Manker MK38

Now it is starting to get more interesting. Manker gives you 3 LED options. 8*CREE XHP70.2 CW (cool white 6500K), 8*CREE XHP70.2 NW (neutral white 5000K), and 8*Luminus SFT40 (6500K).

The one in this review is sporting the 8*Luminus SFT40’s. They aren’t as powerful as the XHP70 options but have at more than double the throw. So a great competition for the Acebeam X80GT with XHP50.3, and the Imalent RS50 in terms of output and throw.

They sit in smooth reflectors about 1-1.5 inches deep.

The bezel is advertised as Stainless steel, and that could be true, but it almost looks like an exotic metal. It has a beautiful black mirror-like finish.

I used my Opple Light Master to measure CCT and Ra. From my earlier testing, I noticed that DUV is variable, so I don’t think that’s useful to share, at this point in time with so high power flashlights. I tested the numbers in my homemade integrating sphere, in mode Mid 2 or Mid 1, a few seconds after turning on.

• CCT: 5870K
• Ra (CRI): 65.2

• Length: 139 mm / 5.49 ”
• Bezeldiameter: 80 mm / 3.15 ”
• Tailcap diameter: 57.5 mm / 2.26 ”

Weight with handle

• Empty: 702.5 g / 24.78 oz
• With battery: 910 g / 32.1 oz

Without handle:

• Empty: 587.3 g / 20.71 oz
• With battery: 794.7 g / 28 oz

Lumenmonsters comparison

Size compared to some of the brightest flashlights (soda can sized).

Image 1, from left to right: Manker MK38, Olight Marauder 2, Acebeam X50, Imalent MS08, Imalent RS50, Acebeam X80-GT, Imalent X80-GT2, Lumintop GT3.

Manker uses its own User interface, which is rather unique. I like the idea that companies come up with their own UI, although I also like simple UIs that can be found on many flashlights. Anyway, here is the explanation.

The main switch and the one on the handle can be used interchangeably. You can turn the light on with 1, and change modes, or turn off with the other, and vice versa.

Available modes:

• Low, Mid1, Mid2, Mid3, High, Turbo
• Eco1, Eco2, Eco3, Eco4
• Strobe / SOS / Beacon

From OFF:

• Single-click: to last used mode in Main mode menu (Low, mid1, mid2, mid3, high)
• Double click: Turbo
• Triple-click: Strobe (press and hold to cycle through Strobe, Beacon, and SOS) (not memorized)
• Press and hold 1 sec: to last used mode in Eco mode group (Eco1, Eco2, Eco3 or Eco4)
• Press and hold 3 sec: turn on/off side switch light

From ON:

• Single-click: Turn off
• Double click: Turbo
• Triple-click: Strobe mode (not memorized)
• Press and hold: Cycle through the menu from Low to High

Shortcuts:

• To Turbo: double click from on/off
• To Moon: long-press from off
• To Strobe: triple click from on/off

Mode memory:

• Yes, Eco modes and Main modes (blinky modes don’t)

Blinky modes menu:

• Yes. A triple click will activate strobe, and then a long-press for beacon and SOS. they will not be memorized

Low battery warning:

• The light will reduce output, and turn off. The resting voltage is about 3.1V, so that is safe!

Lock-out mode:

• 4 clicks. And with 1 click you will turn on/off the lighted switch

PWM:

• Not visible

Firmware / UI Conclusion:

Quite a standard and great UI. I also like the ability to have 4 ECO modes, in case you prefer low output only.

Manker gives you 2 options: a battery pack, or 3 separate cells. The one I got was just 3 separate cells, so I used some Samsung 30T and 40T for testing.

It doesn’t accept long protected batteries! Stick to unprotected flat tops, and you’ll be fine. The following image shows 3*30T 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.

All of my readings were taken from fully-charged Samsung INR21700 30T and INR21700 40T batteries.

First table with 30T measurements. I measured manually at the start and 30 seconds. The runtime graphs are done with the 40T batteries. The light drops very quickly, so around the 30-second measurement, the light changes numbers quickly, so I wrote down what I saw ‘around’ the 30-second mark.

Just for fun, here are the turn on measurements for the Eco modes with 30T’s

Here are the measurements with Samsung INR21700 40T’s.

The 10 minutes measurements were taken from the runtime test.

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.

Turbo, High and Medium 3 used fans!!!

Turbo starts at around 16,000 lumens and drops to about 1700 lumens in exactly 3 minutes. It then starts ramping up till it reaches 5650 lumens at 53 minutes. At that point it drops down to 290 lumens until it shuts off at 1h41min. Total runtime is till 10% of the initial output, so that means: 53 minutes

High has similar behavior. But the output starts at around 8500 lumens and slowly drops to 6680 lumens in 15 minutes when it drops to 1700 lumens. (Ther is some string behavior in the line as you can see at roughly 14 minutes.
It has a similar increase after the biggest drop and increases its brightness till it reaches 4960 lumens at the 54-minute mark. It then drops to roughly 700 lumens. At 1h32min it turns off.

Mid 3 is relatively stable and starts almost at 4,000 lumens. Just before 1h13min it drops from 3770 lumens down to about 300 lumens. At 1h42min it turns off.

Mid2 starts around 2246 lumens. At 2h14min it drops from 2140 lumens down to 300 lumens. At 2h33min it shuts off completely.

Mid1 start at around 1234 lumens and runs straight for 5h04min when it drops from 1167 lumens down to 308 lumens. The light shuts off at 5h30min.

Low starts off around 720 lumens and runs for 8h10min when it drops to roughly 310 lumens. It shuts down just short of 8h32min.

Throw Measurement

Measurements were taken both indoors and outdoors with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter. The measurements below were taken at 5 meters. The outdoor measurements at 20 meters were pretty close but harder to measure.

My measurements were pretty close.

Manker MK38 vs Acebeam X50 vs Imalent MS08 vs Imalent RS50

High power flashlight competitors

Hover your mouse over any particular line to see data points! Or select a flashlight at the bottom of the graph to highlight that particular graph. (Are you on a mobile phone? Hold your phone horizontally).

Here is the list with most of the high-power flashlights we reviewed in this category (Category: high-power soupcan sized flashlights).

(Interactive line graphs below)

Hover your mouse over the lines in the graph to see more details.

Or click on a name at the bottom of the graph to highlight the specific runtime.

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.