I haven't been keeping an eye on all of the S18 threads, so if this has already been discussed please forgive the re-hashing...
I wanted to advise every e what I've been getting for runtimes using Trustfire 16340's.. With a fully charged set of batteries the S18 will run for just about 15 minutes on high. The light will then just completely shutoff. Most of the time I can wait about 5 minutes and get the light to come on, on low. I can then kick it into medium for a few minutes before shut down, however trying to step into high results in full, immediate shut down.
I have no idea as to if AW cells would perform much better. I have done this test with 2 sets of the mentioned 16340's and results have been similar. Not that it may be of surprise but worth noting, my runtimes on the 4sevens primary cells were noticeably better. I didn't time those cells but am positive on the runtime being longer. Again, the capacity of the primaries is a lot higher so I expected results like this. Also, when running he primaries, the light would begin to blink as a warning when the juice was almost dry... No such event on the 16340's. From a cost perspective I really like the 16340's but they come at a price, fairly soft runtimes in my opinion... So I carry 3 sets of the TF's with me in case I start liquidating cells.