Manker E05

Manker E05 review

Manker E05 specifications

Brand / Model	Manker E05
LED	Osram KW CSLNM1.TG
Lumens	150 / 400 Lm
Beam intensity	4,500 / 10,000cd
Battery config.	1*AA/14500
Material	Aluminum
Modes	3
Blinkies	1
Reflector	Smooth
Waterproof	IPX-8
Review date	June 2020

Introduction:

While ordering the Manker U22 II, my eyes caught a glimpse of a small flashlight with Osram LED. Upon further investigation, it is an AA flashlight with the famous OSRAM KW CSLNM1.TG LED, also known as the White Flat in the flashlight community. This type of LED is normally used in the most extreme long-range LED flashlights. So maybe this little flashlight is actually a ‘flashlight thrower‘?

Well, I guess we’ll find out.

What you’ll get:

Instead of a standard cardboard box, Manker chose a nicer looking box made of tin. Inside the packaging:

• Manker E05
• Lanyard
• O-ring
• Pocket clip

Handling of the light

I must admit that the flashlight itself, or at least the design of it, isn’t particularly exciting. The Manker E05 is a pretty average-looking AA flashlight that is smooth and fits in your pocket, on your baseball cap, and on your keys.

The E05 uses a single switch for power and mode-changing. It’s a forward clicky. When you press a forward clicky halfway, the light will turn on and then clicks. A reverse-clicky switch will turn the light on after the click. Please don’t forget that anymore!

Even though the Manker uses a forward clicky, you can’t use it for signaling since the modes will change each time you push that switch.

I like the pocket clip they included in the package. You can either point the clip towards the rear or towards the front. If you point the pocket clip towards the rear you can actually attach it to a baseball cap and use it as a ‘headlamp’. I like that! So, even though, the design is pretty straightforward, they definitely have thought about the pocket clip :–)

And maybe some of you are asking: can it tail stand? Nope. The rubber boot of the switch sticks out a little too far for that.

Build Quality, knurling, threads, and anodization

The most striking thing about the Manker E05 is, perhaps, the large Manker logo on the head. It almost covers the entire length of the head. It’s something I actually like. A black flashlight could use some contrast, either in white letters or some shiny stainless steel accessories or parts.

I just talked a little about the pocket clip, but I also like that it’s not black. It has a great fit, but it’s not extremely tight which means that you can move it around the light without too much difficulty. However, if you remove it from the light, it will leave some marks on the coating. So, I would advise you not to remove the pocket clip too often.

The anodization, threads, logo, and accessories all look just fine. Nothing to complain about any of them.

LEDs, Lens, Bezel, and Reflector

Manker’s choice for the OSRAM KW CSLNM1.TG LED is interesting.

Normally, manufacturers want to use a bright LED to attract buyers. But Manker chose one of the smallest LEDs on the market. And not only that, this LED is especially used in throwers (long-range flashlights). Few flashlight manufacturers would choose this type of LED for an average AA flashlight. It is possible, however, that Manker had a specific audience in mind when building the E05.. who knows.

When used in a large flashlight with a large reflector, this type of LED is able to throw a beam almost 1 mile far. So I’m really curious how good, or bad, this choice for the Manker E05 was.

We will see.

As for the bezel, it is attached to the body with glue or thread locker and cannot be loosened by hand. If you want to open the flashlight you need to use force or heat.

The reflector is a bit special again because why choose the farthest throwing LED without a smooth reflector. Instead of a smooth reflector, Manker chose a LOP (light orange peel) reflector. LOP reflectors will spread the light into a wider beam with a less concentrated hotspot. This spreading of the light results in less throw. So, why choose the farthest throwing LED but using a LOP reflector?

Furthermore, I do not see any discoloration on the lens that you normally see with an AR (anti-reflective) lens. So it may not have an anti-reflective coating.

Dimensions:

• Length body: 93.3 mm / 3.67 
• Length including rubber boot: 94.97 mm / 3.73″
• Head + body diameter:   20 mm / .79″
• Reflector diameter: 14.9 mm/ .59″

Weight: 

• Empty:  37.8 g / 1.33oz
• Empty, with clip: 41.4 g / 1.46oz
• With clip and battery 67.4 g / 2.37oz

Size compared to other great EDC flashlights.

From left to right: Enogear AA, Lumintop Tool AA, Lumintop EDC05, Manker E05, Convoy T2.

You see, that it fits right in with the rest.

Driver & User Interface:

I am a little less optimistic here, regarding the user interface of the E05. Even though the light’s specs look rather promising, the user interface doesn’t appeal to many people, including myself.

First off, the strobe mode is part of the regular mode menu.

And on top of that, the E05 uses mode memory. I have to say that mode-memory is not always a bad thing, especially not when you have shortcuts to Low, Turbo, or even strobe. But having mode-memory with a menu that includes a strobe and without shortcuts isn’t particularly great.

This all means that you have to cycle through the menu (including strobe) in order to go from Medium back to Low

Anyways, let’s get into the details.

• Low (moonlight) – Medium – High – Strobe.

Moonlight would be a more appropriate name for Low since it’s really dim. So dim, that you can even look into the LED when it’s dark.

• Half-press: momentary-on (since it’s a forward clicky)
• Multiple half-presses: changing modes
• Single-click: On, using the last used mode
• Single-click: Off

Mode memory: 

• Yes, it does have mode memory. Mode memory activates about 3 seconds after the light is switched off.

Low Battery Warning:

• There is none. In the highest output mode, the light will take about 10-15 seconds to turn off when the battery is depleted. So you have 10-15 seconds low voltage warning. lol.
• In Medium mode, the output will drop to about 7 lumen… which indicates that the flashlight will soon run out of battery.

Blinky modes:

• Unfortunately yes, within the normal user interface.

PWM:

• Again, not visible by eye, and that is what counts in my opinion.

Batteries and charging:

The Manker E05 is sold without a battery. According to the specifications, it can either use an AA or a 14500 battery. I would recommend using rechargeable AA batteries to save money and garbage in the long run. And on top of that, rechargeable batteries don’t ruin your nice little flashlight by leaking. Alkalines do.

I used the E05 with Eneloop AA batteries and couldn’t get my Olight 14500 to work. At first, I imagined the battery being too long, but after trying to power it up using my DMM (digital multimeter) I couldn’t get the Manker E05 to work. I then realized it has reverse polarity protection. This is simply a washer that doesn’t allow flat tops to reach the driver.

Unfortunately, that is the only 14500 battery I had lying around. I guess I need to be buying a few 14500’s then.

Performance:

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative to my homemade Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements including a Kenko PRO1D ND-16 filter. The base measurement is done with a Convoy S2+ that has been tested at 137 lumens.

All of my readings were taken from a fully charged Eneloop AA battery.

Amps were measured with a Fluke 77III, at the tailcap.

Mode	Amps	Specs	Measured Lumens
Low	0.06 A	0.5 Lm	0.54 ?
Med	0.33 A	50 Lm	46 Lm
High	1.66 A	150 Lm	140 Lm

Since my setup is used for high power flashlights, it doesn’t measure low outputs very well. So even though the specs and my measurements are on par, the Luxmeter just showed 1 Lux.

Runtime:

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Kenko Pro1D ND-16 filter and Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter. The battery used is a standard AA Eneloop.

High is fairly stable for the first 1 hour at 140 lumens when it drops to about 100 lumens.  At 1 hour and 29 minutes, it shuts off completely within 10-15 seconds.

Medium is nice and stable for 5 hours and 30 minutes at 46 lumens. Then it drops to 7 lumens, which is a nice Low Voltage indicator. At 5 hours and 50 minutes, the light completely shuts off. So you have about 20 minutes left to find a replacement battery.

This is an interactive graph.. move your cursor over the graph to see the numbers

Throw measurement:

Measurements were taken indoors with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter. I

Measured indoors at 5 meters with Eneloop AA:

Mode	Intensity	Meters	Yards
Med	5800 cd	76	83.29
High	16800 cd	130	141.75

At the time of writing this review, the Luxmeter is out for calibration at the manufacturer in Sweden. Hopefully, I get it back shortly so I can continue doing reviews again.

Beamshots

For the following beamshots, I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 50mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, 1/4sec , F4, 5000K

The shed is about 65 meters / 71 yards away.

Compared to the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 and Lumintop FW1A (18650)

Disclaimer: This flashlight was bought with my own money. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.

Overall conclusion

Pros:

1. Very compact thrower
2. Clip can be used both ways
3. Low is really low… maybe too low for some

Cons

1. The UI with mode memory and Strobe
2. Flat tops 14500 don’t work
3. Low might be too low?

Rating: 3 stars ★★★

If you are looking for the smallest AA thrower, this is probably it. It does have a few shortcomings like the UI though. If you don’t care about this or the reverse polarity protection, this might be something for you. If you don’t like to have strobe in your main menu, this is not it. With AA batteries it performs just okay in terms of output but performs better than any other AA flashlight in this size in terms of throw. Overall rating: 3. something stars based upon my tests with AA Eneloop batteries.