Opinion of AmondoTechs' Titanium batteries?

I recently was looking for batteries to buy (ended up buying Surefires' from optichq) and in my search came across Amondo Tech batteries for a buck each. What do you think of them? Anyone know where they are produced? The runtime plot on their site shows them running pretty good.

I'll let you know when/if I get them! Ordered two weeks ago, not turned up yet!?

The latest versions of these batteries are supposed to be good, according to Silverfox's runtimes and from comments that I've seen here.

Who actually manufacturers these batteries is unknown (I asked that question sometime ago, but I didn't get a clear answer). Although my guess is that they are probably made by a Chinese or Taiwanese bulk battery manufacturer.

Did a quickish runtime test of several batteries on a Inova Xo.



The Titanium batteries perform quite well, especially given their price!!

Amondotech Titanium batteries are made by a battery mfr in china (that likely also mfr's for other private labels). They are fine for single cell applications and are a very low priced option (assuming you're not in CA in which you pay for tax and shipping). BatteryStation cells are similar in that they're also made by a battery mfr in china. From testing I've seen on CPF using ZTS testers, both Titanium and BS cells seem to have much more variance in their tested remaining capacities than more well known and typically pricier brands. There are many fans of both brands and I have some of each also. However, coming from a mfg environment, huge tolerances in performance are typically an indication of poor QC and loose standards to improve yield rather than spending the additional cost of process and technology improvements. Because of this, my future 123A purchases will be either Streamlight, Rayovac, Surefire, or Sanyos. Sanyos can be had for the same price and even tho new ones are mfr'd in China also, guaranteed Sanyo has stricter standards and likely audit their plant(s) more often to ensure higher quality (as shown by their better consistency in tests). SLs are not too much more and still cheaper than Rayovacs and SFs while providing very good performance.

In my findings, the Titaniums performed similarly to BatteryStation cells, both of which did not perform as well as SF cells. Tested with a McLuxIII-PD.
john

They work fine for me in my Surefire A2.

Hmmmmm, I had to toss a BatteryStation battery just today that was practically dead when I first put it in my E1L! The light flickered and dimmed down. I put a SF cell in and it was fine. I'm starting to think I should stick with SF brand.

I've used SF, Duracell, Streamlight, Panasonic, Powerizer, Batterystation, Titanium brand cells, and the SF brand is the best performer.

For the money, I'd pick BS brand cells and call it good....I just get longer regulated runtimes in my A2 (my preferred test light) with the SF brand batteries...

dragoman

I've used both cr123 and cr2 from Titanium and they seem okay for me. Shipping was
pretty quick too. 3-4 days from Amondotech.

I've been using Titanium cells in my Maxfire LX, Fenix P1 and Dorcy Super 1 Watt without any problems. I've never tried any of the others, so I can't compare, but check out this review:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/titanium_123a.htm

Doug commented recently that his latest batch of titanium cells all ZTS'ed at 100%, vs. his previous batch which varied from 20% to 100%. It looks like Titanium has improved their QC.

KDOG3 said:

Hmmmmm, I had to toss a BatteryStation battery just today that was practically dead when I first put it in my E1L! The light flickered and dimmed down. I put a SF cell in and it was fine. I'm starting to think I should stick with SF brand.

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Surefire and Duracell have performed the best for me. I used my Mini MBT to test some 'first generation' Titanium cells and some Battery Station cells. I wasn't impressed, especially with the Titanium cells. None of these were at 100% capacity. Many brand new cells were at 40% or less. One didn't even reach 20%. Supposedly the newer Titaniums have much better QC and consistency, according to Quickbeam. Maybe so, but I'm still upset about paying even $1.00 for cells that arrived practically empty. I'm sticking with Surefires.

I just caught a snoot full myself. A while back I had suggested Amondotech as a resource for batteries to a colleague. Seems that his experience was the same as mine (he gave me a 4 pack), and his light started dimming as soon as he turned it on with the Amondotech batteries. I'd suspect that the ones that he's handing out to review sites and others to promote his products are what the Taiwanese manufacturers call "golden samples" or hand picked samples, to gain favor with the reviewer and mislead the consumer. All I can say it that the experience makes me a bit cautious of the other Chinese vendors, like Tenergy. But I should also add that I got some Chinese CR123 batteries from the Gransees a couple years back (sorry the name starts with a "T" but I forget the rest) and those batteries work quite well in the higher draw incandescent lights, not just in Arcs.

faucon said:

Maybe so, but I'm still upset about paying even $1.00 for cells that arrived practically empty. I'm sticking with Surefires.

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Hello Brighteyez,

Let's keep the facts straight...

Wayne "discovered" he had a bad batch of CR123 cells when there were problems reported with run times in a SureFire M6. While he was trying to figure out what was going on, several orders were filled. As soon as he was made aware of the problem and the ZTS test results, he pulled those cells from his inventory.

The cells he is selling now have had additional QC at the factory, and he is doing a random check on them more frequently. I have not tested any of these new cells, so can not comment on them. Have you checked out any of this new batch of cells?

I can tell you that the cells that Doug and I have tested have not been the "golden" cells. The golden cells are re markedly better in performance... When I post results for the Titanium cells, I order a batch of cells and at the same time I have a third party order some cells for me. I then compare the results from the separate orders. This insures that I am not testing "hand picked" cells.

I have sent NewBie a number of these mismatched cells to see if new cells that test low on the ZTS tester will vent. NewBie is observing some very interesting results. I hope the NewBie will be able to answer some questions about the differences in brands as a result of his testing.

I frequently get asked what CR123 battery is the best. I respond that I have been getting the most consistent results from the Sanyo cells, followed closely by the Duracell cells. However, there are reports of counterfeit cells, so you have to be careful.

I hear back that they were hoping for a cheaper recommendation. At this point I point out that the Titanium and BatteryStation cells are only $1 each and the discussion is ready to end there. I go on to explain that there have been some consistency issues, but they are working on taking care of them. With this information, the discussion usually ends. I don't have time to discuss the middle priced cells, i.e. SureFire, Streamlight, Panasonic, Toshiba, Energizer, Maxell, and so on.

The real question should be "What is the difference between a $2.50 cell and a $1.75 cell and a $1.00 cell?" The ongoing testing should help us understand and answer this question.

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Brighteyez,
... the middle priced cells, i.e. SureFire...

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cough

What's a premium priced cell? (Just curious; at $1.75-$2.00 per, the Surefires seem to be about as
expensive as I've seen, not counting of course the stores that want $10 for the Sanyo or Energizer that
Battery Junction (etc.) will happily sell for $2)

-RDH

Hello RDH,

With Titanium at $1.00 and Duracell at $2.50, a cell that costs $1.75 could be classified as a middle priced cell...

Tom

The facts are,

The customer has contacted Amondotech regarding the CR123 batteries and was advised that his 90 day warranty had expired.

For the most part, each of his two dealings with his order (once for a defective NiMH battery and then again for the CR123 batteries), has pretty much soured any potential for repeat business with this vendor. I can't really blame him, having to make multiple calls each time is tiring, and having to exhaust additional time on an order of minimal value (I think it was under $100) does little to foster confidence or repeat orders. Personally, I think I've learned to get some personal experience with a vendor before I recommend one to a colleague in the future.

SilverFox said:

Hello Brighteyez,

Let's keep the facts straight...

Wayne "discovered" he had a bad batch of CR123 cells when there were problems reported with run times in a SureFire M6. While he was trying to figure out what was going on, several orders were filled. As soon as he was made aware of the problem and the ZTS test results, he pulled those cells from his inventory.

Tom

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