Best High Discharge 18650

[Lantern32]

I have no disagreement with your above. That's why I post, what does Vinh have to say on the matter? And you say IMRs.

Disclosure: I'm as dumb as a bag of hammers so I make no claims above what I've been taught.

None of my lights are modified yet it's been pointed out to me on many an occasion, overclocked or not, a light can't drain more than it's designed for so anything above what it demands is money down the battery drain.

Well it appears that the Sony IMR battery I have had the highest drain rate of all the batteries, so I'm probably good! lol

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Well it appears that the Sony IMR battery I have had the highest drain rate of all the batteries, so I'm probably good! lol

The Sonys are the standard for high drain devices, E-cigs, lights, etc..

Right behind the Sony VTC5, you have/had the Samsung 25Rs and the LG HE2s. The Achilles heel for the trio is capacity at 2600mAh and 2500mAh respectively.

These are overkill for a 4A light, even if all you ever did with it was blast it at high for hours on end.

We're now blessed with the hybrid cells, not really IMR, but no longer ICR, a nice mix with a common denominator of roughly a 10A continuous rating and anywhere from 3000mAh up to 3500mAh in capacity. For most of our lights, this is a perfect combination--high capacity and reasonably high current delivery.

For my ~8A modified SupFire M6, I chose naked button top Samsung 25Rs, because some of these newer cells weren't readily available almost a year ago. I have a buffer zone with them and their 20A continuous rating.

Remember, a standard NCR-B Panasonic might be able to handle 4A-5A, but that's operating at its borderline capability and while it'll work for a while, you won't get as many cycles out of that cells, as you might with something like the Sanyo-Panasonic NCR-GA, which is 10A rated.

It's like running an engine at its redline constantly and expecting to get 150,000 miles out of it. Ain't gonna happen.

Chris

 

[Fireclaw18]

I understand that the Samsung 30q is the best available right now, and slightly outperforms the Sony VTC5

 

[CHENONN]

Hey CPF!

I have a custom light, and I was hoping for some recommendations for high discharge 18650 batteries.
I have a Sony VTC5, but I'm not sure if there is any better battery out there. My VTC5 has a button top to it, but it seems as if the button top isn't that strong. The tip of the button top almost seems dented a little from either my Nitecore D4 charger or Olight M2Xvn!
I know the battery is authentic because Vinh sent it to me.

Maybe the battery is renovated,there are many company just do the renovate work in Shenzhen.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

I understand that the Samsung 30q is the best available right now, and slightly outperforms the Sony VTC5

In what regard?

The VTC5 is a genuine 30A continuous cell, 20A-25A if you're conservative. The 30Q is a 15A continuous cell, but it does have 400mAh more in capacity, for about 15% more energy than the Sony.

Again, match the cell to the load. If you don't need high current, say over 10A, then capacity and outright longevity at your specific load should be what one considers. Then there's price, button top/flat top and protection circuitry.

Remember, just because HKJ tests a cell a few times and gets good/great results, doesn't mean that that cell is going to last as long as some of the others out there.

Chris