Can Anybody On Here Recommend Any Good Reasonably Priced 18650 Batteries With USB-C Charging?

[Robin24k]

How does the Surefire 18650 compare to Maglite's?

Those are only 3400mAh, but if you have a need for the power bank functionality, that's something the other ones won't have. However, these may not work with lights that require high-discharge cells since Maglite wouldn't have needed this for their lights.

When the Fury DFT came out, there were some issues with batteries that could not support the required discharge rate:

Post in thread 'Surefire Fury 2018 dual fuel 18650/Cr123'

May 12, 2018

Below is the customer service info mentioned by dano.

Dear Customers of the FURY-DFT and M600DF,
When we launched these products our instructions were not clear regarding which 18650 batteries to use, and for that we sincerely apologize. Some customers who purchased the FURY-DFT and M600DF have experienced their light shutting down just after activation when using a non-SureFire branded 18650. This is because the FURY-DFT and M600DF are ultra-high-output illumination tools that require a minimum 5A discharge rate from the battery...

• Dave D

SureFire has some more information in this article as well:

News

www.surefire.com

In short, if you are planning to use these cells in 1,200+ lumen lights, get the SL-B34 or SF18650B since these are known to work in high-discharge applications such as the MegaStream USB (1,800 lumens) or Fury DFT (1,500 lumens).

 

[cave dave]

The maglite 18650 has 4 tiny LEDs and a tiny button you can push and check the charge status like a powerbank. It also works as a powerbank on some devices (the latest i-phones don't recognize it).

 

[aznsx]

Great post. Very good details.

Streamlight is still sending MICRO USB SL-B26's packaged in new lights. I just received one in a PolyTac-X. My ProTac 2L-X Streamlight came with a USB-C SL-B26.

I don't think I will be buying Streamlight SL-B26's now. I have been purchasing KeepPower 18650's (P1835J 3500 mAh battery) for my Malkoff lights in the past and recently purchased their USB-C 18650 (P1832TC 3200mAh). They all work great in my Streamlights that take the SL-B26. The capacity is more as well. Both KeepPowers are slightly snugger in the PolyTac-X but fine in the ProTac 2L-X. The real beauty of these lights is they take 2xCR123's as well.

One more thing to keep in mind re: SL lights & cells is this. You may note that when SL releases a new version / part# cell, often with higher capacity, they do not generally change the cell that ships in a light with the older cell to ship with the newer one. A primary reason for that is that SL's product / performance specs are strictly compliant with ANSI FL-1 standard, as with most PLATO member manufacturers, which requires that all performance testing be done with the specific type of cell 'supplied with &/or recommended for' that specific part# light, and that cell is specified in the documentation. If they changed the standard cell that ships with that part# light, that testing and those specs would have to be re-done for that light, and that testing is expensive, especially when a lot of part# lights are involved.

Although perhaps not the highest cost involved, SL is also a ISO 9001-2015 certified company, and near-perfect documentation is required to maintain that cert, and they are audited for that. That's why they take their documentation seriously like their testing. You'll note that every 'Fact Sheet' has at the lower left corner the document Rev.#, original issue date, and last revision date. That's all part of it.

What this means is that if you're shopping for, say an 18650 light, and you check the specs and note the capacity of the cell used, but you intend to use an 18650 rated at, for example 20% higher capacity than the originally equipped cell, you'll need to add 20% to the listed run-times for that light.

 

[RWT1405]

My wife and I are RVing now and I brought my Streamlight Stinger. It works just fine, but the charger is bulky and I am thinking about the USB-C charged 18650 batteries for a different flashlight. Are there any USB-C 18650 batteries that are reasonably priced? Also, how do you tell when they are fully charged?

To give a useful answer, it requires knowing WHAT flashlight you are looking to get them for

So, without that information, an accurate answer can NOT be given