Which brand of 18650 you use?

[gem]

I recently got my Ultrafire 18650 and will be receiving my MG L-Mini II light soon. During this time, I've read various threads most really slamming Ultrafires and other brands and most stating that AW 18650 are awesome.
My question is:
1st) Which brands of 18650 have you used and what were there results?
2nd) Which brands of 18650 are you using now and what are the results?
3rd) Are you still using your 1st 18650 charger or a different charger now?

 

[Sgt. LED]

1 gen prior to current selling AW cells and Eagletac cells. I think I have 1 Trustfire and 1 Ultrafire cell somewhere around here. Newest Pila charger.
Everything is doing very very well for me.
Had the older Pila and when 1 side died I got the newest whiz-bang Pila 18650 charger.
When the newest AW cells came out without the button top I switched over to Eagletac.

This thread is about to travel over to the Battery section, hang on!

 

[Oddjob]

I use AW cells. I do have some generic cells but I don't use them because I received them with a light I bought and I do not know what level of care was used by the previous owner. I presently use a Pila IBC charger since reading about issues with the WF139 I used to use.

 

[Badbeams3]

I hope this thread doesn`t get moved to soon..

Anyway, I bought a Eagletac...I saw in the batt review section these were the only ones to shut down to prevent damage on time...and they were priced pretty low too. Haven`t used it yet. I`m using the WF-139 to charge 14500...so far so good.

 

[M@elstrom]

I've got AW's newer 18650 (pimple top) & an older generation 17650 both of which work fine, I also was given an Ultrafire BRC 3000mAh cell (button top) seems okay thus far though I'm sure the capacity is over rated, as for chargers... I'm still using the WF-139 I purchased last year (without issue)

 

[rookiedaddy]

1) EagleTac 2400mAH and AW 2600mAH with exceptional runtime and performance
2) EagleTac 2400mAH and AW 2600mAH
3) now WF-139, was Soshine

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

AW 18650 2200 mAh
AW 18650 2600 mAh
AW 18500 IMR

Great batteries!

 

[metlarules]

I have 2 AW 17670's that are a little over a year old and going strong.
I also have 6 Tenergy 18650's(Unprotected) that seem to be close to theie mah rating.
They lasted 50% longer on two runtime test in two different lights.

 

[vitekboi]

2 blue trustfire 2500 and 2 black trustfire 2400. been working great for me!

 

[Toaster]

Using both Eagletac 18650 and AW IMR 18650 cells atm.

 

[DUQ]

I've been using LG, Sony and Sanyo 18650 cells for the past 5 years. The Sanyo and Sony cells performed the best so far. Recently the cells have been dying off and I have been replacing them with DLG or ultrafire cells. If I get back into hot wire's; I'll grab some AW's

 

[Greg G]

I have about a dozen AW 2200's that have held up well for abput 1.5 years with no failures.

I have 6 EagleTac's that are a few months old and are doing well also.

 

[Lighthouse one]

As a general rule, I believe most lion cells are good for around 3 years....if your use is just hobby- you'll do fine with the trustfire and ultrafire cheaper batteries. You might have one go bad early sometime...but so what. At 2 for $5 it won't break the bank.

 

[DimeRazorback]

I use AW cells.
They work well so far!

 

[Crenshaw]

For protected batteries, you really cant beat AW.THe protected battery sizes *INCLUDE* the circuit, rather than refering to the battery itself.

but i've had no problems with Ultrafires beyond the occasional shortcircuits (from my own stupidity rather than the battery) and some of the heatshrink , shrinking a bit.
plus, at about 1/4 the price of aws, you can just throw them away at the first sign of trouble.

Im also using ultrafire C sized ones in my Mag85. If you check the balances often (which you should do anyway) You shouldnt have problems

Crenshaw

 

[Owen]

1st) Which brands of 18650 have you used and what were there results?
-LG unprotected 2600mAh, both AW protected and unprotected 2200mAh.
All have worked fine for the uses I've put them to, from single 3.7V LAs with protected cells, to the SF MN21 for the LGs.

2nd) Which brands of 18650 are you using now and what are the results?
-Only have the unprotected AW 2200mAh cells. Plenty good for the Lumens Factory HO-M3T they drive. Got them because I was waiting for the higher capacity protected AW 18650s that will eventually replace them if I don't go IMR18650/IMR-M3T with the same setup.
I prefer to buy AW's cells because AW is good to deal with, issues are few and quickly resolved by the dealer, plus he's progressively had the specs and construction updated and tailored to us flashlight users.

3rd) Are you still using your 1st 18650 charger or a different charger now?
-4th and hopefully last charger, a Pila IBC. Much nicer than the original Pila/Wolf-Eyes, DSD, or Ultrafire chargers I had before, and doesn't overcharge my batteries.

 

[Black Rose]

I recently got my Ultrafire 18650 and will be receiving my MG L-Mini II light soon. During this time, I've read various threads most really slamming Ultrafires and other brands and most stating that AW 18650 are awesome.
My question is:
1st) Which brands of 18650 have you used and what were there results?
2nd) Which brands of 18650 are you using now and what are the results?
3rd) Are you still using your 1st 18650 charger or a different charger now?

1) & 2) AW 2200 mAh 18650 and the black TrustFire 2400 mAh 18650 cells. No problems with either, although the TrustFires are a bit long for my L-Mini II.

3) I initially bought a WF-139 charger and then bought a pair of Yoho-122 chargers shortly afterwards.
I sold my WF-139 over on CPFMP the other day.

BTW, you probably don't want to hear this, but you may have fitment issues (length and/or width) with Ultrafire 18650s (which ones?) in the L-Mini II.

 

[1 what]

I've a number of AW 18650's. No problems with regular use and with the newest Pila charger.
About 6 weeks ago I purchased 2 Ultrafire 3000ma/h units. 1 failed last week! (the battery not the protection board). I've taken the surviving 3000 out of service and am awaiting delivery of some AW 2600ma/h.
Welcome back AW!

 

[LightWalker]

I'm using Eagletac 2400 which did pretty good in this shootout. http://light-reviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=513

The pink Ultrafire look good also.

 

[Toohotruk]

I just recently got my first 18650s for my new WE Sniper...I chose Eagletacs due to good reviews. And I got a WF-139 charger for them...was that a mistake? I hadn't heard anything bad about them...what issues have there been with them?

I have been using a few AW RCR123s with my M60 powered 6P for a couple of years, and one of them failed just the other day. :sigh: