The Manker E14III - an update that defies both physics and economics….

wweiss

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I just received a E14III Manker, HiCRI and am astonished at the build, performance and price. Comparing this light to many other high end models is like comparing a dying campfire ember to a LED. My initial use of this quad flooder on the trail last night was a game changer.


The "Manker E14 III 4000 Lumens Mini EDC Pocket LED Flashlight + Type-C USB Rechargeable 18350 Battery(10A)" is a compact wonder of current tech and performance at a total price of $72 shipped. This includes an 18650 tube ($12). The short 18350 version is just $55. The Cost Benefit Ratio is off any chart you can find. Other lights boast of best-in-class exceptional drivers, UI, hardened potting, etc., but this light delivers effectively all that (and it seems, much better) at a cost that allows you to buy more than 4 of them as redundancies and still have a lot of cash left over compared to some. As to utility for EDC, I can't think of anything that comes close.


I think this one will change the landscape. It's well worth your time to check this out.
 

chillinn

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Incredible. Nails almost everything there is to nail. 18650/18350. tail standing tail clicky. neutral HiCRI or cool white. potted electronics. temperature regulated. copper heatsink. low voltage cutoff. constant current. simple yet attractive clip. very attractive price.

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Missing constant brightness regulation, but almost no lights have such a thing.
I prefer single emitters, but with this I can make exception.

Any idea on what the emitters actually are?

Edit: I see
Emitter: 4x Samsung LH351D (Cool White: 6500K, Neutral White: 4000K CRI>90)
 
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chillinn

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It is actually constant brightness regulated...

How do you know this? I see nothing at Manker to indicate this. Constant brightness is not a feature to hide.


You should have jumped on FB groupbuy,...

I won't FB. I refuse to be a product. FB is rather evil... you don't realize what you're promoting nor what you're giving away.
 
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bykfixer

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So 4 thousand lumens from an 18350……

Is runtime going to be listed in minutes or seconds?

Yet Manker is doing something amazing here.

I was a believer about the Manker ideas when a T01 a freind sent me lit up my whole back yard and my neighbors backyard using one Rayovac alkaline AA battery.
 

wweiss

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Please let us know how the 5 optional moonlight settings work out, as the 180lm low is way to high for most users

The lowest moon is lower than the lowest moon on a HDS. Perfect spacing between the moons. I can hike along at the highest moon and the flash the 4K at anything that goes bump.
 

wweiss

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One con: Does not have the perfect rotary control like my NB45 HDS. If it did, well, ain't nothing to touch it.
 

chillinn

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The lowest moon is lower than the lowest moon on a HDS. Perfect spacing between the moons. I can hike along at the highest moon and the flash the 4K at anything that goes bump.

Let's just call it what it is... half a lumen. I believe actual moonlight is 1-3Lm, so I call anything below a lumen a firefly. I did not notice that this thing has no low or medium modes whatsoever. Goes from 0.5Lm straight to 180Lm*. That is rather unfortunate, and just plain nutty, and instantly kills my interest. If it even had an 8Lm or 20 Lm mode... or just a 40Lm mode, I could make exception. I don't know what I'd do with this light. Not comparable for the price and size, but I'd rather have an SC700d, and I don't even know what I'd do with that. I live in the deep sticks, and it is very dark at night, and there are long stretches of flat places to shine light... but I prefer to be low key and see up close. Ok, I just did think of a purpose: for sailing. One thing I noticed about light is that stretches of water just eats it. Only one thing to do is go to extreme brightnesses, and those serious about sailing or boating and have to be on water at night do have and use incredibly bright and often HID lights. So maybe I could drawer this thing until I go sailing again. Also I suppose the E14 III could be useful during the day... outside. Lumen junkies will love it, but I am a junkie for 0.01Lm up to about 40Lm, and only use 100Lm or more very briefly.


*edit: appears I am mistaken, and there are intermediate programmable modes. Manker's product page does not seem to list what they are... so there is more than one moonlight level, and more than one intermediate level. Hope someone posts what those are.
 
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chillinn

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Here is the review i found

https://1lumen.com/review/manker-e14-iii/

Looks like lowest moon mode is not meassurable acc to tester...

According to the review, it does appear regulated for constant brightness in all modes but Turbo. I wonder why Manker wouldn't list this as a feature... it is so rare and highly desired. The reviewer fails to mention this under his "Pros" list. I wonder how the driver accomplishes this with constant current, or if the constant current feature is exaggerated, and it utilizes a pulse schema that doesn't drop to 0 output, ala Zebralight.
 

id30209

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CC or regulated is now feature that many manufacturers are implementing. Convoy for example with new drivers is just amazing and no PWM at any level. Sofirn, Skilhunt and other low cost names also.
Manker was known for long time for their super efficient drivers.

Turbo step down is ok knowing the size and battery it has. Most likely temperature controled.


Sent from Tapatalk
 

wweiss

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The lowest moon level on my HDS is .02L. The lowest level on the Manker is a bit less than 2 hundredths of a lumen. Using moon 5 (5+-L?) is perfect for my trail walking.
 
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chillinn

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CC or regulated is now feature that many manufacturers are implementing. Convoy for example with new drivers is just amazing and no PWM at any level. Sofirn, Skilhunt and other low cost names also.
Manker was known for long time for their super efficient drivers.

So glad to hear it. Got an eye on a Convoy S2+. Too good of a deal just got better.
 
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wweiss

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I've been using this light now for a solid week and I have come to think that it is one of the best lights out there. The UI is fantastic I can hike along at 3 to 5 lm and it goes lower than that to the point of hardly being visible. I have both the 18350 in the 18650 tubes - very versatile. The Samsung LEDs in neutral are very high CRI and produce a great wide floody beam. The highest brightness level is so high that it literally becomes as good as a thrower if you need it. Heat regulation is so good, you can run it a long time on turbo.

I have found myself leaving my HDS and Alpha's home and taking this light every night.
 
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