Please help me cut through the noise

[Franquixote]

I'm going crazy trying to find the best 18650 for the Zebralight headlamp I am buying.
I'm considering a good Nitecore charger, but I think I need a protected button top 18650 with best capacity and such.
Can someone help me out with a model, brand, and source for batteries and a charger? I am looking to move over to rechargeable going forward and this research isn't fun, it's really annoying.

Appreciated!

 

[bigburly912]

What headlamp are you getting? If it was me for a headlamp I'd just get whatever has the highest Mah rating that will fit in my lamp. mah is your runtime.

 

[Renegadethreads]

Zebralight sells appropriate batteries for their lights. Likely the Sanyo NCR18650GA 3500mAh 10A 18650 Li-ion Flat Top

 

[Franquixote]

Pretty sure this one said button top, and while I don't mind buying quality it seems their branded batteries are 3x the cost
Zebralight H600c Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 4000K

 

[turbodog]

I have bought cells from these guys several times. Good seller. Good cells.

https://www.18650batterystore.com/18650-Batteries-s/106.htm

 

[SubLGT]

Pretty sure this one said button top, and while I don't mind buying quality it seems their branded batteries are 3x the cost
Zebralight H600c Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 4000K

Zebralight recommends and sells the Sanyo GA for your headlamp, for $6. You don't need a button top, and you don't need a protected battery.

 

[turbodog]

If a protected button top will fit, I would use it. 18650 cells are not to be toyed with... anything you can do to make them safer is a good thing.

 

[knucklegary]

Depending on which side of the map you're located, Illumination Supply in San Jose, CA are distributors for Keepower (protected button top) and offer great prices for Sanyo and others

 

[Olumin]

Keeppower 3500mAh for protected 18650s is the way to go. They are button top. Keeppower also sells unprotected IMR18650 flat tops, but for unprotected cells there are cheaper, equally good options.

I have been using a simple Xtar VC2 for years now and it always been working fine. It's not the fastest charger but it's cheap, reliable and safe.

 

[SubLGT]

The ZL headlight the OP is interested in already has built in battery protections. A protected battery is unnecessary, and many of them (like the Keeppower) exceed the 69.0mm length limit that ZL specifies.

Built in battery protections with continuously monitored temperature, current, and voltage, plus a (2.7V) low voltage cutoff

http://www.zebralight.com/H600c-Mk-IV-18650-XHP502-4000K-High-CRI-Headlamp_p_235.html

 

[Burgess]

SubLGT is Correct !

ZebraLights which use 18650 cells
do NOT want protected cells, due to excessive length
caused by the added protection circuit.

Their lights already have the
necessary protections Built In to the lights.

Sanyo GA is an excellent choice !

 

[desmobob]

SubLGT is Correct !

ZebraLights which use 18650 cells
do NOT want protected cells, due to excessive length
caused by the added protection circuit.

Their lights already have the
necessary protections Built In to the lights.

Sanyo GA is an excellent choice !

+1. And a +1 on the 18650batterystore.com

 

[vadimax]

If a protected button top will fit, I would use it. 18650 cells are not to be toyed with... anything you can do to make them safer is a good thing.

Exactly. If you ignore advice to use unprotected flat top cell you will crash the protection circuit, cause the short one and... you know the consequences.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Zebralight sells appropriate batteries for their lights. Likely the Sanyo NCR18650GA 3500mAh 10A 18650 Li-ion Flat Top

I use those in the H600Fc. They're rated for 10 amp max discharge. On max output, the H600Fc will suck between 6-8 amps out of the battery. (Drain goes up as they discharge, due to the regulated boost driver.)

However, I don't use the light on full output very much. If I did, I'd go with Samsung 30Q or Sony VTC6. They're 15 amp cells, which gives better performance with less heat at high discharge.

 

[turbodog]

FYI, at least _some_ zebralight models are length-approved for protected cells.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

FYI, at least _some_ zebralight models are length-approved for protected cells.

Yes, but they're completely unnecessary in a Zebralight, since it already has protection built into the light.

 

[thermal guy]

If a protected button top will fit, I would use it. 18650 cells are not to be toyed with... anything you can do to make them safer is a good thing.

Especially if your strapping it to your head!

 

[Katherine Alicia]

Depending on the use I tend to use Molicel P26A batts in my lights that like to draw a bit of current, but I may use a Soshine 3400mah cell in my radio that hardly uses any power, so in this case the extra mah is good for runtime.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Especially if your strapping it to your head!

Just be aware that protection circuits on batteries are there to protect the battery, not you. For example, if the wrap gets torn, you have a positive strip shorting directly against the negative can, and the protection circuit can't protect that from going boom.

Protected batteries are a good idea in multi-cell lights (and even some cheap single-cell lights), since you otherwise run the risk of draining a cell too low which can be a safety concern. But you don't run that risk in a zebralight.

IMO, I'd rather have a quality unprotected genuine cell strapped to my head, than a protected cell which you don't really know what condition the inner wrap is in. That strip, separated from a short by about 0.01mm, makes me nervous in high-powered batteries.

 

[Franquixote]

So the consensus is to buy the battery that the manufacturer sells, despite it being the most expensive oprion with the least storage and power?
On the side note, anyone think I should wait for some kind of sale like black Friday, haven't seen these go on sale on the 3 months I h been scoping them out...