26650 power, type-C charge with good amperage, good throw and warm light - all this, together, potentially makes the flashlight quite interesting. But in reality, how? Let’s get a look.
You can buy holographic 3d fan at
➤ AMAZON
for years i`ve been buying batteries at Nkon.nl. sincerely recommend this store.
Manker is quite a good company, and at one time they loudly declared themselves, with some (I forgot, U11 or 21) model giving a good flexible UI and a small price tag for the whole set of characteristics.
SPECS
- Emitter: CREE XHP-50.2
Maximum output: 2000 lumens
Power by 1x 5000mAh 26650 battery (Batery included)
Type-C USB Charging function
Maximum beam intensity: 20000CD,
Maximum beam distance: 282 meters.
Working voltage: 2.8V-4.35V (Over discharge protection)
Driver: Most efficiency constant current circuit
Material: Aircraft-grade aluminum body
Surface treatment: Premium Type III hard-anodized antiabrasive
finish
Lens: Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective
coating
Water proof: IPX-8 (2 meter under water)
Tail stand
Length: 128mm / Diameter: 46mm
Weight: 189g (without battery)
Accessories: O-ring * 1, Lanyard * 1, Type C USB cable * 1, Manker 5000mAh rechargeable 26650 battery * 1
Package and appearance
Package does not make much of an impression. So-so, shortly speaking. There is a modest design boxes that make it clear that this modesty is a conscious intention, and they looks appropriate and good. This design is from the category of “well, at least something.”
It seems that though everything is not bad, it looks worse than the packages of most competitors. There is a lot of empty space in the box and during transportation it was pretty much crumpled. When you buy U23 for yourself and are going to throw the packaging away, it would not matter. But if you take as a gift, then this moment must be taken into account and you otta asked to pack everything neater.
The package includes everything you need except holster: a flashlight, battery, lanyard, o-ring, instruction and charging cable. No holster…strange.
To be honest, we passed all the negative and that`s time to see good things.
The flashlight itself looks definitely good. Relatively small body, just 128mm long, looks quite decent, and then I definitely can not find any cons of appearance. See for yourself.
The traditional comparison with the well-known S2 +. Manker U23, of course, is much thicker, but it fits well with the usual dimensions for 26650 flaslight.
there is a deep groove on the tailcap. if needed U23 can tailstand.
The springs on both sides of the flashlight are thick enough, everything is fine here. On the tail, it is even double.
threads are well lubricated.
And although there are not any specific knurling, the grip is very strong due to the fact that along the flashlight are deep longitudinal grooves and there is one concentric one right in the middle.
Grip very comfortable, I repeat.
Traditionally , the button and the charge port are at the opposide sides
The cover of the latter is very good - thick, opens moderately easily. The charging connector pleases - here, after all, Type-C , so you`ll not to poke blindly.
The button is wide, located in a small recess (thanks to this, the button does not protrude, which reduces the chances of accidental activation) and the finger finds it without problems. Backlight indication also helps with this. Medium move with a clear click. There is nothing to complain about.
The cooling fins are numerous and deep, again, all is well.
Broad bezel, twisted with reflector inside. Here, which is unusual, there is also internal threads in the head.
At the bottom - XHP50.2. All the insides look quite neat.
Well, of course, a smooth reflector. Everything is as usual on glass - Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
UI
Despite it looks oversaturated , the control is quite simple and you can get comfortable with it quickly.
on-off by long press (which for many minus) with memory modes
switch modes on click.
a short flick from off launches moonlight
Double-click to start the turbo and the following group of special modes.
Battery Indicator:
- Blue: more than 70% 2. Violet: 50% 3. Red: less than 20%
Lock is tricky:
1-2-3 click sequence. also unlocking.
Engineering mode (setting the level of moonlight):
press and hold the button, the indicator will light up. then quickly click 4 times to access the engineering mode. there on click you select the desired level and with a long press fix it.
Flashlight performance
There are versions with cold and neutral (read warm) light. I have a second. PWM blinking is not visible in any of the modes.
light distribution is expected for mid rang light. Despite quite large and deep SMO reflector here, LED is not small and not dedomed, so light is not classic “piercer”, there are some sidelight.
And here for the first time I ran into the fact that in the very center a bluish spot is visible. Found a discussion on the BLF, apparently this is something like a projection of the crosshair dividing LEDs into 4 parts of lines. With a textured reflector this would not seem to be.
Technically, you may get used to it, but the eyes of flashaholics may cry with blood. With XHP35 placed instead of XHP50.2 , then this would not have happened. Actually, the choice of XHP50.2 for this model is rather strange, I rarely see such a LED now. For high brightness use XHP70, and for long-range mentioned XHP35.
Well, for comparison, the Manker U23 is in high \ turbo with a well-known standard of readers - S2 + XML-2 6500K
more will be clearer.
Charging current is very good, 1.8A, everything is alright here.
There are no questions to stabilization. In the turbo, the flashlight warms up quickly enough, but with its dimensions the brightness is still not big enough to make the grip uncomfortable due to overheating.
The remaining modes are very, very good in terms of brightness and work.
As for performance itself, the flashlight proved to be quite decent. He does not demonstrate any wonders of the throw as his older brother, the MK35, and similar ones, but for its size the Manker U23 has sufficient penetrating power for maximum needs.
Here, watch live.
15m even Low is ok here, not to mention the 8-hours Mid.
50m - no problem
compare with s2+
75m, I also see no problems. but Mid seems to lack power here. High\turbo only
150m - Turbo gives enough light
400m is already at the limit of the useful distance. it will be possible to tell one big thing from another, but many factors will begin to influence at a distance: parasitic illumination (the darker around, the more contrast and better the light from the flashlight can be seen), air purity, size of the illuminated object and visual acuity. IMHO at such a distance to the naked eye can only distinguish T-34 from Pantera.
Look here, on the video you can still see what a flashlight is capable of. there is alive performance at the beginning and at the end of review.
General impressions
In general, they are positive. And if the cold light option is clearly less competitive (there are other decent 26650\21700 throwers on the market with the same size and price), then the WW option almost totally left for U23 and may be Acebeam T30 (which is, technically, not 26650).
Other manufacturers even offer almost no neutral color, it should be looked for in either larger or smaller flashlights. And then immediately warm … In fact, the only obvious jamb is the blueness in the center. Obvious, but I think that it is not so significant for those to whom the warm light is important. And, again, I don’t have to choose here because I can’t call something similar in the market.
+ good capacious battery
- charging current
- type-c
- brightness and range
- management
- price tag adequate to competitors
- spot in the center. I asked Tony Chen from Manker at fb about this, but he ignored me like he did a lot of time later. donno what this guy has against me…
