[Review] Manker Quinlan U11 (XP-L V5, 1x 18650, Rechargeable)

[shilent]

Same here, every time I unplug the USB connection the light turns on after a few seconds. Not in a normal mode - it cycles repeatedly through 3 brightness levels. Must click to stop it.

So, is this a defect? Well, it was my first light with built in charger and not impressed. Guess I will stick to the known brands.

Mine seems to do this as well.

I also noticed my Low1 and Med1 is way too bright. Low1 is obviously over 100 lumens, so I took a tailcap reading and got 330ma on low1, and 630ma on med1. Both the same in normal and advanced mode.

gwhiz, could you get a tailcap reading on low1?

 

[Clinda]

Really got confused with the self-define mode since I am new to flashlight.

 

[czajunia]

Do you know which of the sellers stocks original Manker products? I was considering either Banggood or Fasttech but I am not sure if they have genuine torches.

Thanks.

 

[Valmet62]

Mine came from Fasttech and it is a factory original. As a matter of fact, I purchased a second one from them. Very pleased !!

 

[somnambulism]

Great review! I have one of these lights and just thought I'd add, in case anyone comes along who's curious, that its really simple to do an emitter swap in this light. I would agree that the factory XP-L is "okay" for most uses, but I found it a bit too cool for my preference. So out it came and an Nichia 219c went in its place. Overall output dropped about 10% in my light box, which is probably to be expected, but its not much of a difference for a greatly improved tint.

It is indeed really simple to do an emitter swap, and it is indeed a greatly improved tint -- here's my before and after comparison:

The size difference is because apparently I didn't put my camera back in exactly the same location after doing the swap, but the settings are identical ('daylight' white balance). I like it much, much better now.

 

[Valmet62]

Vinh did my LED swap with a 3000K 90CRI XPL and I love it !!! Great tint ( for my taste) at lower levels plus great brightness at higher levels. I liked it so much that my second U11 that arrived went directly to Vinh to swap the LED with a 3000K XPL HI for better throw. I can't wait to get it back !!! I am very happy with this light !!!

 

[somnambulism]

Ooh, the idea of one with a 90CRI XPL is very tempting...

 

[Manker]

Thanks to UPZ for the great review.
We have NW version for U11 now, you can check on amazon.
we also have several models will be available soon.
Hope all you enjoy Manker flashlight.

 

[wle]

Thanks to UPZ for the great review.
We have NW version for U11 now, you can check on amazon.
we also have several models will be available soon.
Hope all you enjoy Manker flashlight.

bugs:

leave in DRAGON BREATH more than 10 sec, single-click goes to MOON mode, not SOS

moon mode is not remembered - long click from OFF goes to last non blinky mode UNLESS that was moon mode, then it starts on LOW

lumen levels not correct - LOW is at least 200 lumens, even when set on the low setting [should be 40]

.07 lumens for firefly is unuseable, too dim

i think the low-battery warning comes on too early - it will blink under heavy load, then the BAT LEVEL mode will still report 3 'bars' [blinks]


the light has USB - can it be programmed by the user????????????????????????????????????????????????? that should be easy!!!!!!
probably a lot of geeks would pay $2-5 for an app or pc program to set levels themselves, and possibly the weird UI can be corrected by the user
or manker could just make up some more UI themes and sell them as upgrades
or for free.....:???



wle

 

[brightnorm]

Thanks for this excellent review. A direct comparison with the Nitecore MH20/MH20GT would be very interesting. Any possibility of that?

Brightnorm

 

[shilent]

bugs:

leave in DRAGON BREATH more than 10 sec, single-click goes to MOON mode, not SOS

moon mode is not remembered - long click from OFF goes to last non blinky mode UNLESS that was moon mode, then it starts on LOW

Not sure if it's a bug, but I like that it behaves like this. If I turn mine off while in moonlight, it still goes to the last (non moonlight/blinky) mode used. Meaning, if turn it off while on medium, it turns on medium when I do a long press from off. Then if I cycle to moonlight then turn it off, another long press from off still goes to medium.

lumen levels not correct - LOW is at least 200 lumens, even when set on the low setting [should be 40]

I have a total of 4 Manker U11's, two of them from Fasttech. Both of the ones I received from Fasttech has this issue, Low1 and Med1 being too bright just like yours. My first one from Fasttech measured 300mA on Low1 which is way too high. 2nd one measures about 100mA, still a little too high. They should be under 50mA I think.

i think the low-battery warning comes on too early - it will blink under heavy load, then the BAT LEVEL mode will still report 3 'bars' [blinks]

All 4 of mines, I get a low battery warning around 3.2V with the light on turbo, seems about right. What doesn't seem to work properly though is the battery level indicator in advanced mode, it's 4 blinks all the way down to 3.4V. At around 3.3V is where it blinks 3 times. This makes the battery level indicator useless to me.

Also, all 4 of my lights are NOT waterproof. Water is able to enter the bezel area.

 

[somnambulism]

I have a total of 4 Manker U11's, two of them from Fasttech. Both of the ones I received from Fasttech has this issue, Low1 and Med1 being too bright just like yours. My first one from Fasttech measured 300mA on Low1 which is way too high. 2nd one measures about 100mA, still a little too high. They should be under 50mA I think.

According to this post on another forum, there is a hidden 'Engineering Mode' on the Manker T01 and U11 that can be used to recalibrate the brightness of the lower modes. Maybe that will help?

Acturally, there is a hidden Engineering Mode on T01.
Off—long press over 10 seconds(flicker twice)—Pro Mode—Double click—one click———-
—one click till to Custom settings Low1/2/3(brightness changed automatically)—
—(Choose the brightness you need)One click — Medium1/2/3—Double click—Engineering mode
There are several different output modes on Engineering mode.
If your T01 got a Pre-flash you can choose a brighter output mode in Engineering mode.
And then try the moon light mode again, you will see the moon light mode get brighter but without pre-flash.
The reason is: different emitter get different VF and will cause a difference on moon lihgt output.
So we have to calibrate the value to get the same brightness on moon light mode before sending them out.
But some emitter's VF is too low and that caused the pre-flash.

 

[wle]

According to this post on another forum, there is a hidden 'Engineering Mode' on the Manker T01 and U11 that can be used to recalibrate the brightness of the lower modes. Maybe that will help?

it does reduce the too-bright-on-LOW
it;s kind of tricky to use though
google "u11 engineering mode youtube"

or here
this post on another forum,

wle

 

[babyslim]

All very helpfull. Love those torches.
Not much to add but even beside this great review (s) , I notice for some mysterious reason which must be only pure chance, I see zero klarus product throughout this whole review block.
I will not give the review for the Klarus xt12 here. But because I'm at the bottom of the column or thread here maybe someone will notice.
No reviews on multiple Klarus torches? I will try to have one soon. They are imo the best light out there but in the operational aspect they are superb and Innovative beyond... I hope to see more so I know what to buy..lol.

 

[Screwball69N]

My U11 does not work thinking about taking it apart it turns on one mode and turns off will not do anything else the button is also lit when you screw the cap tight it also will not shut off at all has anyone else had this issue or no of a fix or possible reset