limited 26650 flashlight in the market?

hi guys any reason y flashlight makers don't produce 26650 battery flashlight?
the point is 26650 is a bigger capacity battery and flashlight depends on battery for runtime and brightness. and we have 26650 which is supposing bigger capacity battery. am I missing information on the 26650 battery?

holylight said:

hi guys any reason y flashlight makers don't produce 26650 battery flashlight?
the point is 26650 is a bigger capacity battery and flashlight depends on battery for runtime and brightness. and we have 26650 which is supposing bigger capacity battery. am I missing information on the 26650 battery?

Click to expand...

Several possible reasons;
1. 26650 is heavier battery (& flashlight)
2. 26650 not as "standard" - some people light lights to take rechargeable and non-rechargeable
3. Person might not have 26650 cells & may not want to buy them
4. More difficult to charge, don't fit in chargers - ends not necessarily magnetic.

With that all said I have several lights that are 26650 lights - but they don't get as much use as my 18650 lights.

The 26650 has only marginally higher storage capacity than the latest 18650 cells.
The extra size of the 26650 no longer seems to be worth a few hundred additional milliamp-hours capacity.

There are some lights out there with the 26650, but the 18650 is by far more popular.

I have often wondered this myself, as I am a big fan of the 26650 format. I have about 10 lights that use this format and all but one are custom. Shadow is the only reputable mainstream manufacturer that are regularly producing 26650 lights. Reasons for the continued rarity as far as I can tell are this...

• Fear of an "unknown" battery size for most consumers. Let's face it, this is probably the biggest reason these lights remain in the custom market only.
• 18650 is very common in non-flashlight devices and therefore a safer bet for manufacturers (converse of my first point) to base a light around.
• Consumer fear of figuring out how to charge the *new* battery type. This is easily overcome but a lot of people are not willing to put in the time required to figure it out.
• Rarity of 26650 batteries (subjective). It turns out there are actually a lot of good sources for 26650's but you do have to do your homework, it's not going to jump up and bite you.
• Fear of being future proof. For example, what if my favorite light turns out to be 1x26650 but I can't get a quality cell anymore in 2014.... Bummer dude. To me this is a non issue because the length is the same I can always use 18650 with a sleeve in a pinch or in the future if 26650 really did go by the wayside.
• The mentioned capacity advantage has almost vanished over the last couple years. They now have 3400mah 18650's, and the most common quality 26650's are usually around 3700mah. I personally wouldn't split hairs over this but for many the difference between 3400 and 3700 is not enough to sway most people towards the less common style (see other fears above that outweigh the small capacity advantage for most people).
• Bigger size. This could be a pro or a con, but some people might still consider a 1x18650 to be pocketable, but a 26650 I would think crosses over that pocketable line for a large number of people, keeping them in the 1x18650 or smaller realm for EDC type lights.

I am still optimistic that the 26650 format could gain a bigger following, that cell capacities will continue to increase, that availability of quality cells will become greater, etc... I'm willing to risk it and so far I am not disappointed. To each their own. To me the 26650 cell just has yet to reach it's full potential and I am willing to wait around and see what happens. If you want a "safe" bet, this is probably not it.

lovecpf

holylight said:

and we have 26650 which is supposing bigger capacity battery. am I missing information on the 26650 battery?

Click to expand...

Quality 18650s are up to 3400mAh now, making the 26650 hardly worth while. As already mentioned 18650 really is the standard cell size, 26650 is a bit of an odball.

Although I have a two X 26650 light I like the size in hand very much like a 2C mag.

Norm

+

With emitters like xm-l2 being driven to 4A and beyond**, the benefit of a IMR 26650 is huge
because pushing a Panasonic 18650 at 4A is marginal.
The whole standard battery size argument is thin,, not long ago photo cells were standard.
Also, many chargers are now wide enough for 26mm cells.

I'd love to see more 26650 or 2x26650 lights
especially in a p60 host.

**not to mention triple xm-l setups driving higher currents

26650 P60 hosts are available. Fivemega sells some different types in the marketplace.

Enerpower 26650 4500mAh has 57% more Wh at 5A than Enerpower 18650 3400 mAh, but the weight is double. For high drain lights, I think 26650 cells makes sense. The alternative is often fat 3 X 18650 setups.

Main reason why the big fat Maglites are going to be replaced by the majority of LEO's, they are to big and fat :naughty: for belt carry 24/7 (probably the same reason for the low interest in 26650, they are to heavy)
EDC and belt carry lights are mainly 18650. It makes palm size lights possible, that are still power full enough to do the job sufficient.

Yes, it doesn't make much sense for tactical lights, but for search lights I think it makes sense, I would much rather have a Fenix TK75 in a 2 X 26650 series setup than the fat setup it have now.

The Enerpower 4500mah 26650 looks good.
However, I can find no availability for it anywhere in the US, after a google search.
So, it seems great for our EU friends, but not for US consumers, as far as I can see.

Foursevens S12 uses 26650's, I have four or five lights that take 26650's and there bulky but comfortable in the hand, same average thickness as a c cell light. It does mean you'll need another charger, unless you lucked out an had the right one already.
I love the form factor, I'd also be willing to try out a 1D cell size light (lithium or Nimh) I think I'd love it. I dig the size of the Ea4

Kingkong 26650's are my favorites so far

New Ultrafire 26650 batteries are advertised at 6000 mAh - now whether this is accurate is another thing of course.

It seems the popular LED to use in high-power lights is the XML. And since the 18650 has enough juice to power that LED, why go to a bigger battery?
And if we go with multiple XMLs, we have such a large head that having a larger 3x18650 battery tube doesn't matter much since the head is already huge.

For some reason, the battery manufacturers have put most of their effort into the 18650 to create a high density/high capacity battery in regards to energy vs. size. Maybe some laptops use the 18650 so that's the reason.

Also, EDC means for most of the time, the device is not in your hand. So even if the device feels good while in the hand, it doesn't feel as good in your pocket where it resides 95% of the time, or something like that.

The reason why more effort goes into the manufacturing and refining of 18650's is that there widely used in Laptops, and other battery packs. 26650's haven't gotten the attention that the 18650 has.

I agree with Carl, I couldn't edc a 26650 light, unless it was in a holster or in my lunch box

carl said:

And if we go with multiple XMLs, we have such a large head that having a larger 3x18650 battery tube doesn't matter much since the head is already huge.

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It does matter when you are holding the light for a long period of time. My hands don't like very fat tubes, I think my comfort limit is around 40 mm.

carl said:

Also, EDC means for most of the time, the device is not in your hand. So even if the device feels good while in the hand, it doesn't feel as good in your pocket where it resides 95% of the time, or something like that.

Click to expand...

Not all lights are for EDC.

Why do I get the feeling that even if 26650 batteries are produced with 5000-6000 mah
and cost about $15 ea. they will never be mainstream ?

I just don't see the acceptance.

Someone help me out please.
I believe the 18650 battery and smaller form factors are the only batteries people want.

Just my two cents....

Panasonic ncr18650b is often touted as 3400mah but the reality is it's got low voltage under load and over time. clearly no match for a good 26650 cell particularly in single cell setups

Foursevens should release an updated X10 without that stupid mode changing with the tailswitch. This form factor hasn't been exploited to its full potential. Imagine an X10-sized flashlight breaking 1K lumens from a single cell that would be awesome

I must be missing something....

Is the 26650 battery chemically the same as an 18650 and are the insides the same meaning they are
manufactured the same way as an 18650 just has a larger size.

If so, I'm thinking this is like comparing watt hr ratings of something like a "C" cell VS "D" battery.
Is it that the 26650 battery is DOA and there will never be a following and market for this battery ?

Is this battery just too darn big ?
I'm thinking that even if this battery was rated 10,000 mah and had Whr that were until now unheard of
and the price was cheaper than a quality 18650 battery this battery still would be considered second rate.

It looks like very little love for this format..... It's a shame, I think there is a lot of potential for this battery
and dare I say even a larger format battery maybe a little larger than a "D" cell to get away from using 3 or 4
18650 batteries to power the newest XML's and beyond.

My 4sevens X10 is one of my most used lights. Great throw in a compact size (a perfect coat pocket size). Simple and solid too. The 26650 form factor feels great in the hand....much better than my 4 x 18650 lights.