UT 01 and Manker E11 are a direct match to ALL your requirements. Go with whichever you can find cheaper… they are the same light.
Best part about them is the modes are user programmable. You can set exactly how low you want your low to be and how hi you want your turbo. And there are two user programmable modes in between. They do get hot though at the brightest 775 Lumen setting so thats more of a hand held short burst only setting.
They perform admirably well with eneloops too, in the neighborhood of 400 Lumens at the brightest. AFIAK No other 1-AA light can boast this… 775L = 14500 and 400L = NiMH.
I have EDCd mine since the group buy in Dec., no complaints. Snapped this a second ago, visiting relatives. Paired with efest IMR and Olight travel charger its a great travel rig. I also use this setup with a 11000mah battery bank as my primary handheld backpacking light.
You can check also Trunite Archer 1A V3.
I like mechanical tail switch and NW tint.
First one assure no tarasit drain and fast switch on and off operation. With 14500 you have 60 minutes at 300 lumens wich is more than enought.
Back when I was looking at the EA11, I happened upon the MT10A which is very similar, but incorporates a tail switch for on/off and two side click mode switches. Haven’t had any parasitic drain issues with my MT10A.
My Mi7 didn’t come with a clip and as far as I can tell, there isn’t a groove near the head of the Mi7 to reverse the clip. Still, it’s a great light. Wish mine hadn’t come with such horrible parasitic drain. It’s a dud, I’m just lucky that way.
I had a breakdown in my semi last nite. I had my Utorch ut01 and the switch was giving me grief. You have to be very deliberate with the mode button. Otherwise, it’s a great little light, using an Efest 650ma IMR. Good strong output.
Shoot OP, I was broke at the Lee service plaza on the Mass Pike, your neck of the woods. Luck was on my side and was rolling rather quickly… I’ve been tempted to get the MI7, if it came in nw, I’d own one.
I am pretty sure its less than 2 Lumens at its lowest low. I will try and compare it with my XP-G3 modded 4Sevens AA later when I get home tonight, it has a ~.6 Lumen firefly mode.
FWIW neither my UT-01 or Manker E11 have switch problems, I do think I got lucky in this regard. Both lights are what I would consider very floody, with a big broad hot spot.
One minor note to make… like all good E-switch designs they have a very low parasitic drain. I unscrew the tailcap a quarter turn when I EDC it around. This also prevents accidental turn on.
As far as places to get stuck that’s a good one. Not much else out there on the pike. Years ago I used to train drivers for their class A CDL. I think that my finger prints are still in the dash of the Freightliner we used.
I am really torn on the MI7 as it has the XP-L-HI V3 where the Manker E11 and Utorch UT01 have the XP-L. They are all priced about the same.
You might want to check out the Thrunite Archer or T10, I think they both have a good moonlight mode and no PWM. The Thrunite Neutron has a side switch but I’ve heard it suffers from switch issues
That’s a pretty slick charger. Something different for sure.
Thanks for the link and information. Having the lockout is great. That’s something I always look for. I have found too many lights on or dead just when I needed them the most.
I bought 1 Mi7 (Olive with clip) for $19.98, using M4D M4X’s code & aff-link.
Then I saw them at KD for $14.59 and I bought 3 of them for $13.86 (other colors - with clip all of them), using code BLF. It must have been a KD’s mistake, cause this price ended in a few minutes.
I know that you said beam pattern over lumens, but does that mean you are looking for more of a thrower than a flooder? The reason I ask is, no one has mentioned the Manker T01. In the 14500/AA class, it has the longest throw of any the lights I own. It’s a bit pricey and coupons/discounts are hard to come by. IIRC, a few months back, they release a version 2. I have the version 1. The T01 does have a large head and it’s that large head which allows for a larger reflector, resulting in the superior throw.
I also own 2 UT01’s, one in each tint, a Klarus Mi7 and more than a few Jetbeam Jet-1 MK. Of the three, the one I tend to carry most often is the UT01. Part of that is because the Mi7 I received was defective and drains batteries in a matter of days, where as others have reported around 6 months before 14500 batteries were drained.
To be fair, I think that even if my Mi7 worked properly, I’d probably still lean towards the UT01 because it’s more versatile. As Kramer5150 pointed out,
Here’s the link to the table I created, using the data posted by various BLF members. On AA NiMH, a properly working Mi7 could take over a year and a half to drain a fully charged battery.
I just took tail cap readings from my UT01 and the drain is too low to register a reading.
That’s where I am leaning as well. The UT01 is the cheaper of the two. The code I got from M4D M4X is for Bangood and the last order I had from them wasn’t a good experience.
Not specifically looking for throw. I’m just looking for a good quality artifact free beam.
