Review: Manker U22 (1x21700, NW, XHP35 Hi, Rechargeable, Thermal test)

Budda

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
590
Location
Italy
I received the Manker U22 from Manker.com for the review.

The U22 is Manker latest release, it's a compact version of the well known Manker U21. It features XHP35 Hi, in a slimmer and shorter design, and noticeably it is powered by a 21700 li-ion battery.
The U22 is available in NW and CW version. I got the NW one.

The Manker U22 comes in this box.

Inside the box: the U22 with the battery, lanyard, spare o-ring and charging cable.
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The U22
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The overall design of the U22 recalls the one of the U21: thin body with a bigger head, but it is noticeably slimmer when you compare the two lights.
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There is still a single, back lit, electronic switch at the head. On the other side of the electronic switch there is the USB-C port for charging the battery.
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The head hosts a XHP-35 HI emitter, in a smooth parable. The glass has AR coating.
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The tailcap allows tailstanding and has a hole for the lanyard.
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On my sample the body is glued to the head of the light, and the only part I can remove is the tailcap. The male threads on the body are triangular cut and anodized, allowing physical lockout.
At the tailcap there's a pair of golden nested springs, and at the tailcap a golden spring (flat top cells can be used).


Beamshots
The tint of my light is a pleasant NW, with a yellowish color.

Setup 1, 100 meters at the tree.
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Setup 2
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Output and runtime
Everything tested with the provided Manker 21700 Li-ion Protected battery, with a claimed capacity of 4800mAh.

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At turbo, the light gets brighter after a few seconds, reaching the peak at 44".
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I also tested the provided 21700 battery from Manker, discharging it at 2.0A until 2.8 Volts with my SKYRC MC3000.
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Here's a thermal video of the light running at turbo mode



My thoughts
The light is well built and finished.
The regulation at the tested levels is ok.
I like that the UI allows you to access directly to lowest, highest and last used mode.
I like that the lowest mode has a settable brightness in the order of a few lumens, but the jump to the next output is a bit too big. I would like to have a 30-50 lumen mode more.

I think the U22 is a good compromise of flood/throw and pocketability. Compared to the U21, it has lesser throw, but it is much much more light and compact.

My thoughts on the 21700 cell:
The introduction of the new battery format, 21700, it is a novelty. In a few mms more than a 18650, you have more capacity (the cell is rated 4800mAh), and the extra size and weight of the battery and the overall body construction, makes the light more balanced and easier to hold and use. The 21700 that comes with the U22 is button top but protected, so it's even longer than a regular unprotected 21700 (Manker's one is around 74 mm long).
In my personal experience, I wasn't able to charge the 21700 in any of my chargers (Nitecore D2, Nitecore I2, several GYRFALCONS) because it is too long, and it doesn't fit in any of the slots. I had to resort to charge it with the USB-C port on the light (for the discharge test I had to push a lot a slot of the SKYRC).
Regarding the future of the 21700 format in the flashlight world, It is still a wild guess. Not long ago the 26650 was a promising format, but was never fully adopted on any flashlight format. In my opinion the 21700 has a more promising future because it will be more supported from a research-industrial standpoint, thus, like the 18650, we could see the performance of that particular format increase significantly in time (like the 18650s did, passing from a expensive 2000mAh cell, to a cheap, 3500mAh cell with good discharging capability).
And maybe, above all, it's a size that is still compatible with the EDC segment, unlike the bigger 26650.
But only time will tell.

The light is still compatible with a 18650 cell, although Manker doesn't provide a spacer.
I would like to see the light come with a sheath.

Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera, the tripod, the camera help, the luxmeter.
 
Last edited:

JohnRS

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 26, 2015
Messages
6
Thanks to your review I was able to spot a problem. Based on your runtime graphs and on Manker telling me that NW should be about 10-20% lower lumens with the same runtimes as CW, it seems that the runtimes specified for Turbo and High are very wrong. Instead of "3min-4h" for Turbo, it should be "3min-3hr. And instead of "4.2hr" for High, it should be 2.5h-1.7h, with a Lumens step down to 250 lm.
 
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