Manker E03H III Headlamp Review
Manker E03H III#
- Specifications
- Introduction
- Torch in use
- Build quality
- LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
- Size and comparison
- User interface
- Batteries and charging
- Performance
- Beamshots
- Thermal Images
- Conclusion
- Price
- Product page
Specifications#
| Brand/model | Manker E03H III |
|---|---|
| LED | 6500K Cool White |
| Maximum lumens | 1,200 lm |
| Maximum beam intensity | 3,306 cd |
| Maximum throw | 115 m |
| Battery | 1*14500 Li-ion, 1*AA Ni-MH, 1*AA Alkaline |
| Onboard charging | No (14500 has USB-C) |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Modes | 7 |
| Blinkies | Strobe |
| Reflector | TIR |
| Waterproof | IP68 |
| Review date | November 2025 |
Introduction#
The Manker E03H III is a AA-sized right-angle torch with multiple moonlight modes.
It comes with a 14500 3.7V Li-ion cell with USB-C charging. It also supports AA 1.2V Ni-MH and AA 1.5V Alkaline batteries.
I previously bought the Manker E03H II after buying the Manker E02 II to see what the slighty larger size would be like.
I recently reviewed the AAA-sized Manker E02 III.
Here is a video demonstrating the E03H III outside:
Manker kindly provided 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 E03H III comes in orange and black box with a window to display the torch.
The following is included in the box:
- Manker E03H III.
- Manker 14500 Li-ion 3.7V Li-ion 920mAh cell with built-in USB-C charging.
- Red, Green and White filters.
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
- Pocket clip.
- Spare o-ring.
- User manual.
User Manual#
Torch in use#
The Manker E03H III feels comfortable to hold.
It can be clipped onto the loop of a backpack with the pocket clip. The torch can tailstand.
There is a strong magnet in the tailcap to use the torch as a work light.
There is no longer a lanyard hole in the tail cap.
Build quality#
The Manker E03H III has a matte brown anodised finish. It is also available in other colours.
There is plenty of grip and it feels nice to hold.
The button gives a satisfying click.
The threads turn smoothly. The threads and the inside of the tube are anodised.
There is a small notch near the positive terminal on the driver to provide Reverse Polarity Protection.
LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam#
This Manker E03H III has a Cool White 6500K emitter behind a TIR optic and a bezel. The torch is also available with a Nichia 519A 4000K R9080 emitter.
The bezels on version III of the E03H have notches for snap ring pliers to unscrew. This is a nice upgrade over the E03H II where it has press fit bezels.
The three filters (red, green and white) clip onto the head and make the beam floody.
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 half a metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).
The CCT is around 5900K, the CRI is around 69 and the Delta u, v is slightly positive (a hint of green).
The torch produces floody beam with wide focused hot spot. There are some minor artefacts around the edges when looking at a white wall.
| Cell | Mode | CCT (K) | CRI (Ra) | x | y | Duv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 | Low | 5711 | 68.2 | 0.3275 | 0.3498 | 0.0066 |
| 14500 | Medium | 5777 | 68.7 | 0.3261 | 0.3463 | 0.0055 |
| 14500 | High | 5948 | 69.6 | 0.3227 | 0.3390 | 0.0034 |
| 14500 | Turbo | 6180 | 70.8 | 0.3186 | 0.3308 | 0.0012 |
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 | 82.55 |
| Head width | 20.00 |
| Head depth | 20.75 |
| Tube diameter | 19.52 |
| Pocket clip diameter | 16.66 |
| Tail diameter | 20.60 |
Weight#
I took the following measurements using a digital scale.
| Weight | Unit (g) |
|---|---|
| Torch | 40.11 |
| Battery | 21.42 |
| Headband | 24.12 |
| Torch with battery | 61.53 |
| Torch with battery and headband | 85.65 |
Size comparison with its competition#
From left to right: Manker E03H III, ZebraLight H53c LE, Manker E02 II
User interface#
The Manker E03H III has an electronic switch at the head.
There are three General modes (Low, Medium and High).
There is a Turbo mode.
There are three Moonlight modes (Mo1, Mo2, Mo3).
And there are three Special modes (Strobe, SOS and Beacon).
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Press and hold for 1.5 seconds | Moonlight |
| Moonlight | Press and hold | Cycle (Mo1, Mo2, Mo3) |
| Off | Click | General (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Any | Two clicks | Turbo |
| Turbo | Press and hold | General (Mode Memory) |
| Any | Three clicks | Special (Strobe) |
| Special | Press and hold | Cycle (Strobe, SOS, Beacon) |
| Special | Three clicks | General (Mode Memory) |
| Off | Press and hold for 5 seconds | Lock |
| Locked | Click | Nothing |
| Locked | Press and hold for 5 seconds | Unlock |
Mode memory#
There is mode memory.
The torch will memorise the last used General mode (Low, Medium, High) and the last used moonlight mode (Mo1, Mo2, Mo3).
Turbo, Strobe, SOS and Beacon are not memorised.
Strobe#
Strobe has a constant frequency.
Strobe, SOS, Beacon
I measured Strobe, SOS and Beacon with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope.
Low voltage protection#
There is low voltage protection.
I tested low voltage protection by: connecting the driver of the torch to a bench power supply, turning the torch on in Medium mode, and lowering the voltage from 4.2V to 2.78V for a 14500 3.7V Li-ion cell and from 1.2V to 0.73V for a 1.2V Ni-MH battery.
The light output dropped significantly after a few minutes and then the light turned off after 12 minutes at these low voltages.
The light turns off at around 2.78V for a Li-ion cell and around 0.73V for Ni-MH battery.
Battery Status Indicator#
If you select a General mode but the output drops to a Moonlight mode then that is the torch indicating that the battery needs to be charged or replaced.
Pulse Width Modulation#
There is PWM but I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).
I measured the PWM of the light with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope.
Low, Medium, High, Turbo
What I like about the UI#
- Multiple Moonlight modes (one officially sub 1 lumen).
- Direct access to Moonlight from off.
- Direct access to Turbo from off.
- Direct access to Strobe from off.
What could be improved#
- Battery status indicator in the button.
- A hidden engineering mode like on the Manker MC13 II SE would be nice to have so that the brightness of each mode can be adjusted.
Batteries and charging#
Battery#
A protected button top Manker 14500 3.7V Li-ion 920mAh cell with USB-C charging was included inside the torch. The cell arrived with a voltage of 4.02V.
The cell was isolated with a piece of plastic to prevent accidentally turning the torch on.
I tried the following cells:
| Cell | Top | Compatible? | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manker 14500 Li-ion 3.7V Li-ion 920mAh USB-C | Button | Yes | |
| LOOP 14500 Li-ion 920mAh 3.6V USB-C | Button | Yes | |
| Manker 14500 Li-ion 920mAh 3.7V 4A CDR USB-C | Button | Yes | |
| Vapcell H10 14500 Li-ion 1000mAh 3.7V | Button | Yes | Tight fit. |
| Shockli Orange 14500 Li-ion 1000mAh 3.7V | Flat | Yes | |
| eneloop pro AA Ni-MH 2450mAh 1.2V | Button | Yes | |
| LADDA AA Ni-MH 2450mAh 1.2V | Button | Yes |
Charging#
The Manker E03H III does not have built-in charging. It comes with a 14500 Li-ion 3.7V Li-ion 920mAh cell with USB-C charging.
Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: ChargerLAB Power-Z KM003C
Room temperature: 15 C
It took 2 hour 14 minutes to charge the 14500 cell from 3.19V to 4.19V at a rate of 5V/0.5A.
The charging status indicator in the 14500 cell is red while charging and it becomes green when charging is complete.
Power supply compatibility#
I tried the following power supplies with the included 14500 cell:
| Power supply | USB Type | Protocol | Does it charge? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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:
6500K
| FL1 Standard / Mode | Cell | Mo1 | Mo2 | Mo3 | Low | Medium | High | Turbo | Strobe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output (lumens) | 14500 | 0.1 | 1 | 2.5 | 45 | 160 + 12 | 600 + 320 + 12 | 1,200 + 320 + 12 | 1,200 |
| Runtime | 14500 | 9h 30min | 2h 40min + 50min | 1min 30s + 1h 15min + 50min | 40s + 1h 10min + 50min | ||||
| Beam Intensity (cd) | 14500 | 3,306 | |||||||
| Beam Distance (metres) | 14500 | 115 | |||||||
| Output (lumens) | Ni-MH | 0.1 | 1 | 2.5 | 15 | 60 + 4 | 165 + 100 + 4 | 340 + 100 + 4 | 340 |
| Runtime | Ni-MH | 10h 30min | 3h 40min + 30min | 3min + 1h 50min + 55min | 1min 30s + 2h 5min + 40min | ||||
| Beam Intensity (cd) | Ni-MH | 1,056 | |||||||
| Beam Distance (metres) | Ni-MH | 65 | |||||||
| Output (lumens) | Alkaline | 0.1 | 1 | 2.5 | 15 | 60 + 4 | 165 + 100 + 4 | 340 + 100 + 4 | 340 |
| Runtime | Alkaline | 12h | 3h 40min + 7h | 3min + 1h 20min + 10h 30min | 1min 30s + 1h 22min + 13h | ||||
| Beam Intensity (cd) | Alkaline | 1,056 | |||||||
| Beam Distance (metres) | Alkaline | 65 |
I tested the light using the included 14500 cell and an eneloop pro AA Ni-MH 2450mAh 1.2V cell.
Lumen measurements#
I used a bench power supply to measure the current at turn on for most modes.
I also used a UNI-T UT139C to measure the current for Moonlight modes.
| Cell | Mode | Amps at start | Specs | Lumens @turn on | Lumens @30 sec | Lumens @10 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 | Mo1 | 16 mA | 0.1 | |||
| 14500 | Mo2 | 21 mA | 1 | |||
| 14500 | Mo3 | 14 mA | 2.5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 14500 | Low | 0.07 A | 45 | 61 | 59 | 57 |
| 14500 | Medium | 0.30 A | 160 + 12 | 189 | 185 | 180 |
| 14500 | High | 1.30 A | 600 + 320 + 12 | 618 | 603 | 347 |
| 14500 | Turbo | 4.33 A | 1,200 + 320 + 12 | 1,362 | 1,143 | 350 |
| Ni-MH | Low | 0.18 A | 15 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Ni-MH | Medium | 0.52 A | 60 + 4 | 66 | 64 | 64 |
| Ni-MH | High | 1.43 A | 165 + 100 + 4 | 180 | 181 | 106 |
| Ni-MH | Turbo | 2.78 A | 340 + 100 + 4 | 373 | 366 | 108 |
Moonlight 2 (Mo2) and Moonlight 1 (Mo1) were too low for my DIY lumen tube to detect.
Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.
Standby drain#
15 µA
Runtime graphs#
I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.
The room temperature was approximately 15 C.
14500#
Ni-MH#
Runtime#
Here is a summary of the runtime results:
| Cell | Mode | User manual | Runtime | Turn off | Final voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 | Turbo | 40s + 1h 10min + 50min | 1h 6min 57s | 2h 4min 47s | 2.94 |
| 14500 | High | 1min 30s + 1h 15min + 50min | 1h 6min 55s | 1h 59min 3s | 3.12 |
| 14500 | Medium | 2h 40min + 50min | 2h 26min 27s | 2h 26min 27s | 2.97 |
| 14500 | Low | 9h 30min | 8h 30min 57s | 8h 30min 57s | 3.11 |
| Ni-MH | Turbo | 1min 30s + 2h 5min + 40min | 2h 45min 39s | 3h 21min 33s | 1.14 |
| Ni-MH | High | 3min + 1h 50min + 55min | 2h 41min 27s | 3h 9min 25s | 1.15 |
| Ni-MH | Medium | 3h 40min + 30min | 5h 14min 9s | 5h 14min 9s | 1.13 |
| Ni-MH | Low | 10h 30min | 12h 49min 14s | 12h 49min 14s | 1.10 |
“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.
Most of the modes performed as expected.
14500 Medium and Low fell short.
The output is well regulated.
Throw#
I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Each mode was measured at five metres.
| Cell | Mode | Specs (cd) | Specs (m) | Candela measured (cd) | Distance (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 | Low | 100 | 20 | ||
| 14500 | Medium | 500 | 44 | ||
| 14500 | High | 2,050 | 90 | ||
| 14500 | Turbo | 3,036 | 115 | 4,250 | 130 |
Beamshots#
I went to a local park and aimed the torch at a tree 70 metres away while using Turbo.
Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.
Manker E03H III (Turbo)#
LOOP SK03 Pro (Turbo)#
Manker E05 II (High)#
Lumintop EDC15 (Turbo)#
Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray (High)#
Acebeam Pokelit AA Ti (High)#
ReyLight LANapple (100%)#
Thermal Images#
I used a Zoyi ZT-R02 IR Thermography Multimeter to take thermal images of the torch while using Turbo.
Room temperature: 15 C
| Time (mm:ss) | Max Temperature |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 19.4 C |
| 02:00 | 29.5 C |
| 04:00 | 31.0 C |
| 06:00 | 31.9 C |
| 08:00 | 33.6 C |
| 10:00 | 34.5 C |
Conclusion#
I like the new design of the Manker E03H III. The grip on the tube and the tailcap are great.
The user interface is simple to use. There are three moonlight modes in case you want preserve your night vision.
The headband is comfortable to wear. It would be even better if the headband had an over-the-head strap and a rigid mount so that the torch does not wobble when jogging.
Repairability has improved now that the bezels can be unscrewed with snap ring pliers. No more press fit bezels!
The beam is nice and floody with a wide hot spot. There is a bit of a star pattern going on around the edge of the beam but it is only really noticeable when pointing the light at a white wall.
In terms of performance, the lumen output and beam distance that I measured were very close to what Manker claimed. The runtime fell short for Low and Medium modes when using the included 14500 cell.
I like how the Manker E03H III works with a bunch of different batteries. You can use 1.2V Ni-MH AA, 1.5V Alkaline AA or 3.7V Li-ion 14500 batteries.
I highly recommend the Manker E03H III if you are looking for something for the kids to use while camping. The quality is great and it is simple to use.
Pros:#
- Excellent build quality.
- Good lumen output.
- Good beam distance.
- Output is well regulated.
- Multiple battery chemistries are supported (3.7V Li-ion, 1.2V Ni-MH, 1.5V Alkaline).
- Low voltage protection built into the torch.
- Magnet in the tailcap.
- Pocket clip.
Cons:#
- The torch might wobble up and down when jogging due to the single strap headband.
- Runtimes with the included 14500 cell were shorter than expected for Low and Medium modes.
- Artefacts around the edge of the beam.
Price#
The Manker E03H III is US$33.96 from mankerlight.com after applying a promo code.
Product page#
15% off with promo code: TIM15
Manker E03H III at mankerlight.com
Manker E03H III at amazon.com (affiliate link)
I may earn a commission if you use an affiliate link or a promo code. This will help fund future torch reviews and tutorials.