There are a lot of common elements between many Chinese flashlights.
It makes me think that all the brands are buying parts from the same source, with some customization, such as different LEDs, a magnet or not, where the knurling is cut, etc.
It also seems the drivers have similar printed literature regarding lumen levels and mode sequence diagrams…:
Im not sure any of them are clones or copies, more like some sort of shared supply chain to which different logos are applied…
In general there seems to be a pattern that Manker sometimes provides drivers with the Manker logo, for example for the Astrolux A01. Then when a contract expires, sometimes the vendors source slightly different drivers, such as the current Astrolux A01.
I see a similar pattern with the Utorch and Lumintop drivers in this thread, they are similar to the Manker branded version, but not necessarily identical.
It does appear to me that the Manker branded drivers tend to be better, and that the unbranded drivers are less reliable, as in the case of the Lumintop EDC05, or even have different features, for example the Astrolux A01 w Manker driver did not have Next Mode Memory, but the driver now being used, without the Manker logo, in the A01 does have Next Mode Memory.
to me, that all adds up to a common source, but each brand then adds certain details, some of which seem to be more to my liking than others…
I see similar patterns in the Roof Top Tent category, and in the One Wheel category. A Roof Top Tent can be had direct from china for under $1000, but once Tepui, or James Baroud, add their own enhancements, be that different canvas, color, springs, pull tabs, latches, then the item jumps to $4000 when rebranded and sold in the US. Same with One Wheels. Buy from a USA company, pay $1500, buy direct from china, $395. Again not identical in every detail, the USA company upgrades the tires for example, changes the colors… etc…
but the tents, one wheels, and flashlights and drivers, are all being sourced from Chinese factories that seem to start with the same base parts, and then take orders for enhanced features.
imo, the Manker labeled models tend to be more to my liking, maybe of higher reliability. Note for example the debacle of the poor performance of the Lumintop EDC05 driver, which bears some resemblance, but not in every way, to the Manker driver… etc