The First 18650 Flashlight

I've been a huge fan of 18650 flashlights, since I first discovered them in May 0f 2012. My first 18650 light purchase was the Olight M20-X.


Olight M20-X light, shown with Buck 110 folder.

The 18650 battery has become my number one choice for flashlight battery, by far.

Nearly sixty per cent of all the lights I own are powered by 18650 batteries.

My question is, who actually manufactured and mass produced the first 18650 flashlight, and when?

Evidently, the 18650 battery has been around since the 90's, but I had no idea. I'm fairly sure 18650 flashlights didn't exist at that time, but I'd love to know how long they've been around, and who started making them available to the general public.

I have the feeling, the incandescent bulb wasn't ready to be powered by a 18650 battery; so the flashlight probably wasn't made until LED flashlight emitters become more commonplace. Of course, I could be wrong.

Does anyone know?

Cant answer the Q but my 1st binh light was the olight m20, solid, awesome ano, great size/feel to a light. Has the nichia 219 thrown in for a very nice 4500k tint, single mode.

2nd from the right


Nit sure now,maybe 2013 the purchase year, lives on my bedside....................

Great question...unfortunately I have no idea, no guesses.

My first was the Fenix PD32UE. Great light and I still have two of them.

I love the 1x18650 format. AA's are pretty much dead to me.

markr6 said:

Great question...unfortunately I have no idea, no guesses.

My first was the Fenix PD32UE. Great light and I still have two of them.

I love the 1x18650 format. AA's are pretty much dead to me.

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I hear that. AA lights account for only about 12 per cent of all my lights. I do find them very useful, if they use multiple batteries (Fenix TK41, Nitecore EA4. I have multiple chargers, so charging isn't an issue); but performance cannot compare with that of the 18650 lights. There's just no way to pack much power in a single AA flashlight; and I'd rather have excess power, but be able to tone it down (use a lower mode setting), than to not have enough light. I've grown so used to the 18650-sized lights, they're very comfortable to carry - especially my tiny Zebralight SC62w (4500K), which is always front pocket-carried.


Left - SC62w
Right - SC600w MkII L2

The Nichia 219B emitter is my favorite of them all (for great color rendition). My main go-to EDC light, with that emitter, is a Solarforce L2P, with a Sportac triple Nichia 219B (2-mode). Beautiful, flood of useful neutral light.


The L2P with the Sportac Triple Nichia 219B (2-mode) is in the center, at the bottom of the picture.

I love that sportac too David, 2 mode also and find the low mode 20% perfect for most tasks...

Looking back at some really old threads, I'm seeing some Maglite mods using 18650. ~2003 timeframe, maybe older?

AA are the best! I like 18650s as well, but anything more than an aa is overkill.

markr6 said:

Great question...unfortunately I have no idea, no guesses.

My first was the Fenix PD32UE. Great light and I still have two of them.

I love the 1x18650 format. AA's are pretty much dead to me.

Click to expand...

markr6 said:

Looking back at some really old threads, I'm seeing some Maglite mods using 18650. ~2003 timeframe, maybe older?

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I remember the earlier rechargeable Mag Chargers used these cheesy, proprietary NiCad batteries. NiCad batteries are the worst. Can't stand them. Never could.

I'm not sure if they ever used lithium ion batteries, especially 18650 batteries...? Now, they seem to be using LiFePO4 batteries in their smaller rechargeable lights (like their MagTac LED).

They're using (proprietary...?) NiMhs in their larger rechargeable lights.

I don't think any Maglite has ever been 18650-friendly, but I could be mistaken. Their (non-rechargeable) MagTAC lights run on dual CR123s; but the 18650 isn't supported, in lieu of the dual CR123s. To me, that's an awful design. In my opinion, all lights that can run on dual CR123 batteries, should also support the use of a single 18650 battery - both, for economical, as well as environmental reasons. A manufacturer ought to be able to figure out the electronics, so that the lower voltage from a 18650 will properly drive their light; that is - if they want to keep up with other manufacturers.

Some lights even support the use of dual RCR123 (16340 lithium ion) batteries; but not too many.

Edit - Ahhh..I just re-read your thread. You were referring to Maglite mod's, not stock Maglites.

ven said:

Cant answer the Q but my 1st binh light was the olight m20, solid, awesome ano, great size/feel to a light. Has the nichia 219 thrown in for a very nice 4500k tint, single mode.

2nd from the right


Nit sure now,maybe 2013 the purchase year, lives on my bedside....................

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Which Armytek light is that, on the far right? I'm a huge Armytek fan. Very robust build quality, wide working voltage ranges, superb grip (with their matte finishes), and excellent neutral emitters.

david57strat said:

Which Armytek light is that, on the far right? I'm a huge Armytek fan. Very robust build quality, wide working voltage ranges, superb grip (with their matte finishes), and excellent neutral emitters.

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Hi David, me too, love the predator and viking models, i have a predator pro v2.5 warm and viking pro v2.5 cool, imho the cool is too cool, maybe 6500-7000k on my example. The warm of the predator is really nice coming from a more cool biased guy(prefer neutral to cool generally).
Agree, the build/ano is 2nd to none, removing/fitting the tight clip leaves no marks, other lights, be them nitecore or fenix leave traces.............

Photobucket or/and google chrome is playing up(again) so cant give a definitive answer as i cant see the pic, if crenelated its the predator, if smooth/silver its the viking

+1 to the Armytek lights, I've been lucky on most of the ones i have except the Wizard i sent back. Too bad too, i really like the warm tint on that one.

I got my first 18650 light back around 2010, and that was a "HQ" brand from Sportsman guide. I got the "rechargeable pack, which i found later was an 18650. So, cutting edge (which that surplus store seems to be behind) would put mainstream 18650 around 2008. Just a guess though.

On the spinoff AA thing though, i love my SC52, nice small package and plenty of light on one AA. However, i do tend to prefer the 18650s like most here.

Pila was one of the first batteries for the transition to rechargeable Li-Ion, from lithium primaries ....

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pila_168s_150s.htm

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/features/pila_table.htm

Pila 168A ~ Pila 600P ~ 18650
The "S" versions were 17mm instead

Not sure if Pila made the very first torch designed to use "18650" , but the GL2 was certainly a rather early one to do so.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pila_gl2.htm

( circa ~2006 )

archimedes said:

Pila was one of the first batteries for the transition to rechargeable Li-Ion, from lithium primaries ....

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pila_168s_150s.htm

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/features/pila_table.htm

Pila 168A ~ Pila 600P ~ 18650
The "S" versions were 17mm instead

Not sure if Pila made the very first torch designed to use "18650" , but the GL2 was certainly a rather early one to do so.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pila_gl2.htm

( circa ~2006 )

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Good to know. Thanks for the info, archimedes!

david57strat said:

Which Armytek light is that, on the far right? I'm a huge Armytek fan. Very robust build quality, wide working voltage ranges, superb grip (with their matte finishes), and excellent neutral emitters.

Click to expand...

Now bucket and Google are not playing up , it's the Viking pro David

The SureFire U2 was 18650 ready from launch - that was 2005 I seem to remember. That was the first time I had seen mention of that battery size. Normal 123 batteries were rattling in the battery tube.

I don't think the SF U2 was advertised as such. In fact, I think later versions had a spacer or other alterations in the tube to specifically narrow the diameter and prevent using an 18650 ....