Surefire says not to use batteries marked Photo?

[JohnnyLED]

This is from Surefire's website.

SureFire recommends the use of only SureFire-brand 123A lithium batteries or those manufactured by Panasonic®, Energizer®, and Duracell®. However, do not use any batteries marked "Photo" or "Camera" in SureFire illumination tools.


Does that mean my Rayovac Photo lithiums are no good for my surefires?

Ive been using them and not experiencing problems.

Johnny LED

 

[csshih]

they're fine.

it's an old reference to when there were some "photo" lithium batteries with low discharge rates and higher internal resistance IIRC.

 

[Mr Happy]

Also, some photo lithiums may not have the internal PTC protection device.

SureFire lights put a sustained high load on the cells that is quite different from that found in typical camera applications. It makes sense therefore to use cells that have been specifically designed and tested for the kind of duty imposed by a high power flashlight.

That said, as long as you stick to the mainstream brand, made in America rule you should not have a problem. Lighting applications are more common than photo applications now and modern batteries are manufactured to the required specifications. However, always steer clear of the unknown brand, made in China variety of CR123A. Some of those definitely have caused incidents.