Manker MC12 II

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Manker MC12 II specifications (Green light)

Brand/model	Manker MC12 II
LED	OSRAM KW CSLNM1.F1
Max. Lumens	950 lm
Max. Beam intensity	97,600cd/ 650 meters
Battery config.	1*18650
Onboard charging	N/A (battery has USB port)
Modes	2
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	TIR
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	February 2022

Manker is a relatively small flashlight brand that makes high-end flashlights for the consumer market. When speaking of tactical flashlights, Manker isn’t the first brand that comes to mind. But with the MC12 v2, I think they have something up their sleeves.

The MC12 v2 is powered by a single 18650 battery and is available with 3 types of emitters: white, green, or red. The one I’m reviewing here uses the green LED, which doesn’t use a filter or anything like some multi-color flashlights use.

Since I don’t own any other green LED flashlights, this could be fun.

Package quality.

Manker pays quite a bit of attention to the packaging for its larger lights, but not so much for the smaller ones. There usually needs to be a balance between functional and fashionable. Cheaper lights get cheaper packaging, and the more expensive lights get a bit of extra treatment. The MC12 II comes in a black box with orange details, unlike the traditional brown cardboard boxes that we have all come to expect from many flashlight brands. The packaging is rather simple, but it does its job well enough. Anyway, this is what you can expect in the box:

• The flashlight: Manker MC12 v2
• 18650 battery with USB port (OTG)
• Lanyard
• 1 O-ring
• Warranty card
• Battery warning paper
• USB-A to USB-C charge cable with extra port to use the battery as a power bank

The flashlight itself is rather short for a thrower, and definitely fits in most pockets. It also includes several ways of carrying it, with the default option being the removable pocket clip that came pre-attached. It’s not very stiff, so you can easily remove it on the fly. The same clip also functions as an anti-roll feature on flat surfaces.

Manker also included an adjustable lanyard in the box, that attaches to the clip. Without the clip, you can’t use the lanyard, unless you do something fancy. The lanyard is size-adjustable with black with orange letters.

To operate the flashlight, things are very simple, and for these types of flashlights, that’s a good thing. Functionality above features! It’s not slippery and feels nice in my hands.

The switch is a reverse-clicky switch, so you can use it for momentary-on. This means you can turn it on and off without pressing the switch completely. If you hear a click, the light will be on in the current output setting.

In order to change modes, you have to tap the switch in the Off position.

The flashlight is made of aluminum, and the only 2 things that you can see that are not aluminum are the switch and TIR optics. The switch is made of rubber, and feels very nice. It even looks like you can press the boot from the side to turn the light on and off. I’m not 100% sure if that’s what it is supposed to do, but that’s definitely nice to have.

All parts have the same black anodization, that isn’t too shiny, but also not very matte.

The tailcap and the battery tube have knurling that really helps for tightening and loosening the tailcap.

Warranty Details:
Mankerlight provides easy, reliable, speedy service to all lights under our warranty. Dealers will be responsible for customers.
1. Please contact the dealer for replacement if you experience any problem with Manker product within 15 days.
2. The dealer will offer free repairment service or replace the flashlight with the same or similar model if Mankerlight flashlight fails during normal use within a period of 5 years.
3. LEP flashlight, rechargeable battery, flashlight with built-in battery are warranted for a period of one year (12 months) from date of purchase.

Read more: http://www.mankerlight.com/shipping-warranty/

This is the first time reviewing a flashlight with only 1 green LED. The specific type is: OSRAM KW CSLNM1.F1 in case you wanted to know. At least, that is what the specifications told me.

At the front, you have a pretty large TIR optic, that looks a lot like the one we have seen on the Manker MC13. It could be the exact same for sure.

The bezel is also made of aluminum with the brand and model printed on 1 side, and a serial number on the other.

The beam has a clear and small hotspot, with a very smooth spill, and no artifacts.

• Length: 162.9 mm / 5 ”
• Head diameter: 40.7  mm / 1.6 ”
• Taicap diameter: 26.7 mm / 1.05 ”

Weight: 

• Empty: 94.3 g / 3.33 oz
• With battery: 147.6 g / 5.21 oz

Flashlight throwers comparison

Size compared to other great throw flashlights

From left to right: Lumintop X1L, Manker MC12 v2, Lumintop GT Mini, NlightD T90, Boruit C8, Convoy C8, Weltool T11.

Manker chose a very simple and straightforward User interface.

Available modes:

• Low, High
• Strobe

From OFF:

• Half-press: momentary on
• Single-click: activates the lighlt to selected mode
• Tapping (half presses): changes between low and high
• 2 quick taps: strobe

From ON:

• Single-click: turns off

Shortcuts:

• To High: by default always reverts to high
• To Low: 2 normal taps from off
• To Strobe: 2 quick taps from off

Mode memory:

• No

Blinky modes menu:

• Strobe, with 2 quick taps from off. You have to do this quick to activate it. Slow taps will just change modes.

Low battery warning:

• No

Lock-out mode:

• No

PWM:

• Not visible.

The MC12 II arrived with a 2600mAh 18650 rechargeable battery. It has a USB-C port and comes with an OTG (on the go) charging cable. This means it has 3 USB port, 2 for connecting the battery to the charger, but another 1 to discharge the battery and use it as a power bank. The charge current goes up to 1 Amp… and the end voltage is 4.17V after removing it from the charger thing.

Because of the built-in USB charger, the battery is quite a bit longer than your regular 18650. It’s almost 72mm long instead of the regular 65mm.

Since there’s a spring on the driver side, as well as on the tailcap side, you can use unprotected flat tops.

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 255 lumens.

For Amp readings, I use a Fluke 77III DMM. For higher amps I now use a Fluke 325 True RMS clamp meter. For microamps, I use a cheap DMM with an easy-to-use micro amp setting.

These were taken with a fully charged Manker 2600mAh USB-C battery.

Mode	Amp at start	Specs	start	30 sec	10 minutes
Low	0.12A	75	68.27	68.27	69
High	2.89A	950	778	763	493h

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.

High mode: starts at almost 780 lumens and slowly drops to 500 lumens in 3 minutes. At 1h45min the output drops from 483 lumens to 70 lumens. At 2h11min the light shuts off.

Low is stable at around 69 lumens. At 19h32min the light shuts off. The last measured output was 66 lumens.

Throw Measurement

Measurements were taken outdoors at 10 meters with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter. Measurements were recorded 30 seconds after turn on

Mode	Specs	Cd measured	Throw in Meters	Throw in Yards	Throw in Miles
High	97,600	140,600 cd	750	820	0.47
Low	–	13100	229	250	0.14

My copy overperformed in terms of throw. Mine reached 140 kcd instead of the 97,600 cd (with 600 meters) from specifications.

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.