Nitecore cold weather 18650

Boris74

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
192
I don't have any fancy graphs or a charger to discharge and charge or to check capacity, but I have used it in some cold weather. What I can tell you is yes, it's does better than everything else I have.

I left it it out in a Streamlight HL-X yesterday at 11F for a couple hours. Being day time it was hard to tell but it didn't look any different than when it was warm. I left it out last night and it got down to -8F here. Picked it up off the patio table and lit the field up behind the house. It easily reached like it had been inside all night and I just took it out. Didn't notice any difference but it was nice and dark like it always is outside of suburbia with no street or house lights to compete against.

Ran it long enough this morning and all I noticed is it dropped voltage just a tiny bit quicker than other batteries operated at much warmer temps. It could just be a characteristic of the battery or the cold, I'll find out as time passes and weather gets warmer.

The streamlight brand 18650 does very good considering it's not designed for cold weather. The Nitecore cold weather 18650 though, so far it's lived up to advertising claims. I'm not worried about graphs and discharge or capacity testing. That's not why I have it. I wanted a battery that runs longer and brighter in cold weather. This battery does this, at least in the HL-X it does.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Messages
3,967
Location
Canada
I find that at temperatures around -20C (-4F), my lithium-ion 18650 lights driven by a FET driver don't seem quite as bright. I haven't done any measurements, but they do seem to suffer from more voltage-sag than when they are warmer. I'm not sure what manufacturer the Nitecore brand uses, but maybe it's high-drain or designed for cold? Or, is the Streamlight regulated or boosting the voltage?

My regulated lights, including most of my AA lights, seem to hold up much better in the cold. But, I'm sure they're draining the batteries faster.
 

LEDAdd1ct

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
3,557
Location
Hudson Valley
My lithium ion cameras/tablets don't do very well in extreme cold, either; I need to keep them in a pocket close to me for them to have any utility at all.
 
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