Ultralast Batteries (A Rose By Any Other Name)

[Hitthespot]

I bought 50 CR123 Ultralast batteries from Battery Junction around one or two months ago. They were listed as 1400mah and made by one of the leading manufacturers of batteries. I thought how bad could they be.

Well first thing I noticed was I only got 1/2 the listed run times out of my flashlights. I just pulled a brand new one out of the box, well actually three to put in my browning 9 volt Incand light. The light would not come on. I checked the polarity (OK) and tried again. No light. Took the volt meter to all three cells. 3.2V, 3.2V, 1.6V. I know enough from reading around here how dangerous this can be.

Well I paid $1.00 a pc for these. This is around 2/3 the price of good Panasonic batteries which cost as little as $1.49 on line. Since they only last 1/2 as long I figure I got ripped off around 1/3 of my money!!

Ultralast______how about Deadlast.

Never again. Panasonics, Surefires, or Streamlights only. There good and the cost is reasonable.

Bill

 

[Probedude]

I've had similar Ultralast experiences - AA's alkaline and NiMH, CR2032's, and some camcorder batteries. None of them lasted as long as even the inexpensive Maxells.

I just bought a 2 pack of Ultralast CR123A's just to compare them to Sanyo and Panasonics - haven't tried them yet but they're a full gram lighter in weight.

 

[scott.cr]

Oooooh.... thanks for sharing, and sorry about your loss. (Did that sound like "condolences to the widow"?) Whenever I see the name Ultralast, I think of those ultra-premium alkalines marketed by Kodak back in the 80s. Looks like the "new" Ultralast is anything but premium!

Check this out, I bought a pair of AA Ultralasts in 1988 to put into my "Telrad" finder for my telescope. I soon put the telescope in storage with the Ultralasts in there. Pulled the scope out in 2005 and the Ultralasts still worked!!! No corrosion, no leakage. By then I was an avowed CPFer, so I examined the cells more closely than I usually would have. Gold-plated contacts and bomb-proof seals. These were really great cells in their day. I don't think any company makes a cell to match.

 

[Probedude]

Check this out, I bought a pair of AA Ultralasts in 1988 to put into my "Telrad" finder for my telescope. I soon put the telescope in storage with the Ultralasts in there. Pulled the scope out in 2005 and the Ultralasts still worked!!! No corrosion, no leakage. By then I was an avowed CPFer, so I examined the cells more closely than I usually would have. Gold-plated contacts and bomb-proof seals. These were really great cells in their day. I don't think any company makes a cell to match.

Did Ultralast exist in 1988? Maybe they were some other brand but their 'Ultralast' version? (like how there is Duracell and Duracell 'digital')

 

[Mr Happy]

Did Ultralast exist in 1988? Maybe they were some other brand but their 'Ultralast' version? (like how there is Duracell and Duracell 'digital')

Ultralast is a trade mark of the North American Battery Company, which is presently part of Uniross. I think NABC and the Ultralast brand may go back a fair number of years, but I can't find exact details.

 

[scott.cr]

Did Ultralast exist in 1988?

They were sold as "Kodak Ultralast" with gold-plated terminals. This was back when Michael Landon was doing their TV commercials. The AAs were made in Japan, try to find a Japanese-made alkaline nowadays!!

 

[TigerhawkT3]

I, too, have had bad experiences with Ultralast CR123As (didn't last long in a Fenix P1) and their Uniross line of Hybrio LSDs (didn't hold a charge).

 

[Mr Happy]

I, too, have had bad experiences with ... their Uniross line of Hybrio LSDs (didn't hold a charge).

Interesting. I put some fully charged Hybrios in a flashlight a couple of months ago, so I just pulled them and tested them on the C9000 by discharging them at 1000 mA. They were at least consistent, but they only measured 1450 mAh, which is about 75% of a full charge. More interestingly, they got quite warm during the discharge, something I have never observed Eneloops to do at 1000 mA. So yes, I guess maybe they are not among the best of the LSD options.

 

[jzmtl]

My only experience with ultralast is their rcr123a (700mah). Bought kit with two cells plus charger for $15, one cell is dead out of package and won't take a charge. Went back to store for exchange, they had two individule cells and one of them seems dead too. So that's 50% faliure rate from what I've seen.

However the two I have now work great, tried them in T1 hi mode and hit 20 minutes no problem before I turned it off. Charger seems to be two channel smart charger too. But hell, for $15 bucks why not, AW's charger cost more than this.

 

[AndyTiedye]

I had a set of more recent Kodak alkalines leak battery doo-doo in my flashlight.