CR123A Comparison Review: 4Sevens, Titanium Innovations, Tenergy, Surefire, Duracell

[goodfellas]

Are the 4Sevens batteries made in China or the US? The company itself is headquarted in the US, though, right?

 

[selfbuilt]

Are the 4Sevens batteries made in China or the US? The company itself is headquarted in the US, though, right?

Made in China, to 4Sevens' specifications. 4Sevens is a US-based company.

 

[tobrien]

one question: I see from the original shootout you did, that Panasonic didn't make it to this 'final round.' are Panasonic-brand cells not as good as, say, Duracell, Titanium Innovations, etc?

edit: because I'm looking at purchasing a bulk/50 pack of 123s and I'm down to Panasonic, Duracell Ultra, maybe four cases of Duracell ProCell (any difference between these and the "ultra" moniker?), Energizer, and Ti Innovations.

in all honesty, they're probably not all that different, right? performance differences are likely gonna be negligible in my setups (2x 123 lights).

 

[selfbuilt]

The made-in-the-USA Panasonics are excellent cells, equivalent to my Duracell Ultras and Surefires, in all my testing. In fact, Panasonic is probably the manufacturer for most of the USA cells.

AFAIK, the Duracell procells and ultras are identical.

 

[tobrien]

The made-in-the-USA Panasonics are excellent cells, equivalent to my Duracell Ultras and Surefires, in all my testing. In fact, Panasonic is probably the manufacturer for most of the USA cells.

AFAIK, the Duracell procells and ultras are identical.

thank you

so money aside, would it be better to get Pannys?

 

[selfbuilt]

so money aside, would it be better to get Pannys?

If cheaper than Surefire/Duracell, sure - performance has always been equivalent in my runtime testing.

 

[tobrien]

If cheaper than Surefire/Duracell, sure - performance has always been equivalent in my runtime testing.

thank you very much!

 

[LightCrazy]

I know this thread is old, but do you have any input on how the current Titanium Innovation CR123 cells are holding up? Just wondering if performance has changed before I buy some. I still have some Tenergy Propel, silver and purple label to burn up first. Thanks.

 

[selfbuilt]

I know this thread is old, but do you have any input on how the current Titanium Innovation CR123 cells are holding up? Just wondering if performance has changed before I buy some. I still have some Tenergy Propel, silver and purple label to burn up first. Thanks.

I do have some more recent data - the performance of Titanium Innovation cells have improved since this original comparison was posted.

Here are some tests I did last December, but never got around to posting here:

I used differrent lights for these tests, but as you'll see, the Titanium Innovation cells continue to do at least as well as the name-brands on Hi current draws. The issue I noted in my original review was slightly lower performance on the mid-level current draws. In the case of the Foursevens Quark above, you'll see the more recent Titanium Innovation cells are doing quite well now.

I'll add these graphs to the first post ...

 

[lumen aeternum]

>I have chosen four single-cell CR123A lights for comparisons. Each light has a different type of regulation circuitry.

It would help if you would discuss what the different circuitries are and why it makes a difference. You mention draw rate?

 

[selfbuilt]

It would help if you would discuss what the different circuitries are and why it makes a difference. You mention draw rate?

The different circuitries can be inferred by the different output runtime patterns. The light clearly differ in drive level (based on different outputs for equivalent emitters) and regulation pattern. To investigate the individual responses of different batteries to specific discharge currents would require the use of a hobby charger (which many here have done). The purpose of this thread is simply to demonstate how the batteries actually perform in the real world of individual lights.

 

[lumen aeternum]

>The different circuitries can be inferred by the different output runtime patterns.

If you ALREADY know about these different circuitries... got a FAQ?

 

[xevious]

It's good to see Titanium Innovations holding up so well, better than before. But I wonder... how good they are in terms of shelf life. I'd seen someone post about having some go dead after only a few years on the shelf, before their expiration date.

Also, would you find any merit to the idea of running cells down to about 50%, shelving them for a few months, then running them for the remainder of their capacities? I'd be interested to see if any cells "recover" a little versus degrading, after having a few months rest. I've found that with infrequent use of a few lights that Surefire cells seem to hold out the longest, whereas others I used (Panasonic, Duracell, and Tenergy) degrade and run flat sooner.

 

[jrdrum]

New forum member here.

Found this very useful before stocking up on CR123a batteries. Pardon the "Newbie" question, but would these evaluations give you a somewhat accurate picture as to how these batteries would function in flashlights, weapons lights w/lasers and/or red dot scopes (mostly Surefire or EOtech products)?

Thanks!

 

[ChrisGarrett]

New forum member here.

Found this very useful before stocking up on CR123a batteries. Pardon the "Newbie" question, but would these evaluations give you a somewhat accurate picture as to how these batteries would function in flashlights, weapons lights w/lasers and/or red dot scopes (mostly Surefire or EOtech products)?

Thanks!

Stay with cells using the Panasonic USA made 1550mAh cell: Panasonic, BatteryStation, some Rayovacs, SureFire, StreamLight, Duracell and Energizer, or the Sanyo Japan 1400mAh cells.

Buy fresh cells and you should fine.

Chris

 

[selfbuilt]

Pardon the "Newbie" question, but would these evaluations give you a somewhat accurate picture as to how these batteries would function in flashlights, weapons lights w/lasers and/or red dot scopes (mostly Surefire or EOtech products)?

Approximately, yes. Although it would be ideal to test batteries under standardized laboratory conditions where you could monitor actual voltage, I don't have the setup. My goal here was to show a couple of "real world" performance comparisons in a couple of flashlights. The results are hopefully comparable to other lights driven the comparable output levels.

And :welcome:

 

[Blglover96]

Hey quick question I bought some tenergy rechargeables and when I get them in my fenix pd35 they don't run in turbo for very long maybe 5 seconds before the light shuts down. When I put non rechargeables in it runs fine on turbo. These batteries also work fine in my tk09 maybe because the output is almost half of the pd35? I'm not sure what's going on here they probably have 6 charges and discharges on them. I think it's because they need to be broken in for a few more cycles. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[selfbuilt]

Hey quick question I bought some tenergy rechargeables and when I get them in my fenix pd35 they don't run in turbo for very long maybe 5 seconds before the light shuts down. ... I think it's because they need to be broken in for a few more cycles.

I doubt they will get better - the problem is that Tenergy does not make very high quality cells (in either primary or rechargeable forms). Lights like the PD35 put a heavy drain on 2xRCR when run on Turbo. You will need to source higher quality RCR cells, or switch to 18650.

 

[raggie33]

my simple testing shows the Titanium Innovations are great more runtime at .5 and 1 amp then panny 123s also get more amps so im guessing better at high drain. i just short them with my volt metter on amps