the custom flashlight world. Like a reflector, the larger an aspheric is, the tighter it can focus the beam. The Quark ashperic is quite small, but still generates a very useful cone of light that increases maximum throw by 30m. (reflector range is 170m and the aspheric is 200m)
In fact, the QK16L is only putting out 350 lumens with the ashperic compared to 700 lumens with the standard reflector...yet it still achieves longer range. See, lumens aren't everything ;) Side note, you'll see many aspheric lights that boast impressive lumen output. This is bogus. All aspherics will have low lumens, so the LED might be putting out 1000 lumens, but only 40% of those lumens are actually leaving the light. It doesn't really matter, but I still believe accurate specifications are a necessary practice of good business.
Why this works so well:
The real magic is the hexagon shaped LED die of the Nichia 319A. Yes, I was planning ahead on this one ;) Normally LEDs are square, and when coupled with a fully focused aspheric, projects a square beam. This is cool, but quite distracting for actual use. If you want a round beam with a square LED, you have to de-focus the lens, which reduces overall distance. The hexagon shape is round enough that the beam feels quite natural (even at very close range) and allows us to maintain 100% focus (maximum distance).
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QK16L Throw: 170m/200m (reflector/aspheric)
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QK2A Throw: 145m/180m (reflector/aspheric)
