Hooked on Fenix
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Messages
- 3,154
CR123A primaries aren't dead, but I am definitely using less now that I have some Orbtronic 2500 mAh 16650s. These batteries replace 2 123A cells and only cost me $7.75 each for protected cells. They last longer as well in anything that can handle the lower voltage. If they were smart enough to make these with a boost circuit built in to bump up the voltage to 6 volts, very few 2 cell 123A lights would still be using primaries except in very cold weather. Some of the newer 18650 cells are regulated, so it shouldn't be that difficult to do that. Rechargeable 123A cells could likewise have a buck circuit to drop the voltage to a regulated 3 volts while keeping a higher power density compared to some lithium polymer cells. Fenix is starting to make cells like this in AA size that are USB rechargeable. I think we are going to start seeing more modified cells with circuitry built in to bring the cell to the correct voltage of batteries it should be used to replace. When this becomes more mainstream, CR123As will rarely be used.