Review: Manker PL10 120 lumen Nichia 219B LED Penlight

Manker PL10 120 lumen Nichia 219B LED Penlight

When the guys at Manker showed me a picture of the PL10 back before it was released I was instantly intrigued. This is one sexy little light and, to me, it looks like something a machinist would have put together for himself. So, after very little cajoling, I convinced the guys to send me one to check out and likely review. I was intrigued when I saw the first pics of it but once it arrived and was in my hands I fell in love with it. I've been carrying it now for a month and a half. It's one of my favorite lights. Before I break things down and explain why let's take a look at Manker's marketing copy and see exactly what this great EDC tool is.

Manker's Product Description

Specification:
Tactical Breakglass Pen:
- Material: Stainless Steel (Pen body) + Tungsten steel(Attack Head)
- Size: 10.5cm in length x 1.3cm in diameter
- Net weight: 60g with battery
- Refill INK: Black Color

Flashlight:
- LED: Nichia 219B
- Max Lumens Output: 120lm
- Brightness Level: low 10lm 6.5hrs, High 120lm 0.5hrs
- Micro USB rechargeable function
- 10180 lithium battery Included
- Peak beam intensity: 900cd
- Max Beam Distance: 60m
- Impact resistance:1.0m
- Waterproof Standard: IPX-6

Operation:
- Easily twist the head to turn on/off the light, Tighten the head left (off-low-high), loose the head right (high-low-off)

Package included (with the original package)
- Manker PL10 Pen light
- replacement refills
- Spare O-rings
(Kindly note: The penlight included 1x 10180 lithium battery, when you get the parcel, firstly please take off the insulating sheet on the battery)

Retail Pricing: $45.95

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

"Wow!", I believe, was my first thought when I saw the PL10 in person for the first time. The machining on the PL10 is fantastic. I love the look of it. The stainless steel body has a nice hefty weight that I enjoy. The knurling...ahh, the knurling...simply fantastic. Clean and aggressive but not too rough. The head of the PL10 is stiff (as it should be) so it doesn't come on accidentally in your pocket but the knurling means you can easily turn it on and off and adjust output level with one hand. The Nichia 219b emitter is a High-CRI staple among flashaholics and the TIR lens over it makes a broad, smooth beam with a nice, "soft?" center spot.

I did have a bit of a mess when I unscrewed the cap of the pen end for the first time. It seems the drastic changes in air pressure managed to push out a decent amount of ink from the ball point, resulting in a black, ink covered tip. Some wiping with a napkin and a flush off the inside of the pen cap under tap water cleaned things up easily. I tossed out the original ink cartridge and swapped in one of the two included refills. The pen writes nicely but it's small size means you shouldn't plan on using the PL10 to write out that novel you've been planning. It's perfect for writing down a phone number or taking a quick note which is really all it is designed for.

The clip is perfect in stiffness, ease of use, and depth for jeans pocket hems. The carbide tip on the end of the pen cap certainly looks like it could break a car window. I have large hands and the length is just right that held tightly in my fist with my thumb braced against the lens of the flashlight head, the aggressive tip sticks out enough to strike a window or be a kubaton in a pinch.

PERFORMANCE & UI

The difference between Manker's claimed output figures and my testing aren't too far apart although my high mode readings were a bit off. Even at 97 lumens it's still brighter than many AAA lights on the market and the beam is simply creamy goodness. 10180 cells don't last too long as it is and anything over 100 lumens will shorten runtimes by a lot.

Where Manker and I had WAY different results was in throw/candelas. My lux readings were half of what Manker claims and Throw was less with a 17.4m difference. Not sure how they got such a high candela reading, especially with the TIR optics and the beam type. Below is a wall shot showing how smooth the beam of the PL10 is. I have to admit, lights like this aren't designed for throw. They are for close range illumination and, even though it's range is far less than claimed, it works well enough to make me happy. It lights up my back yard so I can see the garage and much of the width of the yard.

Beam Shots

^ You can see just how creamy smooth the beam of the PL10 is thanks to the nice TIR optics. Tint is perfect Nichia 219B High-CRI goodness.

^ Here is the PL10 lighting my back yard. I'm more than happy with the output considering the tiny 10180 Li-Ion cell that powers it.

DETAILS & CLOSEUPS

One of the reasons it's taken me so long to write this review is that I misplaced the box and didn't find it until the other day. Was driving me crazy because I accidentally cut the head O-ring while connecting the USB cable for charging and I needed the spare that was in the box. I also wanted to write the review but without any photos of the box I was actually ready to go order another PL10 from Amazon. That's how much I love this little light. Fortunately for my wallet I looked one last time sure the result would be no different from previous searches but this time I actually found the box. O-ring replaced, head nice and tight again, and Mac is a happy boy again.

^ The Manker PL10 comes packaged in a sturdy brown cardboard box covered in a cardboard sleeve with a drawing of the light on the front and details of it on the back.

^ Inside the box is a fitted foam liner containing the PL10. Also included was a Ziploc with 2 spare ink cartridges, and another bag with an additional ink refill and two spare O-rings - one for the head of the light and one for the cap seal. The small white disk visible in the box is the insulating spacer covering the back of the battery to prevent accidental activation of the light during shipping. This must be removed before you can turn on the PL10.

^ Here we can see the PL10 from front, back, and sides.

^ I love the purposeful look of this light. The knurling is spectacular and the fins, while not serving a thermal purpose, at extra grip when using it as a pen. Plus they look really good.

^ The cap of the pen has the nice, wide clip that is easy to clip the PL10 into your pocket. The little tungsten glass breaker point sits on the end of the cap

^ Here you can see the TIR optic with Nichia 219b LED behind it.

^ Here is the PL10 with the threaded pen cap removed. It makes for a comfortable, if short, pen and is easy to grip. It's not at all slippery like most metal pens I've tried using. The thick O-ring seals with the cap to make a nice dust and waterproof seal.

^ A look at the threading in the cap itself.

^ With the pen tip unscrewed you can see the replaceable ink cartridge.

^ Back to the "light" part of the penlight, you can see the nice machining in the head of the light and the fantastic knurling. This bugger is super grippy.

^ A better look at the front of the PL10's TIR optic and LED.

^ Head removed, we can see the Micro-USB charging port and the positive contact switch at the base of the head that switches between Low & High modes depending on how tight the head is screwed onto the PL10 body. The O-ring grips the head tightly ensuring both water and dust proofing, but also accidental tightening or loosening of the head in your pocket.

^ At this angle you can see the contact button that carries current from the driver to the head.

^ If you unthread the PL10 a little farther back you will open the battery compartment. Here is where the little white insulating disk must be removed once you receive your PL10.

^ A nicely cut button in the base provides contact for the battery negative. Those little 10180 cells are tiny!

^ A look inside the front end of the battery compartment we can see the positive connection spring (very stiff) and some of the driver components on the back of the driver.

^ Here are the flashlight components taken apart.

^ I find the PL10 to be a great length. I don't care for the length of 2*AAA penlights and 1*AAA lights are usually too small for penlight duty. It fits nicely in the hand, isn't long enough to poke into you when clipped inside your front jeans pocket. The clip itself isn't too stiff and it can't accidentally pop off since it is permanently attached to the light.

^ All my photos are taken a couple days prior to posting this review and show what little wear a month and a half of heavy EDC carry there is. I haven't cleaned or polished it.

^ The PL10 is just a great feeling, bright little penlight and best of all, unlike most penlights, it is literally a pen-light

^ To charge the Manker PL10 just unscrew the head and plug your Micro-USB cord into the port. Charge it in your car, on your laptop or PC, or using your phone's wall charger. While charging the indicator LED will glow red.

^ When charge is complete current to the cell stops and the indicator LED turns bright green to let you know it's ready to go.

CONCLUSION

The Manker PL10 gets my enthusiastic approval. It's honestly one of my favorite lights and if I ever lost it I would replace it immediately. It's great to look at but in the hand it is amazing. It puts a smile on my face and that, to me, makes it worth having. Add in the creamy smooth beam, super easy to use UI, excellent pocket clip, great knurling, good pen, easy charging, glass breaker, and ability to use for self-defense as a kubaton, it's a winner of a light. I'm really surprised that few people are talking about this little sleeper.

Are there any negatives to it? Sure, no light is perfect. The clip is not reversible (but it is more secure) and that might be a negative if you wanted to clip the PL10 onto your hat brim as a head lamp. 10180 batteries are tiny and this means shorter runtimes. Oh, and the ink cartridges are very small and I'm not sure how readily available extras will be. That's about all I can think of and none are deal breakers for me. I'm fine with these possible negatives. If you think you might be as well then the Manker PL10 might become one of your favorite lights as well. ;)

Ohh it’s much thinner than I thought! I’m liking it!

Thanks for the detailed review JM.

Nice looking little light and very nice beam from such a small one too.

That’s a beauty, only wish it could take one 10440 for better runtime.
Thanks MAC great review!

Pricey little devil…but nice.

Yeah…

Man, I want one! For the machining and quality of it $45 isn’t really that much. But for a penlight… It really is too much for me.

$45 ? Pass.

When this kinda thread happens I smell a group buy a brewin’… :student:

Nice review, pretty penlight.

I despise that 10180 battery format however, no manufacturer makes a good one, if a good one can even be made in that size.

Does anyone know what size orings this light takes?