Whenever I see CR123 batteries in stores, they all seem to have a few things in common: very high prices (around $7 here in NY!), expiration dates in the next couple of years, and packaging that is dog eared and looks like it's been on display a long time.
Given the long shelf life of lithium cells, the impending expiration dates and worn-looking packaging suggests to me that mainstream stores don't sell a lot of CR123's.
This makes sense, because they were designed for cameras. With camera technology progressing as rapidly as it is, there aren't many (actually, after a cursory search I couldn't find any) current model cameras that use these cells any more.
From what I gather, it was Surefire that pioneered the use of CR123's in flashlights, and that they were considered a pretty exotic cell at the time (and still are now to a large extent)
Since CR123 flashlights aren't particularly mainstream, and primaries are prohibitively expensive in normal retail outlets, have we been relying on the camera market to keep manufacturers interested in producing these cells?
If this is the case, are CR123's going to become harder and harder to find over time?
Given the long shelf life of lithium cells, the impending expiration dates and worn-looking packaging suggests to me that mainstream stores don't sell a lot of CR123's.
This makes sense, because they were designed for cameras. With camera technology progressing as rapidly as it is, there aren't many (actually, after a cursory search I couldn't find any) current model cameras that use these cells any more.
From what I gather, it was Surefire that pioneered the use of CR123's in flashlights, and that they were considered a pretty exotic cell at the time (and still are now to a large extent)
Since CR123 flashlights aren't particularly mainstream, and primaries are prohibitively expensive in normal retail outlets, have we been relying on the camera market to keep manufacturers interested in producing these cells?
If this is the case, are CR123's going to become harder and harder to find over time?
