Rechargable or not? For a noob with his first light (Olight M20 Warrior Spec Ops S2)

Hi everyone.
Being my first post im gonna make it an easy one as ive done all the research myself between CR123A and 18650 batteries in general and in my light.
Im always the type to go neck deep into the research and facts of anything i consider a hobby type item. So i dont need suggestions on batteries or chargers and which works best. I need to know which route would be the most fun first and the most useful and cost effective in the end.

Here are some facts on my use of the light and what its purpose is.
1. I like cool stuff, IE pistols for my CHL and High(ish) end knives like Spyderco and Benchmade. The light seems to be an extension to those hobbies as i wanted the light originally to be mounted on my home defense shotgun. But its too cool and it stays by my side while i use a different light on the shotty.

2. With my hobbies i get OCD like in alot of cases, I don't see me buying alot of lights as i do personalizing this one.

3. The light is for enjoyment mainly and power failures as i don't have any job requiring its use. But we all need a flashlight in everyday living tho.

I bought four CR123A's when i bought my light and i expect those to last a while with my low usage. But im intrigued with the rechargeable 18650's and the fun it brings to the light/hobby.

So as a noob with his first light and its lite usage does going rechargeable make sense over buying $1 Titanium Innovations CR123A right from the get go?

Rechargable setup = $30 for 1x charger and 2x batteries.
CR123A's x 12= $15
Prices include shipping.

So now knowing what you know when you first started which route would you have went considering my needs and use of course?

No replies so far so let me tell you what im looking at.
Getting a 12 pack box of Titanium Innovations CR123A 3V Lithium Photo Battery 1400mah from BJ. Plus a few accessories for the light. $12 for 12 great batteries.

Also on Ebay ive found a deal for a Trustfire charger and Trustfire 3.7v 2400 mAH li-ion 18650 batteries. This deal will include two or four batteries depending on if the seller will sell them to me like i want and at the right price. $30-$45 estimated price and it hitting $45 with a second set of batteries.

My issue is i dont really think i need both since im just a casual light user, But i enjoy the fun of learning and building up my hobby toys.

So am i jumping too fast into rechargeables and waisting money?
Should i just forget buying so many non-rechargeable cells if i go with the rechargeable setup?

I also know i could get lower prices from DX, But i hate ordering across the ocean and the time involved. So buying USA only is my goal and its costing me a bit extra.

Hello DasFriek,

Welcome to CPF.

The general progression most people follow is to start with primary cells. When they find that they are spending a lot of batteries, they then do the research on everything that is involved with secondary cells and jump into picking up some rechargeable cells and a quality charger.

One way to evaluate the decision is to review your flashlight usage. If you find that your 12 primary cells last you a year or two, you will most likely be better off sticking to primary cells. On the other hand, if you go through all 12 primary cells in a month, you will save a lot of money moving to rechargeable cells.

Tom

I don't see myself going threw more than 12 CR123's in a year, I just ordered 12 Titanium from BJ today.
I too think the 18650's may be overboard for my use, But the fun and learning factor may be worth it in the end. Im waiting on a response from an Ebay seller for some Trustfire 2400 black batteries and the upgraded Trustfire charger and see what price i can get.

If its too high i may reconsider ordering from DX which is cheap, But waiting forever on them may kill me. But since this is not a necessity, Going this route may be the smart move when i dont even need the stuff.


(EDIT) to avoid excess posts ill just edit this post.
My OCD went into full tilt today when i went shopping for CR123's locally and they all ranged from $6.50 too $11 for a single cell.
So back to my local knife shop that sold me the light originally and bought a box of 12 Surefires for $2.50 each, Still expensive but i don't have to wait for them to be delivered.
I also ordered a TrustFire TR-001 multi-functional battery charger plus 2 new Trustfire 3.7v 2400 mAH batteries off Ebay for $30.
Add in all the accessories ive bought ive spent way to much money for just a flashlight!
I ordered a new smooth reflector, diffuser, candle style tail cap and 2 spare cell magazines from BJ with the box of Titanium cells.

This is worse than my gun and knife hobbies!

I use both. Rechargeable for my big boys and not for the smaller ones. I find that works best for me.

I know my light works best with CR123's on High, But better on medium and low with 18650's from the reviews ive read on here.
Is that due to the 18650 being used as a single cell? And scales up better for bigger lights?

One of my main uses for the light is to have it to light up a full room instead of candles when we have power failures as my mom who i help take care of is on oxygen.
On high CR123's get 2:03 hours too 50% and a 18650 will get 2:54 too 50%
Medium is CR123's 8:52 hours too 50% and a 18650 gets 7:48 too 50%

But on high the CR123's put out a flat line most of the way while the 18650 slopes from the beginning.
Medium run time is about 1 hour lower on 18650's, But it stays flat just like the CR123's do.

Just so you know the output is 115lm on medium and 340lm on high. So im rather sure medium will light up a room well with the candle end cap and light diffuser.
So i will keep CR123's in the light by default, But keep charged 18650's on hand for times we have extended blackouts and im not burning up cells when a rechargable could have done just as good of a job.

So i can see reasons to run different cells for when im doing long run times on medium.
I NEVER could have imagined flashlights could be fun and so interesting all at the same time.
Now that i have all my battery options covered, There is nothing stopping me from buying new lights to play with.
But ive spent more in batteries, Rechargeable cells and charger and accessories that ive spent more on that stuff than the light itself which i wouldn't call cheap.

But i have enough guns for any need that could ever arise and more knives than ill use for the rest of my life so i need a new hobby to do where spending money for fun and learning and hopefully finding a use for the item sooner or later is always time and money well spent.

Just four days ago i knew almost nothing about this stuff, So you can see how i immerse myself into what im doing and enjoy.
Even when i complain about the costs at times.