Kodak Lithium 123's

[lostnomad]

Hi all,

First post here, hoping someone can give some advise. Just got a Surefire Backup and 123 batteries are very hard to come by here (am outside the US) they are also very expensive. All I can find so far are Kodak ones for the equivalent of US$4 and Duracells for equivalent of US$9! Each. Are the Kodaks any good? Is it worth paying the money for Duracell ones?

I can't find any online retailers that ship Sure Fire batteries outside the US, anyone know of any?

In advance, thanks.

 

[MattK]

Surefire doesn't allow dealers to export their products, including batteries, outside of the US.

Kodak CR123A's were a licensed product and have been out of production for a few years.

I would suggest finding a good online dealer (ahem) and buying decently sized batches of Panasonic, Rayovac or Energizer CR123A's as they, like the Surefire's are all made by Panasonic USA.

 

[jhellwig]

There are still Kodak 123's at the grocery store here. Not cheap though, $5.30 for a 2 pack, $3 something for one. Energizers or duracells are over $9 for a 2 pack $6 for one.


I bought a pack and its date code is 09-2015.


Who made them?

 

[Illum]

run a couple through silverfox and he will give you a chart on battery discharge

batteries with similar manufacturers usually look similar on discharge curves

 

[lolzertank]

There are still Kodak 123's at the grocery store here. Not cheap though, $5.30 for a 2 pack, $3 something for one. Energizers or duracells are over $9 for a 2 pack $6 for one.


I bought a pack and its date code is 09-2015.


Who made them?

Well, that certainly means they're pretty old. 2015 expiration date means a manufacture date of around 2005.

 

[greenpea76]

Ahem......

Buy from MattK !! Buy from MattK !!
Buy from MattK !! Buy from MattK !!

 

[lolzertank]

Ahem......

Buy from MattK !! Buy from MattK !!
Buy from MattK !! Buy from MattK !!

Rule 6?

He does have cheap Panasonic CR123As though...

By the way, are Panasonic CR123As UL listed? I know at least some of the cells they manufacture (for Duracell) are UL listed, but is their brand's cell UL listed? UL has some pretty strict standards that IMO really show something about the cell.