Best 18650 battery question

golphinn

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
4
Hello all,

I just purchased a new bicycle light from Fenix (BC30). The light uses 2 18650 batteries and I was wondering what everybody would suggest as the best battery to use? I use an electronic cigarette and for that I use AW IMR 18650 1600 mah. The charger that I use is an XTRA VP1. I would imagine that the charger would be fine for charging my flashlight batteries also. Am I correct in thinking this? Thank you for any help that you can offer.

Tom
 

vicv

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
2,790
Location
Southern Ontario
Welcome to cpf. Google search is your friend. To answer one question yes your charger is fine. Batteries any brand that doesn't end in fire will be fine
 

golphinn

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
4
Welcome to cpf. Google search is your friend. To answer one question yes your charger is fine. Batteries any brand that doesn't end in fire will be fine

Tried Google, thanks for suggesting though :thumbsup:. Could anybody else offer some battery suggestions? Which brand and where everybody buys their batteries from? Thanks.
 

Shiftyk5

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
148
Location
Missouri, USA
Panasonic NCR18650B protected button top 3400 mAh

mtnelectronics would be my first choice to buy from

eagletac 18650 3400 mAh is another great choice

take a look at HKJ's reviews in this sub forum he has a great comparator
 

UnderPar

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 16, 2013
Messages
878
Location
Philippines
I've been using the Panasonic 18650B, 3400 mAh since last year and its been working flawlessly. I top it everytime the voltage goes down between 3.7 to 3.9 volts and its its very good to go again. I second to Shiftyk5 recommendation for you to take time to read the battery reviews of HKJ and start from there. You will enhance your knowledge about batteries and what you will need for your new light. Good luck and :welcome:
 

thedoc007

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
3,632
Location
Michigan, USA
I'd suggest the SoShine 3400mAh. These are shorter than the Panasonics, thus more compatible with a variety of lights. And they are among the cheapest protected cells available. Illumination Supply is my go-to source. With coupon code, you can get them for about $8.50 each.
 

Scarface26

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
10
I would make sure that your choice be a "protected" battery which has a chip to prevent overcharging and over draining. In addition to the previous recommendations, I would add Olight/ Fenix/ AW/ Keepower/ & Nitecore to the list of quality Battery brands. There may be others also. 3100 to 3400 MAh are good. You can save a few bucks by choosing lower MAh batteries too.
 

Casey Guo

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
7
for flashlight you 'd better to choose the high capacity battery With PCB protection , so Panasonic NCR 3400mAh battery is a good choose .
 

golphinn

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
4
I ended up buying 4 SoShine 3400mAh and also grabbed a XTAR VP2 charger to replace my VP1 which was giving me problems.
 

IgglePiggle

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
7
From Googling battery reviews it seems a lot of the protected 18650 are rebranded Panasonic. Why are the rebranded double the price, is the protection circuit better?
 

ChrisGarrett

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
5,725
Location
Miami, Florida
From Googling battery reviews it seems a lot of the protected 18650 are rebranded Panasonic. Why are the rebranded double the price, is the protection circuit better?

Everybody's gotta make a buck and if you're selling in smaller volumes, you're not going to make much for your efforts going the McDonald's path of 'pennies made on a billion sold.'

I run the cheaper naked cells in my single cell lights and pay $6-$10 for some of the better ones.

We're starting to see more protected cells from LG, Sanyo, Samsung and Sony, but Panasonic is still the big dog in the yard.

Chris
 

pilou

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
540
Panasonic NCR18650B protected button top 3400 mAh

mtnelectronics would be my first choice to buy from
Do you have direct experience with their protected Panasonics? Has anyone done some test to check actual capacities? I have seen data for a bunch of 18650, but not any from mtnelectronics.
 

richardcpf

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
1,281
Do you have direct experience with their protected Panasonics? Has anyone done some test to check actual capacities? I have seen data for a bunch of 18650, but not any from mtnelectronics.

Genuine Panasonic NCR18650B cells have the same capacity disregarding which company or seller installs the protection circuit. These cell are tested to match their advertised capacity, about 3200mAh @1A draw. Which practically makes it the highest capacity 4.20V 18650 battery in the market.

MTNelectronics is a very respectable seller, I had several orders with them without any issue.
 

awyeah

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
264
What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

So I'm looking to stock up on a few more 18650s.

My only hard requirement for them is that they're made in Japan and protected. I prefer Panasonics (I don't have any desire to burn my house down)...

Anyway, the last time I bought them, I bought a few 3100mAh EagleTacs (with the red label), because those looked to me like the best dollars-to-mAh value at that time.

What's everyone buying these days?
 

troisanh

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 4, 2013
Messages
28
Re: What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

Other info would help others for reccomendations; ie location and budget.
 

awyeah

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
264
Re: What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

Good idea. Location is US. For budget... since these things aren't going to cost hundreds of dollars, we'll just say unlimited. Also, forgot to mention, button top.
 

thedoc007

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
3,632
Location
Michigan, USA
Re: What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

My only hard requirement for them is that they're made in Japan and protected. I prefer Panasonics (I don't have any desire to burn my house down)...

Do you want both the protection circuit and cell to be made in Japan? You won't find the best value there, of that you can be sure. If the bare cell is of good quality, I'm not too worried about the protection circuit...it is only there for backup anyway, I usually charge cells well before the cutoff is reached. I have over 30 18650s, so that difference of a few dollars really adds up.

My personal preference is SoShine 3400, or Keeppower 3400 - they are both button top cells. Keeppowers have a bit lower internal resistance, and protection allows for somewhat higher current before it cuts out, but they are more expensive (around $12 each). SoShines are just fine for most uses, a little bit shorter (meaning better compatibility with a variety of lights), and the cheapest branded cells I have found...only about $8.50 each. They both use Panasonic cells.
 
Last edited:

magellan

Honorary Aussie
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
5,003
Location
USA
Re: What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

I bought a couple of the Voidhawks. They're more expensive than just about anything else out there, but what the hell, I figured I'd buy two and see if they live up to the hype. So far so good, I use them in my Soshine 2x18650 power bank which gets constant use keeping my iPhone and iPod Touch charged up on the fly as well as being used to charge the AA batteries used in a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus charger/power bank. I can't say for sure if they're worth all the extra money, but I have no complaints about the overall quality so far.
 

thedoc007

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
3,632
Location
Michigan, USA
Re: What's the "best buy" in 18650s these days?

I bought a couple of the Voidhawks. They're more expensive than just about anything else out there, but what the hell, I figured I'd buy two and see if they live up to the hype. So far so good, I use them in my Soshine 2x18650 power bank which gets constant use keeping my iPhone and iPod Touch charged up on the fly as well as being used to charge the AA batteries used in a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus charger/power bank. I can't say for sure if they're worth all the extra money, but I have no complaints about the overall quality so far.

Ouch, tell me you didn't pay $40 for a couple 2600 mAh cells. That is just a rip-off, plain and simple. You could get four high-quality 3400 mAh cells for the same price...and they would give you over 2.5 times the capacity.

Edit: I see they also sell the 3400 mAh cells. $25 each. Still far too expensive, given that they probably use the same cell as other brands that charge $10. But a better deal than the 2600 mAh cells.
 
Last edited:
Top