Primary or Rechargable Poll

[spellitout]

What do you prefer using in your lights?

 

[joshconsulting]

I have never owned a primary (aside from the ones that came from my X5, and the one in my in-route MiNi that will get pitched on arrival), and I don't plan to. Ultrafire RCRs are CHEAPER then primaries + shipping in most areas, and they are brighter to boot. 14500s are slightly more expensive then AAs, but 3x brighter and still negligibly expensive. I like to play around with my lights, and the knowledge that I'm burning several bucks an hour tends to kill the joy very quickly.

 

[Beamhead]

This should indentify the type of cell.

 

[Unforgiven]

This should indentify the type of cell.

This would be a deciding factor for me as well. What type of cell in particular is the poll about?

 

[chaoss]

Hit, primary CR-123 always.

 

[kramer5150]

Not pictured 26650 IMR cells for my ROPs.
Ultrafire RCR123
Sanyo, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung 18650
Ray O Vac 4.0 AA Nimh
Duraloop AAA

The only primaries I own at the moment are two Surefires

 

[don.gwapo]

Primary for me especially when your going outdoor.

 

[carrot]

Primaries for me. Runtimes are so good on primaries now it seems like a waste to invest in rechargeables.

My Olight will be my first 18650-powered light because 4 primaries an hour is where I draw the line.

 

[Dioni]

I prefer those which accept both, therefore I always choose 9v incan flashlights

 

[ky70]

Primaries for me. Runtimes are so good on primaries now it seems like a waste to invest in rechargeables.

I like rechargeables because I can ensure I have a fully loaded/charged battery for my flashlights. I don't want to take my light out with a 60% full battery as I want a full charge on me whenever possible. With primaries, I would not have the luxury of always having a full battery in my light unless I relegated my "used" primary to a backup role and threw a fresh primary in my light. That would certainly be more costly than running rechargeables. For a light I won't be using often, I consider primaries a good option, but for my 4 everyday carry lights, it's all about rechargeables as I constantly use my flashlights every day for no reason at all. With primaries, my care free usage would be limited. I do carry some primaries as backup, but as much as I like to play with my lights, primaries are not the best first option for me.

 

[umc]

Tagging this thread for later review.

Primaries for me but am curious why I would chose one over the other. I made the decision long ago to just go with primaries and have a bunch of them but don't remember totally why I decided to go this route other than being easy. I'm also sure a lot has changed since I made that decision..

 

[BentHeadTX]

Eneloop AA/AAA for me

With low self discharge and a few spares laying next to the charger, rechargables are the easiest, fastest and best way to keep my lights (camera, remotes, wii-motes etc) fed. Knowing dozens of primaries are not taking up landfill space is also a good thing.

I do have half a dozen lithium AA batteries laying around for extended blackouts, that is all I use.

 

[maskman]

I prefer rechargeable batteries for flashlights. I keep Li cell primaries around for long duration power outages.

 

[olrac]

Rechargeable for my everyday use, but for store away applications i.e. BOB, glove compartment,etc., primary

95%+ rechargeable
>5% primary

 

[nzgunnie]

I try and use rechargeables where I can, my incan lights mostly have 9v lamps for example. The lights that I use primaries with are my U2A, since it wont take rechargeables (can't even get an AW17670 to work in it) and an X200A and a Gladius. Pretty much everything else is rechargeable.

 

[gilly]

I like rechargeables because I can ensure I have a fully loaded/charged battery for my flashlights. I don't want to take my light out with a 60% full battery as I want a full charge on me whenever possible. With primaries, I would not have the luxury of always having a full battery in my light unless I relegated my "used" primary to a backup role and threw a fresh primary in my light. That would certainly be more costly than running rechargeables.

This is how I feel also. Mostly use 18650s as a full 18650 is not all that far off (in capacity) from 2 fresh 123 primaries.

Far less likely to tinker with some of my lights if they were burning primaries as well...

 

[mrartillery]

Ive changed over the years, i used to be all primary, but recently ive made the swap to recharagable in every thing i own. But i can see the point of people wanting to use rechargables especially if you were going to be out hiking or somewhere where you couldnt recharge. But for me and my usage, rechargable is the better option!

 

[Robin24k]

I think the poll needs to be revised, it's rather vague.

I use a mix of both depending on what the light is used for. Infrequently used lights get primaries, more frequently used ones get rechargeables.

 

[Tixx]

I use primaries. I just don't want to pay attention to all the overcharging, undercharged, could blow up, need a spacer... :thumbsdow

 

[carrot]

I like rechargeables because I can ensure I have a fully loaded/charged battery for my flashlights. I don't want to take my light out with a 60% full battery as I want a full charge on me whenever possible. With primaries, I would not have the luxury of always having a full battery in my light unless I relegated my "used" primary to a backup role and threw a fresh primary in my light. That would certainly be more costly than running rechargeables. For a light I won't be using often, I consider primaries a good option, but for my 4 everyday carry lights, it's all about rechargeables as I constantly use my flashlights every day for no reason at all. With primaries, my care free usage would be limited. I do carry some primaries as backup, but as much as I like to play with my lights, primaries are not the best first option for me.

I constantly use my flashlights also and as I stated earlier, 90% of my lights use primaries.

My most used lights are economical to feed (all my EDCs can acheive at least 5 hours of runtime), and I do not expect to drain a cell in one outing. I do not worry about walking out of the house with an almost dead battery because I carry a spare primary. If my battery runs out I can pop in a new one, no juggling of cells required.

Also, I have TONS of lights, and if I were to feed them all rechargeables I would be truly in the poorhouse. If I only kept a small stable of rechargeables instead and few primaries, I would have to constantly swap in and out cells, which is not an acceptable option either. I keep a small amount of rechargeables around simply for lights that truly require them: Arc6, Milky E1L, and soon for my Olight M30.

E: For what its worth, a 60% full CR123A has more than a 100% full RCR123A in capacity...