Manker versus Zebralight

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

How does Manker stack up to Zebralight?

It doesn't seem to fair too badly performance-wise, when you compare AA models at least. :think:

Of course, QA and QC are most likely far better at Zebralight. ;)

Example:

I haven't found any teardowns of the E03H(kind of the Manker equivalent of the Zebralight H53), but from my knowledge it probably has a similar design "under the hood" to the Manker E02, and Jerommel has done a teardown of it: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/46012

It seems to have an impressive DTP to my n00b eyes! Direct contact with a big hunk o' copper.

On the other hand, the H53.... I dunno anything about it! :FACEPALM: Except that its about as bright. I'll be waiting for someone who knows more to chime in.

Another example:

The Manker E11 on AA gets the same ballpark amount of lumens as the SC5 and SC53!

Zebralight would probably be more reliable, but then its not very user serviceable I hear. Also has things like battery level indicators, temp sensers etc, but that's what I might call "bells and whistles". Excuse my little joke.

Oh, can't forget the UI! Probably a pro and con at the same time, depending on your viewpoint.

Thats about as far as my knowledge(such as it is) takes me.

I'll be reading your responses with much interest. :)

Oh and its not necessarily limited to Manker! Other brands are welcome!

2

You are comparing apples to oranges.
Mike

3

I’d like to know why. :)

And if it’s because of the specific models I picked, then generalise the questions, e.g, “Manker usually has switches that are not as nice as Zebralight’s, except in the case of etc etc”

4

FWIW… the E11 as well as UT01, EDC05 have some nice bells and whistles under the advance program mode. Including Battery indicator and user selectable output.

Long press from OFF, it will blink once to indicate advance program mode is OFF. Long press from OFF again it will blink twice to indicate advance program mode is ON. So you can cycle back and forth with long press 5-6 seconds. From there follow these steps:

[EDIT] Regarding the apples and oranges comment… for one, the price points are very different.

5

Compare:
both offer High CRI, (I dont know how the color and tint compare)
both use “constant current” (I don’t know the Flicker index for the Manker compared to the Zebra)
Both have similar mode options

and Contrast:

E03H
Weight according to REVIEW MANKER E03H XPL
81 grams w battery and no headband (45% heavier than Zebra)

Cost $30

Not potted?
—

H53c
Weight according to http://www.zebralight.com/H53c-AA-Headlamp-Neutral-White-High-CRI_p_194.html
56 grams w battery and no headband

Cost $59 (97% more expensive than Manker)

Potted

6

Ah... I didn’t examine the E11(and other) reviews closely enough. :FACEPALM: :lol:

7

Long click to turn off. That’s enough to discard the manker (in my case)

8

Efficiency, size, QC and QA, support, and build quality are all better at zebralight. Of course you pay a price premium for these advantages.

9

this person just ordered a Zebra after trying some of the other cheap AA lights… Im waiting to hear his impressions of the Zebra when he posts here

the following quote is from this thread

10

E03H has a magnet, which could be a pro or con, and definitely contributes to higher weight.

Flicker index? Is there an easy way of capturing flicker?

11

Its a short long click. :)

But I understand.

12

True true.

Manker efficiency doesn’t seem to be noticeably worse than Zebralight to me though.. :think:

13

Good point, I’ll be watching too. :)

14

x2… the “long” click to turn off is not really that long… IMHO. Maybe 1/3 - 1/2 second at most.

15

not that I know of
there are basic PWM tests, photo closeups, and waving the light, and shining it at water in the shower
there is also an app, but I have not found it to produce any useful info, for me… Maukka has had better results: Very informative youtube review of UTorch UT02 - #4 by maukka

Here is another thread about the Flicker app

The way I can get some idea of Flicker is by extreme closeup of the LED
LAD:

Zebra:

but those photos dont mean the flicker is visible in actual use
I also test by waving the light. Neither of the above lights show dots when waved.

Maukka is the only one I know of that has complete details about Flicker, here is a post of his about a Zebra, I dont have one for a Manker

16

The best way I have found to measure PWM is on a miltimeter. Set to AC Frequency/Hz. The DC PWM will behave like an AC square wave and the meter will display the oscillation in Hz. Its not an absolute way to measure, but for comparative analysis… one light versus another I have found it a a good way to evaluate how visible the PWM is. The lower the frequency, the more visible it is.

17

I don't see any flickering at all with an iPhone camera.

18

I have an SC63w and I love it. But zebralight has that anoying little tint lottery that we have all heard so much about. I do not know of other companies with this problem.

19

Not really. On my U11, half a second press turns off the light :+1:
Compare that with 2 seconds (one eternity later !) with my Xtar H2 :rage: :rage:

20

Me to! I have found their xhp35 and xhp35 HI pretty safe tint wise, also their xhp50(not the .2). However the xp-l2 hi cri and 4500k can be overly yellow, the xhp50.2 i wont try out with the potential of too much yellow.

I dont care much for their AA lights really, not much point imho other than anyone who does not actually want to run 4.2v cells(just want to use nimh). Their 18650 lights are very compact, in fact close in size to typical 16340 size lights. So for me personally, no point in AA as the 18650 are compact enough with far more benefits(run times/out puts).

My sc5c mkII 4000k was not very nice on my eyes, i tried and tried to like it………………gave in. The sc53w which is also the xp-l2 but 4500k is tolerable.

My fav so far is the older sc62(like the design) with the luxeon T 85cri, super nice 5000k and dont care that it is only 320lm on H1. In fact , my most used is 145lm H2 and works well for most general tasks.

I dont care much for clip on clips(just hate them as they are usually junk) of the sc600’s, much prefer the secured sc62/63/64 design there.

Quite impressed with the xhp35 HI 4500k, liking that as quite a punchy little thing. Also the xhp50 5000k in the plus(both mk III as i dont want to chance the mk IV with odd little gremlins and even more potential yellow of the xhp50.2)

Some AA size lights for size comparison

18650 sc63w/16340 PK PR1 and 16340 HDS rotary hi cri

Little size line up, all 16340 up to the black D1, then 18650 till the sc5c mkII AA on the end

s2+ thrown in for size

all 18650

Overall ZL are pretty awesome, not much to not like for me. Very light(often the actual 18650 feels about the same weight as the light itself), UI i like, newer UI is better as you can program G6 and G7 to what you like of the 12 levels. So you can swap about or have all the same level to act like a single mode light. Its a way of getting around the pre flash when double tapping for the M1 /M2 levels, but flip side is it upsets the press/hold and advance through modes. Press/hold is low/med/high usually(G5), of course if you have a high level set in the L1 , then it will flow as programmed.
The PID is pretty trick, it manages heat like no other light i have experienced(inc the D4 clever UI but the D4 is 3x the lumens!!! so has to be aggressive ). The step downs are very hard to spot and the light never gets hot, just quite warm. Only when you step back up on a high level can I actually tell its ramped down! That is actually looking for it as well, not in actual use!

The ano is 2nd to none, its tough and seems actual HA unlike most chinese lights that claim it. It reminds me a little of the surefire of old HA. You drop it, hardly a mark compared to other so called HA III i have found.

Comments are all subjective, so please take with a pinch of salt, as what i like you may hate :slight_smile: They are not perfect, but for a super light weight compact 18650 light, they come close in many ways. Tint lottery is real! By staying away from the horrid(subjective) xp-l2 of theirs, your in for a little more chance of a win :wink: