......I have looked around but with all the different mfg's......
Hi Cpt. Just a note, I'm not aware of any actual manufacturers of RCR123/16340 size cells that provide cells on a consumer level. That leaves us with companies (and individuals) that obtain cells from the actual manufacturers and wrap the cells with
their name printed on the cell, such as AW, Ultrafire, as well as the other "xxxxxFires and others. These companies are distributors, not manufacturers.
Among the vast number of brands of cells available, usually, you never really know who actually manufactured the cell. Quite often a distributor may provide cells that look nearly identical, but from lot to lot, are actually obtained from different manufacturers. This makes cell performance and consistency a bit of a problem with most brands. This is particularly important when using more than one cell in a series application. In this situation it is very important to have cells with capacities and performance that closely match, otherwise you may run into problems with "venting with flame" incidents etc.
AW's RCR123/16340 cells are thought by many on this Forum to be the most consistent in performance, as well as usually possessing at least close, to the claimed capacity printed on the side of the cell. Also, when running traditional LiCo cells in series, it is important to use cells which have protection circuits added, to provide an additional level of safety. Using unprotected cells in series applications exposes the user to a much higher risk of a "vent with flame" incident, or explosion, particularly, when recharging the cells after use.
On a final note, if you haven't already, I highly recommend that you read through the relevant threads in the "
Threads of interest" and "
Smoke and Fire" threads located at the top of this Forum, if you are unfamiliar with the use and care of Li-Ion cells, regardless of which chemistry you use. Also, the Li-Ion sections found at
Battery University are often referenced here on the Forum, and are an excellent source of information, not only pertaining to various Li-Ion chemistry cells, but other types of rechargeable cells as well.
Dave