LuminTop EDC05 AA(14500) Flashlight

What is the light on the left side? I “need” more flat dark earth lights in my life :D.

I don’t think we will see more on Amazon until the driver issues are sorted out. They have acknowledged to me that a driver issue is indeed present. Looking forward to the fixes as its a nice looking light.

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

IMO I think the EDC05 has the best look to it. I like the design. It’s almost like the barrel of a gun. I would like to see the EDC05 get the bugs worked out as I think it could be one good light. Having that ability to use a protected cell offers good flexibility. I like the Manker E11 too. I’ve never owned one though. Perhapse in the near future if the Manker T01 II impresses me once I get them.

well, looks aint everything

Between the Manker E11 and the Lumintop EDC05, it seems like maybe the Manker version is more reliable, it also costs less

I have no dog in the race, I have lights from both brands that I like (I dont have either brand in AA myself)

with the Manker A01 vs Astrolux E01 I also think its the Manker version that is more desireable, although in this case it costs a bit more

I dont know much about the Utorch UT01 AA option. I do have an AA Thorfire TK05 I got for free, in exchange for a review. but I hardly ever use Cool White lights. Im a Nichia nut.

When I read about these XP-L lights, or XPG3 in the case of the Thorfire TK05, my mind immediately goes to thinking it would take a Nichia swap. While the XM-L lights dont allow me that fantasy.

at the end of the day, whatever gets you through is good, even if that means were guinea pigs for Asian battery tube sales

enjoy whichever one turns on for you the best :wink:

Is there a thread on these driver issues you can point to?

I have one of these coming from GB that should be here any day and I want to know what to look for.

Thanks!

read post 47, and the other posts in this thread

I also did a search for you:
more threads about the EDC05, maybe read through them to see what else is being said about it
http://budgetlightforum.com/search?q_as=LuminTop%20EDC05

Post #47 just sounded like a bad light, and I already read those other threads. In fact some of them praised the Lumintop driver as being good, which is why I asked my question.

So, I’ll wait for sovereignknight’s response, thank you very much.

There is my post,

I was in talks with a Lumintop representative and they are aware of a driver issue that needs to be sorted out.

I’d like to add my third light has been working fine so far, but I mainly stick to the Eneloop Pro in it.

I got my EDC05 yesterday. Apparently I ordered from BG not GB. Hard to remember when it shows up a month later. Whatever.

More importantly, no issues so far. Used a protected Sanyo (EVVA) 14500 and an Eneloop and ran it through its paces. Programmed the modes to the levels I like, clicked it on/off a few hundred times. Let it run on turbo for several minutes.

Time will tell if the driver holds up, but the features, build quality and form factor are really nice. Fingers crossed.

I wasn’t aware the EDC05 was programmable. How was this achieved?

Programmable = Configurable

EDC05 has no programmable modes according to research.

It’s done the same way as the UT01 or E11.

I’ve tried this but the modes on the EDC05 are different. There is no program mode, or consistent turbo.

Consistent un-timed turbo mode is Strobe. The next mode after Strobe is suppose to be a battery check but it is a SOS mode.

I fail to see how the EDC05 is the same as the Utorch or Manker with programmable modes. I’m unable to do this with my light.

FWIW…. my EDC05 is programmable. Its programmed just like the manker E11 and Utorch UT01.

You have to engage the program mode capability though. It does not come from the factory with it engaged.

From OFF, Long press the button for 6-7 seconds it will blink once to indicate the program mode is not engaged. Long press again (6-7s) and it will blink twice to indicate program mode is engaged. So you can go back and forth with 6-7 second long presses.

With program mode not engaged (one blink) the modes go Strobe-SOS-Beacon (repeat). Just as you show in your video.

There appears to be a lot of variation though, lot of EDC05 inconsistencies. Particularly with lower voltage cell chemistries. My findings are with 14500-4.2V. I have also found the most consistent performance is with 14500.

Interesting, I’ll have to try this. I wish this step was also demonstrated in the video.

The 14500 I use is an EVVA Sanyo 800mAh with a Seiko protection circuit.

I’ll try this and report if it was successful.

This worked for me! Thank you! That vital little piece of information was missing!

Awesome!!!

That little piece of “missing” information was literally the second post in the link I gave. SMH.