China-made Energizer CR123As safe to use?

I bought a Surefire G2X LE a couple of months ago. The shop I bought it from had no stock remaining for SF123s so all I have are the two the flashlight came with. I've always trusted Energizer batteries over others (I've never had an Energizer alkaline leak, whereas I've had a few leakages with other brands) so I looked around and it seems that all the Energizer Lithium 123s I can find (I'm located in Singapore) are made in China. I suppose they're genuine Energizers because if they were counterfeit, they'd claim to be made in the USA.

But the paperwork that came with my G2X LE states that using "Made in China" batteries will void the warranty. I doubt warranty really matters as I'm located in Singapore and sending the flashlight to Surefire might not be an option, but I'm concerned about whether these batteries are safe to use. To be honest, I'm a new member here but have been a lurker for quite awhile, and all the horror stories of exploding batteries and CR123As is frankly quite disturbing. I got a reasonable price on my G2X LE and although I bought it on impulse, I'm really happy with it so far and the last thing I want to do is damage it or have it explode.

(Ps. I did a forum search and couldn't find my answers). I don't doubt these are genuine Energizers, likely here in Singapore we get the Chinese-made ones due to our location, and once again I don't think counterfeits would be so honest as to where they're made. But I could be wrong.

The other option is Panasonic CR123As which are made in Japan. I know a shop that sells them and I'll probably go for those if these Energizers are deemed too much of a risk. The Panasonics are a lot cheaper, too. The only problem is... I already have a pair of these Chinese-made Energizers. :shakehead







(Actually, if this thread could be renamed and used as a general "quick question - is this safe to use?" thread, I'd be happy because I created a thread not just to help myself but to help other people as well.)

Stick with Surefire.

Titanium Innovations are decent quality Chinese made CR123As. Check SubWoofer's review of them and some others.

The kings of the hill are:

Panasonic~Japan (~1550mAh)

Sanyo~Japan (1400mAh)

Panasonic~USA (1550mAh)

Some Rayovacs, SureFires, StreamLights, Battery Station, Energizer and Duracell are all made by Panasonic~USA, at least here in the States.

Chris

90% of the batteries I use are Surefire(USA), or Titanium Innovations. Due to the large quantity of lights I own, I keep a rather large quantity of cells on hand. Titanium Innovations matches Surefire in almost every category, but I still generally use Surefire cells in my Surefire lights & Titanium Innovations for everything else. You should also invest in a digital multimeter and test your cells to ensure matching voltage before using them. I have only seen one verified report of a Surefire light with a battery explosion using non-rechargeable batteries & in that case an extremely low voltage cell was inserted with a new one which is what caused the problem. Almost all the cases of battery explosions or venting you see on the news are involving rechargeable lithium ion cells that are either improperly charged or shorted out. All Lithium cells should be treated with respect, but there are plenty of resources here on CPF to educate yourself. I have over 300 lights, over 1,000 Lithium cells and have only had one instance of a problem and that was due to my own ignorance(I was removing the wrapping of a cell to re wrap and when removing it caused a short circuit that caused the cell to flame & vent). Luckily only my shorts were burned and the cell ruined, but that motivated me to educate myself and have not had any issues since...

I second the comments here. Stick with Surefire or Titanium Innovations, or the other quality names such as ChrisGarrett mentioned.

Also, and this is just my personal approach, I sometimes use admittedly crappy Chinese ****fire (UltraFire, Trustfire) batteries in my lights, but I don't carry them in a pocket or on my person. That way if they "vent with flame" (or whatever) I don't get burned. Maybe my house will burn down, but I won't be running out of said house with my pants on fire. Just my two cents.

With over 300 lights and over 1000 batteries, you're obviously a very advanced user/hobbyist, so I think you have a pretty good understanding of the realities. (My totals are similar to yours).

Thanks for the replies! Good thing I only bought two and not more of these Chinese-made Energizers.

As for Energizer alkaline AAs, AAAs and Ultimate Lithiums, the ones I get here are locally-made (i.e. made in Singapore). Surely not the best but probably still better than China... Right? Been really happy with Energizer alkalines for a very long time but really looking forward to popping an Ultimate Lithium into my Condor C05.