Correct battery for the direct drive in the Eagletac d25c clicky?

Hi folks, new to the forums! I've searched and searched and cannot find a clear answer to my question, so I'm going to ask it myself.

I'm thinking of buying an eagletac d25c clicky, mainly for it's awesome direct drive 700 lumen capability. So my main question is, which rechargeable battery do I need to get the 700 lumens? Can I get a protected rcr123a like this one
http://www.lighthound.com/AW-RCR123a-Protected-750-mAh-Battery_p_114.html

...or do I have to get an unprotected one like this?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NMXP6CY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
or this?
http://www.lighthound.com/AW-IMR163...LiMN-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_2626.html

I'd prefer to use the protected rcr123 for safety, and it's easier to find. But if IMR is the only way to get the 700 lumens, I'll have to go with that.

And followup question, which charger should I use to charge said battery? I'm thinking of this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KN8JWVM/?tag=cpf0b6-20
but i'm worried because I heard you needed to charge two at a time to avoid overcharging it.

Thanks in advance for your awesome advice!

I think you are talking about the original 2012 D25C clicky that hits 700 lumens in direct drive.
Those have been no longer available for quite some time.
It is practically a collector's item now.
They have updated the driver and circuit several times for the D25C.
The new version is regulated and will hit about 400 lumens with Li-ion.
The direct drive D25C had only 2 modes with Li-ion, 10 lumen and 700 lumen,
that really limited the usefulness of the light, a lot.

Invest in 18650 instead.
Far better lights to choose from.

Panasonic 18650 3400mAh cell x 2
Nitecore i4/D4 Intellicharger

Then pick one of many 18650 lights,
like the Zebralight SC62.


If you find a direct drive D25C,
then an AW IMR 16340 unprotected would be best, bigger amps.
I ran mine with both AW IMR unprotected and AW ICR protected 16340 cells.

Wow, that is an incredibly helpful reply, thankyou. Of all my searching i never saw mention that direct drive was only 2012. You just saved me some money. Id love to go to 18650…but i want edc and cant find any 4 inch lights in that cell size. Know of any?

GordoJones88 said:

I think you are talking about the original 2012 D25C clicky that hits 700 lumens in direct drive.
Those have been no longer available for quite some time.
It is practically a collector's item now.
They have updated the driver and circuit several times for the D25C.
The new version is regulated and will hit about 400 lumens with Li-ion.

Click to expand...

This is news to me. My personal D25C purchased this year puts out the higher output on an IMR and only has the 2 modes. All online spec sheets still mention the 700lum output on 4.2V. Can you point us to the source which mentions the regulated output from the D25C?

To the OP:

I use an Xtar VP-1 charger for my LiIons. It has an integrated voltage meter, which can be a nice feature. Their newer VP2 model also charges more battery types, like LiPoFe. The downside is that it only has 2 slots. So once you get bigger lights that use 3-4 18650s, it's a bit slower than having a 4-bay charger.

I use IMR 16350 in my D25C. I don't think the XPG and XML emitters ask for a lot of amps, so I'd suspect you'd be just fine using a protected rcr if that makes you feel better. A lot of folks use the IMRs because they're safer to use in series (not an issue for a single cell light obviously) and also because most protection circuits cut off at too low a voltage. I've seen some that cut out at 3.2V, at which point you've already drained the cell too low. If you get a quality charger, you don't really need the over-charge protection afforded by the battery, as your charger will terminate at the proper voltage.

This does require you to get an estimate on how much runtime you can get out of a rechargeable before it gets too low, say 3.6V. So just charge up your new cell, pop into the light and run it in small increments (a few minutes at a time), measuring the voltage after each run. Keep track of your run time and when you get down to 3.6V, you know how much runtime you can expect. I also use a ZTS tester for my cells, it measures the capacity while applying a load to the cells, so it's a more accurate way to measure than just a plain DMM.

The protection circuit on the rcrs also makes the cells slightly bigger, both longer and thicker, so that can be an issue in some lights.

The 16350s have about 1/3 the capacity of a primary cr123, so they may not be suitable for applications where you're away from the charger for an extended period. Although the VP1 charger comes with a car charger, so that's another nice feature that expands your range.