Review: Manker U11. Built in charger, compact 18650 Eswitch Light. 3.6A on Turbo, Beamshots added.

The point I was making is that although there are many modes, it’s quick to use. And it has direct access to moonlight from off.

The light seems to be accessible, IF you can get the switch out. Thing is, there is a charging circuit in there too. It may be a lot of work to just drop a couple of modes.

Moonlight and one other mode of your selection are available from off…

Just received mine today. My first impressions are pretty good, and I was skeptical. I’ve got seven Zebralights and it seems like Manker is trying to imitate them in a lot of ways. Overall, they’ve done a very good job. This is a solid light. Machining and finish are great. Pocket clip is passable but leaves plenty of room for improvement. The switch cover is rotated ever-so-slightly so the Manker logo is a crooked by a couple of degrees, which isn’t a big deal but will bother me a bit. The UI is a bit confusing at first but I’m getting it. By biggest gripe so far, and its not surprising, is the cool white tint. Luckily that seems like a pretty straight-forward thing to fix.

Those are my 2-minute first impressions. Overall, a really nice light for a good price.

EDIT: I lined it up with some of my other “smallish” 1x18650 lights for a size comparison

LOL! less than 24 hours of getting mine, I already replaced the Led for a XP-L HI V3 1C, now the hotspot is about half the size of the original which was about the same size as the hotspot of the SC600, and now looks way brighter, I don’t know why they decided not to go with the XP-L Hi like the T01 since the HI version looks like a better choice, at least to me.

BTW that AS5 looking thermal grease it originally came with sucks! it is very very thin, so I cleaned the surface with alcohol and Q-tips and used real Artic Silver 5 under the original MPCB, now the light gets hot a lot faster which means better heat transfer to the body.

The switch seems very hard to get out, so I decided not to try and disassemble any further, the MPCB seems to not have direct thermal path and is made out of aluminum, I might sand down a Noctigon later on but for now I used the same MPCB.

So far changing the led is a piece of cake on this light, I suggest trying the XP-L HI.

I like it 8)

Hey Emarkd, How does the U11 compare to the MH20? UI, beam profile, hotspot etc.

Presumably they thought most people would prefer the XPL. I do, for what that is worth.

The MH20 is SMO, so the hotspot is more defined and seems slightly smaller. The Manker has much brighter spill and a nice corona that blends them together. Theyre both too cool of a tint for me, but the Manker is easy to mod and the MH20 is available in nw now, so thats a minor issue. For edc use, I give the edge to the Manker but its close.

For UI, I really haven’t figured the Manker out yet. The normal mode is simple enough but I keep tripping the strobe while just trying to change modes, and that’s not fun. But the mh20 took me a while to get used to, too. That two-stage switch is funky, but I kinda like it now. Having direct access to moonlight and turbo at any time, without relying on mode memory, is a big plus for me. Then again the programmability of the Manker gives it a lot more flexibility. So idk, I’m calling the UI a wash at this point. Both have strengths and shortcomings. I think I’d still take Zebralights UI over either of them.

You didn’t ask, but a HUGE deal for me is the form factor. The shape of the Mankers head makes it much more comfortable to carry. That alone is enough to tip the scales in its favor.

So taken all together I’d personally have no trouble declaring the Manker an all-around better light than the MH20.

Thanks for your point of view Emarkd :beer:

Yes, this is what I like as well, other peoples views. If I gush about a light, I mean it, I really like it. Someone else picks up the same light and hates it, neither of us are wrong…

As far a the form factor, the front is round, but it does slim up to an oblong profile right behind the bezel. It does sit very well in the pocket and hand for its size. I like this light a lot, and the ONLY things I found that were negative were the sharp edges in the clip groove and the original clip being not straight, neither of which would prevent me from buying another…

Thanks emarkd, AlexGT and Leif!

I like it too, and the turbo 2 mode is very well regulated which for my purposes - cross country running - is a big bonus.

My 22 year old MetraHit 18 has 10nA resolution.

No, didn’t measure. And now can’t measure because I sold it already.

I decided to remove the clip on mine, to remove it without bending the clip or causing any scratches on the HA3 finish I used a shoelace to slide it under the clip right next to the base where it attaches to the flashlight, then wrap the shoelace to your index finger and pull straight out, grab the rest of the clip with your other fingers as you pull it straight out so it doesn’t move to the sides and scratch the finish.

thank you for this. been hoping someone could compare u11 to mh20.
id also like to change xpl to xpl hi, the head can be easily removed right?

Welcome. If you mean the Manker, then yeah the bezel retaining ring just threads out. If you mean the Nitecore I would imagine so but I haven’t tried. I can get back to you on that if you need me to.

More like ruined us. Nothing is close to what she can cook up

Use the code KUNGHEI to bring the price to $28.06 shipped

Helpful first post! Thanks

Could you please explain this a little more? How do you access the direct drive turbo mode? Do you have to go into programming mode by holding down the button for 10 seconds, then cycling to direct drive everytime?

Yes, the Direct drive turbo as the manufacturer calls it, is the highest level on turbo mode selection. They also have it hidden in the “Pro” mode blinky section.

If you set turbo to level one or two, then you need more light than that, you would go to the direct current turbo. If you leave the turbo program set to level 3 (highest), it is the same (in brightness and amp draw) as the “direct current” hidden turbo.

The diagrams are clear on this in the book, I am not the best explain-er here, but hope this description helps…

Manker’s UI is somewhat similar to Nitecore HC30 - i.e. short click from OFF turns on the lowest mode, 0.5s click - to the last used, BUT Nitecore has yet another option: long (>1.0s) click turns on the highest mode. This last option is what I miss on the U11, a lack of instant turbo access. Perhaps Manker will implement it the next version…