AW 2900 mAh 18650?

Does AW have a new battery that is even more capacity for the 18650 size?
I found one on L----hound at 2900 mAh, is this the same chemistry just larger capacity, or a different chemistry? Anyone know more about this?

CPFBiology said:

Does AW have a new battery that is even more capacity for the 18650 size?
I found one on lighthound at 2900 mAh, is this the same chemistry just larger capacity, or a different chemistry? Anyone know more about this?

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There are several sellers of a new protected 2900mAh Lithium battery size, of which I have ordered and paid for out of my own money, and which I may or may not review and compare, but would never take the risk of linking to them. So you will have to figure out on your own what is now available.

CPFBiology said:

Does AW have a new battery that is even more capacity for the 18650 size?
I found one on L----hound at 2900 mAh, is this the same chemistry just larger capacity, or a different chemistry? Anyone know more about this?

Click to expand...

Yes, AW has a new 2900 mAH. He still has his 2600 mAH (not that old) and his even older 2200 mAH. I cannot comment on which chemistry they are because I have not done much reading on them but he does give more info over on the CPFmarketplace.com in his FS thread.

LuxLuthor said:

There are several sellers of a new protected 2900mAh Lithium battery size, of which I have ordered and paid for out of my own money, and which I may or may not review and compare, but would never take the risk of linking to them. So you will have to figure out on your own what is now available.

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LOL...Lux is covering his a$$ because of the new rule.

CPFBiology said:

is this the same chemistry just larger capacity, or a different chemistry? Anyone know more about this?

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Check the marketplace, everything is explained there.

New AW 2900 mAh cells are based on famous Panasonic NCR18650 2900mAh cells. These are currently the best 4.2V 18650 cells that a flashaholic can use.

They are LiNiCoO2 chemistry which should be safer than traditional LiCoO2. Can be safely discharger down to 2.5V for example.

Here are my tests of bare panasonic NCR18650 cells:

Discharged down to 2.8V


Discharged down to 2.5V


As you can see, discharging down to 2.5V will give you a little capacity boost under high current drain.

Their different discharge characteristics will produce a "long tail" with 1x18650 flashlights.

QtrHorse said:

Yes, AW has a new 2900 mAH. He still has his 2600 mAH (not that old) and his even older 2200 mAH. I cannot comment on which chemistry they are because I have not done much reading on them but he does give more info over on the CPFmarketplace.com in his FS thread.



LOL...Lux is covering his a$$ because of the new rule.

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Well, I would be interested in an objective review. I just bought 2 2600's, and need another 2 cells.

Also, if you look closely at AW's photo of the 2900mAh cell, it says cell and IC made in Japan....

dang.. I just ordered 2 new 26ers...
I know its only 300mah but its gonna be in the
back of my mind...
flashaholic bluez

mgnu said:

Well, I would be interested in an objective review. I just bought 2 2600's, and need another 2 cells.

Also, if you look closely at AW's photo of the 2900mAh cell, it says cell and IC made in Japan....

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All of AW's cells are made in Japan. I would bet that 99.99% of all batteries are made in Japan/ not in the US.

psychbeat said:

dang.. I just ordered 2 new 26ers...
I know its only 300mah but its gonna be in the
back of my mind...
flashaholic bluez

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Looking at jirik_cz's discharge graphs, I still prefer the 2600 batteries.

:tinfoil: Post deleted— brain malfunction.

QtrHorse said:

All of AW's cells are made in Japan.

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Others are made in China.

flashfiend said:

Looking at jirik_cz's discharge graphs, I still prefer the 2600 batteries.

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Also depends on the driver. With a buck-boost driver (or in multi battery configuration) you will get flat output to the end. This test was done with a flashlight modified with dereelight 4SD driver.

I'm just trying to say I wouldn't worry about 300mAh. The 2600s still seem fine to me.

I noticed from looking at pictures that the + terminal is flat and slightly recessed on the 2600 and 2900 cells, I was thinking of using them on a Download SST50 I ordered, maybe I will stick with IMR's.....:thumbsup:

flashfiend said:

I'm just trying to say I wouldn't worry about 300mAh. The 2600s still seem fine to me.

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thanks for noting that!lovecpf
yer right- Im not gonna sweat a few minutes at full.

all of my lights are regulated buckz (NB modules)

Ill wait a year or so n see whats happening then- unless
I lose a cell or two which is quite probable....:shrug:

maybe new chargers for the 4.3v cells will be available
or some other new stuff:devil:

Larbo said:

I noticed from looking at pictures that the + terminal is flat and slightly recessed on the 2600 and 2900 cells, I was thinking of using them on a Download SST50 I ordered, maybe I will stick with IMR's.....:thumbsup:

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If you need a button top cell, why not go with these: [link removed - DM51]

They are based off the same Panasonic 2900 cells. :twothumbs

Well, adding a button top will introduce additional contact resistance which you may not want in a performance cell.

BTW, for those who don't already know. jasonck08 = tactical_hid = redilast is the same person.

jasonck08 said:

If you need a button top cell, why not go with these: [link removed - DM51]

They are based off the same Panasonic 2900 cells. :twothumbs

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AW said:

Well, adding a button top will introduce additional contact resistance which you may not want in a performance cell.

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Well I would assume that the 3-dot triangle PCB design would have more contact resistance then a larger button top. I'd imagine the resistance would be pretty similar.

You are wrong. The tri-dot contact system is superior to provide solid contact. HSD and Ra lights are using the same system. I wouldn't spend extra $$ to make them they are not good.

Well AW, you may be right about having slightly less resistance, but I don't really want to get into a whole debate. There are advantages to both designs and we'll leave it at that.

Now back on topic.

jirik_cz said:

Discharged down to 2.8V

Discharged down to 2.5V

As you can see, discharging down to 2.5V will give you a little capacity boost under high current drain.

Their different discharge characteristics will produce a "long tail" with 1x18650 flashlights.

Click to expand...

@ jirk_cz Did you do your graphing on a CBA, then export the graph to excel? I tried that, but it doesn't copy over the mAh capacity for me, just the cell voltage and time.

As you can see in the graph discharging to 2.5v makes the biggest difference when you're dealing with larger currents due to the voltage sag of the cell. I know when I was testing my cells and I had a 2.8v cutoff PCB, the capacity was a couple hundred mAh lower @ high 2C current draws, so I had to find a nice 2.5v cutoff IC.

While these Panasonics are great cells, I can't wait for the 3100mAh cells to be mass produced. I read something about that Tesla motors is using the 3100mAh cells. They have excellent energy density but it seems very strange to use them in an EV, especially considering that the cells will only last 300-500 cycles, unlike Lifepo4 chemistries which are more commonly used in EV's that can do ~2000 cycles.

AW said:

BTW, for those who don't already know. jasonck08 = tactical_hid = redilast is the same person.

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For me, AW's protected cells are the best.
Why spend money elsewhere to get products which needs years to pass the test?