Manker E05 II⌗

Specifications
Introduction
Torch in use
Build quality
LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
Size and comparison
User interface
Batteries and charging
Performance
Beamshots
Conclusion
Price
Product page

Specifications⌗

Brand/model	Manker E05 II
LED	Cool White 6500K
Maximum lumens	1,300 lm
Maximum beam intensity	5,476 cd
Maximum throw	148 m
Battery	114500 Li-ion, 1AA Ni-MH, 1*AA Alkaline
Onboard charging	Yes (USB-C battery)
Material	Aluminium
Modes	3
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	OP
Waterproof	IP68
Review date	December 2023

Introduction⌗

The Manker E05 II is a AA sized EDC torch with a deep carry pocket clip.

It has a forward clicky switch to access Low, Medium and High modes.

It is available in aluminium (green or black) and Manker will be releasing copper and titanium versions soon too!

EDIT (17/01/2024): The Manker E05 II is now available in copper and titanium.

The orange peel reflector and the larger emitter help produce an intense beam with more lumens compared to the original Manker E05.

Here are a few of the changes:

	E05	E05 II
Output (lumens)	400	1,300
Beam Distance (metres)	200	148
Reflector	Smooth	OP
Waterproof	IPX8	IP68
Strobe in main group	Yes	No

Here is a video demonstrating the Manker E05 II:

Manker kindly sent this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.

Packaging⌗

The Manker E05 II comes in an orange and black box with window so that the torch can be seen from the front.

The following was included in the box:

Manker E05 II.
Manker protected 14500 920mAh 3.7V Li-ion cell (4A CDR) with USB-C charging.
USB-A to USB-C cable.
Lanyard.
Spare o-ring.
User manual.

Two optional diffusers (filters) were also included:

Torch in use⌗

The Manker E05 II fits comfortably in my hand.

I really like forward clicky tail switches because I can half press the button to momentarily turn the light on to inspect something.

I personally prefer to EDC a slim AAA sized torch but this AA sized torch slips into my pocket discretely with a deep carry pocket clip.

There is a lanyard hole in the pocket clip and the torch can tailstand.

Build quality⌗

The Manker E05 II is made of aluminium and it has a matte black anodised finish. The army green version has a semi-gloss finish. There are no sharp edges.

The tube has a unique design where there is a deliberate 3mm gap at each end. The threads have o-rings to help prevent water getting in.

I found that the head of the torch gets hot on Medium and High. Perhaps the gaps were added to help keep the tail and tube cool.

There is grip on the tail and the narrow section of the tube also helps with grip.

The deep carry pocket clip can be unscrewed and removed.

The threads came lightly lubricated. The head turns smoothly but I added more silicone grease so that it is easier to put the head on.

The tube cannot be reversed. The threads near the tail are longer and that additional length is required so that the switch PCB is held in place.

There is a slot for a tritium vial or a glow stick in the button cover.

The recessed button cover is one big aluminium piece that fits around a spring. Sometimes a rubber membrane is used for tail switches but Manker has opted to use a big spring.

The button feels firm when pressing it and it gives a satisfying “click-click” sound.

Water might get into the tail section if the button is pressed while underwater. There is a metal washer sitting between the metal button cover and the tail end of the torch. There appears to be sufficient outward pressure from the tail spring and a bit of oil that may help with water resistance.

Water resistance could be improved by having a rubber seal to protect the switch PCB.

There is physical reverse polarity protection (RPP). The notch prevents flat top batteries from being used.

I tested RPP by putting a flat top battery and button top battery in backwards. RPP worked as expected.

The optional diffusers fit snugly on the head of the torch.

Teardown⌗

A retaining ring and a copper pill have been glued inside the head of the torch.

I put the head of the torch in a SmallRig clamp and I used Knipex circlip pliers to unscrew the retaining ring. Be careful! It is easy to damage the driver by knocking components off.

The driver can be pried up with tweezers.

I used a Camera Lens Spanner Wrench to unscrew the pill. Both the retaining ring and the pill can be unscrewed by turning them counter-clockwise (i.e. they are not reverse-threaded).

Here are photos of both sides of the driver:

A Fremont Micro Devices (FMD) MCU has been used.

LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam⌗

The Manker E05 II has a Cool White (6500K) domeless emitter with four dies. The packaging mentions Cool White and Neutral White options.

There is a centering gasket sitting around the emitter for the orange peel reflector to press against. The gasket is slightly misaligned on the two review samples that I received. It doesn’t really impact the beam.

The glass lens appears to have a purple anti-reflective coating.

Circlip pliers and a Camera Lens Spanner Wrench can be used to unscrew the retaining ring and the pill to get access to the emitter.

The MCPCB is held down with a screw.

There appears to be a sufficient amount of thermal paste between the copper MCPCB and the copper shelf of the pill. I would probably add a bit more around the base of the whole MCPCB for peace-of-mind.

CCT, CRI, and duv⌗

I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned one metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).

The CCT is around 5500K. The CRI is around 63.

The Delta u, v is positive (green) on lower modes and less green on High.

The beam has a hot spot taking up 40% of the beam. The hot spot looks like a round square pillow. The orange peel reflector is doing a good job. There is a slightly green corona. The spill fades out and becomes a bit more intense around the edges. The edge of the beam is soft due to the bezel.

Cell	Mode	CCT (K)	CRI (Ra)	x	y	Duv
14500	Low	5421	61.1	0.3347	0.3712	0.0137
14500	Medium	5565	63.0	0.3308	0.3617	0.0109
14500	High	5759	65.2	0.3263	0.3514	0.0079

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

Dimensions and size comparison⌗

Dimensions⌗

I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.

Measurement	Unit (mm)
Length	91.86
Head diameter	20.00
Tube outside diameter	20.04
Tube inside diameter	15.00
Tube length	53.15
Button diameter	11.46
Battery length	50.4
Battery diameter	14.06

Weight⌗

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight	Unit (g)
Torch	41.39
Battery	21.26
Torch with battery	62.65

Size comparison with its competition⌗

From left to right: Manker E05 II Black, Manker E05 II Army Green, ReyLight LANapple, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0, Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray, Acebeam Pokelit AA Ti, Acebeam Pokelit AA Copper, Olight i3T Brass, Olight i3T Stainless Steel, Acebeam Rider RX Rainbow PVD

Manker E05 II Black, Manker E05 II Army Green, ReyLight LANapple, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0, Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray, Acebeam Pokelit AA Ti, Acebeam Pokelit AA Copper, Olight i3T Brass, Olight i3T Stainless Steel, Acebeam Rider RX Rainbow PVD

User interface⌗

The Manker E05 II has a forward clicky tailswitch.

It can be half pressed to momentarily cycle between modes. And it can be fully pressed (click) to cycle between modes and to turn the torch on and off.

There are three main modes: Low, Medium and High. And one blinky mode: Strobe.

State	Action	Result
Off	Half press	Momentary on (Low)
Off	Half press again between 0.5 and 1 second	Cycle (Low, Medium, High)
Off	Double half press within 0.5 seconds	Momentary Strobe
Off	Half press and click within 0.5 seconds	Strobe
Off	Click	On
On	Click	Off

Mode memory⌗

The torch will memorise the last used mode (Low, Medium, High) when it has been off for two seconds.

Strobe is not memorised.

Strobe⌗

Strobe appears to have a constant 20 Hz frequency. The lumen output is similar to High.

Lockout⌗

There is no lockout in the user interface. The head can be unscrewed slightly to avoid accidentally turning the torch on while it is in a pocket or a backpack.

It is a forward clicky torch with a recessed tail switch so it is less likely to be accidentally turned on.

Low voltage protection⌗

I tested low voltage protection by connecting the head of the torch to a bench power supply and then by lowering the voltage from 4.2V to 0V for a 14500 Li-ion cell and from 1.5V to 0V for a AA cell.

There is low voltage protection for Low and Medium built into the torch when using a 14500 Li-ion cell but the torch does not turn off early enough when using High. The torch turned off at 2.33V when simulating a 14500 Li-ion cell but it continued to draw a current of 8mA. I tested two E05 II’s and I observed the same behaviour.

There does not appear to be low voltage protection for a AA cell. The torch turned off between 0.57V and 0.71V when simulating a AA Ni-MH cell but it continued to draw a current of around 8mA. The output will decrease as the voltage drops. I would recommend charging the cell when you notice the output drop significantly.

Cell	Mode	LVP?	Cut-off voltage	Current
14500	Low	Yes	2.62V
14500	Medium	Yes	2.65V
14500	High	No	2.33V	8mA
Ni-MH	Low	No	0.71V	9mA
Ni-MH	Medium	No	0.59V	8mA
Ni-MH	High	No	0.57V	7mA

PWM⌗

I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering). That said, the modulation depth is around 40% on Low when measured with an Opple LM3.

What I like about the UI⌗

The forward clicky tail switch is simple to use.
Strobe is not in the main group when cycling.

What could be improved⌗

I prefer it when these types of torches start in Low instead of having mode memory.
Double half press for High would be nice.
Triple half press for Strobe would be nice.

Batteries and charging⌗

Battery⌗

A Manker 14500 920mAh 3.7V Li-ion cell with built-in USB-C charging and protection was included.

I measured a capacity of 930mAh by discharging the cell at a rate of 0.5A using a Vapcell S4 Plus.

A piece of insulating film was included to prevent the torch from being turned on while in the packaging.

I tried the following cells:

Cell	Top	Compatible?
Manker 14500 Li-ion 920mAh 3.7V 4A CDR USB-C	Button	Yes
Vapcell H10 14500 Li-ion 1000mAh 3.7V	Button	Yes
eneloop pro AA Ni-MH 2450mAh 1.2V	Button	Yes
Shockli Orange 14500 Li-ion 1000mAh 3.7V	Flat	No

Physical reverse polarity protection prevents flat top cells from being used.

Charging⌗

Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: AVHzY CT-3
Room temperature: 19 C

I charged the included battery from 3.16V to 4.16V with the built-in USB-C charger in the battery. Charging completed after 2 hours 7 minutes. The charging rate was approximately 5V 0.5A.

The charging indicator light in the battery went from red to green when charging finished.

Power supply compatibility⌗

I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:

Power supply	USB Type	Protocol	Does it charge?
Apple 61W Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
Google Pixel Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-A	QC	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-A		Yes

USB-C to USB-C charging works.

Performance⌗

Specifications from the user manual:

14500

FL1 STANDARD	Low	Medium	High	Strobe
Output (lumens)	8	300 + 8	1,300 + 300 + 8	1,300
Runtime	50h	1h 30min + 3h 50min	2min + 1h + 4h
Beam Distance (metres)			148
Beam Intensity (cd)			5,476

Ni-MH

FL1 STANDARD	Low	Medium	High	Strobe
Output (lumens)	1.5	100 + 1.5	420 + 100 + 1.5	420
Runtime	27h	1h 50min + 3h 8min	2min + 2h + 30min
Beam Distance (metres)			85
Beam Intensity (cd)			1,806

Alkaline

FL1 STANDARD	Low	Medium	High	Strobe
Output (lumens)	1.5	100 + 1.5	420 + 100 + 1.5	420
Runtime	55h	1h 20min + 16h 50min	1min + 48min + 3h 15min
Beam Distance (metres)			85
Beam Intensity (cd)			1,806

I used an eneloop pro AA Ni-MH 1.2V 2450mAh cell and a Manker 920mAh 3.7V Li-ion cell for the following tests.

Lumen measurements⌗

I used a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter to measure the current at turn on.

Cell	Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 min
14500	Low	0.01 A	8	10	10	10
14500	Medium	0.55 A	300	310	304	295
14500	High	4.75 A	1,300 + 300	1,396	1,176	310
Ni-MH	Low	0.06 A	1.5	1.7	1.7	1.7
Ni-MH	Medium	0.64 A	100	108	106	103
Ni-MH	High	4.21 A	420 + 100	442	411	115

The torch is hitting 1,300 lumens at turn on when using a 14500 cell on High mode but the output dropped to 1,176 lumens at 30 seconds. So it fell short of the 1,300 lumens at 30 seconds claim.

Runtime graphs⌗

I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.

Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.

The room temperature was approximately 19 C.

Runtime⌗

Here is a summary of the runtime results:

Cell	Mode	User manual	Runtime	Turn off	Final voltage
14500	High	2min + 1h + 4h	1h 7min 2s	7h 31min 51s	3.08
14500	Medium	1h 30min + 3h 50min	1h 22min 43s	6h 27min 55s	3.09
14500	Low	50h	10min+	10min+
Ni-MH	High	2min + 2h + 30min	2h 35min 8s	3h 30min 14s	0.91
Ni-MH	Medium	1h 50min + 3h 8min	3h 10min 56s	4h 2min 13s	0.92
Ni-MH	Low	27h	10min+	10min+

“Runtime” is the time until the output reduces to 10% of the output at 30 seconds (as per the ANSI/PLATO FL1 2019 Standard).

“Turn off” is the time until my DIY lumen tube no longer detects more than one lumen.

“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.

The runtime results are pretty close to what Manker mentioned in the user manual.

Ni-MH Medium turned off slightly shorter by about 55 minutes.

Ni-MH High and 14500 Medium lasted an hour longer than expected.

The light output is well regulated!

UPDATE: 23/12/2023

Most of the results in this review are from a black Manker E05 II (serial 23010385). However, the green Manker E05 II (serial 23011708) performs slightly differently.

Here are runtime results for the green E05 II:

Cell	Mode	User manual	Runtime	Turn off	Final voltage
14500G	High	2min + 1h + 4h	1h 26min 15s	1h 26min 15s	3.21
14500B	High	2min + 1h + 4h	1h 26min 1s	1h 26min 1s	3.27

I used the original battery in the first runtime and then the battery from the black E05 II in the second runtime test to try to rule out whether the battery was causing the short runtime.

The runtime was very similar in the green E05 II while using different batteries and it was longer in the black E05 II when using the same battery. So the driver in the green E05 II is causing the light to turn off around 3.27V.

The following graph shows the green E05 II shutting off early compared to the black E05 II:

Throw⌗

I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Each mode was measured at one metre.

Cell	Mode	Specs (cd)	Specs (m)	Candela measured (cd)	Distance (m)
14500	Low			46	13
14500	Medium			1,740	83
14500	High	5,476	148	6,686	163
Ni-MH	Low			7	5
Ni-MH	Medium			592	48
Ni-MH	High	1,806	85	2,385	97

The beam distance is slightly better than expected.

Beamshots⌗

I went to a local park and aimed the Manker E05 II at a tree 70 metres away while using High.

Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.

Manker E05 II (High)⌗

Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray (High)⌗

Acebeam Pokelit AA Ti (High)⌗

ReyLight LANapple (100%)⌗

Conclusion⌗

The Manker E05 II is a more practical successor to the original E05. It is capable of three times the lumen output compared to the E05.

I measured a beam distance of 163 metres after letting the torch run for 30 seconds. The distance is slightly shorter than the 200 metre distance that the original E05 can reach but it is better than the 148 metre estimate by Manker.

Manker listened to feedback and removed Strobe from the main cycle group. You no longer have to go to Strobe to get back to Low.

I really like forward clicky tailswitches because of the momentary access to the light! The user interface is pretty simple to use.

The light output is well regulated and the runtimes are good.

The lumen output was slightly lower than expected for High with a 14500 cell. I expected 1,300 lumens at 30 seconds but it started at 1,396 lumens and dropped to 1,176 lumens by 30 seconds.

I am excited to see what the copper and the titanium versions of the Manker E05 II look like.