18350-sized lights make perfect EDCs?

In my opinion single 18350-cell lights are the perfect compromise for great EDC carry. (I'm talking about lights that are of similar size to Mac's EDCs).

The 18350s are virtually the same length as CR123s or 16340s, thus still enabling the light to be pretty compact in length. The extra thickness of an 18350 light compared to one that takes CR123s is not noticable during pocket carry to me as I carry them in the same Victorinox pouch that my McGizmo PDs (or a Haiku) would reside in. However the increased capacity of the 18350 is just enough to make a significant practical difference in terms of output and runtime compared to CR123-sized lights.

For example, IMR 18350s have a typical capacity of 800maH vs. 550maH for IMR 16340s and this results in nearly 1.5 times the runtime and also more power available to deliver higher currents to the led. This facilitates a wider range of possible output levels, especially at the higher end of the range - providing that the flashlight design incorporates good heatsinking eg. using beefy copper light engines and Noctigon Copper MCPCBs.

Non-IMR 18350 li-ions also have far more capacity. Typically 1200mAH vs. 700maH for non-IMR 16340s.

Everybody has different opinions and needs but I contend that this platform enables users to have an EDC light of practical pocketability with the versatility to have a UI and levels that would suit most of them.

Therefore I think that lights in this format should become more widely available. Anyone care to give an opinion on this?

tough call my 3 mid sized Armyteks all take 18350's as well. As for little lights that take 18350's sure they seem great on paper but there are still just a couple of reputable 18350's on the market. My opinion as to why there are not dozens of little kick butt 18350 lights is that they would get hot and fast copper heat sinking or not. I personally do not believe 18350 tech is just "there" yet for light makers to jump on the bandwagon...Im thinking in 5 years time 18350 lights will be everywhere though...

Yeah, a big downside is the availability of cells. Good quality RCR123/16340's are hard enough to find but, at least a lot of manufactures are starting to rebrand and sell them. 18350 is far worse. I think a lack of good quality Japanese cells is holding both of these sizes back. I have started to switch to small 18650 lights myself as they are not that much larger and have way more quality cells available not too mention the far higher capacity.

Only 18350 I would use is AW IMR.

I think there are plenty of cells out there and the the size and runtimes are good for edc. I dont have one but im eyeingnthem up ! Its on my to do list.

zs&tas said:

I think there are plenty of cells out there and the the size and runtimes are good for edc. I dont have one but im eyeingnthem up ! Its on my to do list.

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I like Efest and Kinoko IMR 18350s. I definitely like 18350 better than 16340.

That said, I'm not sure it's the ideal size for an EDC light. Some very small 18650 lights are almost the same size as a typical 18350 light. Why go with an 18350 when you can have a much more powerful 18650 in almost the same size.

My current EDC is a modded DQG Tiny III 18650 light. 87mm long, 23mm wide at the tail and 29mm wide at the head. Feels quite compact enough for EDC use. Max output for this light is 3000 lumens ... much higher than I could get with an 18350.

A 18350 powered light Does Not make much sense for an EDC at this point in time IMHO.

I only EDC lights that use a battery type that I know will be easy to find in an emergency. That is why I mostly EDC lights powered by AA/14500 batteries. I infrequently also carry CR123 powered lights much that doesn't happen often.

I'm currently in Southern California so disaster preparations are something I've given lots of thought towards. I have spare batteries in my vehicle and at home, but if something happens which prevents me from getting access to those locations, I might need to scrounge for batteries from other sources. I can't remember the last time I found CR123 batteries in a local 7/11, liquor store, or average supermarket. And not even specialty stores like Fry's, Best Buy, or HRO carry 18350s. ALL of them however always have AA batteries.

Snipe315 said:

A 18350 powered light Does Not make much sense for an EDC at this point in time IMHO.

I only EDC lights that use a battery type that I know will be easy to find in an emergency. That is why I mostly EDC lights powered by AA/14500 batteries. I infrequently also carry CR123 powered lights much that doesn't happen often.

I'm currently in Southern California so disaster preparations are something I've given lots of thought towards. I have spare batteries in my vehicle and at home, but if something happens which prevents me from getting access to those locations, I might need to scrounge for batteries from other sources. I can't remember the last time I found CR123 batteries in a local 7/11, liquor store, or average supermarket. And not even specialty stores like Fry's, Best Buy, or HRO carry 18350s. ALL of them however always have AA batteries.

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A solar panel, USB charger and/or power bank solves this issue totally and gives you an unlimited power supply without having to worry about traveling to stores that will be overrun by people and will quickly run out of batteries anyway. Ask Katrina survivors how many stores had batteries or were even open for that matter.

I have been EDC'in an S2+ triple with an 18350 body, no issues for me to carry.

These cells i have been using


Granted the v11r is not the smallest 16340 with help from the control ring, but pretty much nothing in it size wise, output..........HUGE difference

Looks like a nice simple setup ven , might have to pick up one of those s2s. Great pics as always !
Also looking at nitecore ec11 / mt10c

I recently picked up a DQG TINY 18650. It is not bigger than many 16340 lights. The UI is great. Tint is great. Beam pattern is very nice. It is one good EDC for me. Search on banggood for it.

Thanks for the input so far. Please keep it coming.

Regarding the 18650 lights that are so compact that they're not much bigger than the 18350 lights that I mentioned, I'm thinking that to make them that compact - then surely there can't be much space for robust heatsinking - but maybe I'm wrong? :shrug:

BTW, I do own an extremely compact 18650 light, the Zebralight SC62w. Its a great light but it does become very hot extremely quickly on its highest level of around 1000 lumens. It doesn't appear to me to be designed to run for long at that output.

The Mac 18350 lights that I have with beefy custom copper heatsinks and Noctigon triple XP-G2s (and another with triple XP-Ls) seem to me to be able to easily compete with the Zebralight for output. I also have the impression that they can hold that output for longer than the Zebralight even though the 18350 has less capacity than the 18650, due to the superior heatsinking of the custom copper module.

I have Efest and AW IMR 18350s which are rated at 800mAH and Ultrafire 18350 li-ions rated at 1200mAH although I prefer using the IMRs as they have safer chemistry and the brands are probably more reliable.

Are s2+ 18350 with triple led sold already assembled?

ven said:

I have been EDC'in an S2+ triple with an 18350 body, no issues for me to carry.

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I often carry an S2+ triple too. I find it to be a good size with a practical beam pattern (XP-G2), and I don't have any heat problems even driving at 3A. I mostly use a ~0.75A level which lasts long enough for me using an AWT 18350. In a pinch, mine can also run ok from a CR123A, but I would only do that in an emergency.

recDNA said:

Are s2+ 18350 with triple led sold already assembled?

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You can get these from Vinh already assembled, or make your own from parts if you feel adventurous! I've never seen a triple sold directly from anywhere that usually sells Convoy lights.

I don't get why cr123 lights are even still I production.

recDNA said:

Are s2+ 18350 with triple led sold already assembled?

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I love the Convoy S2+ mini 18350. I modded mine so that it fit an 1100 mAh 18500 IMR cell instead of an 18350. Exterior looked exactly the same as stock except for the triple TIR at the front..

Well... the exterior was unchanged until I messed with it further (removed tailcap switch, added electronic sideswitch, added ribbed heatsink at the head... I made a build thread about this light on BLF)

Not for me. I'm all thumbs. I like max current 1.5 amps anyway. Prolly nobody would build one like that.

18350's will come into their own. 5 years from now there will be many 18350 lights to choose from. The problem for now is that CR/RCR123's have been around long enough and are made by all the reputable makers that they have a chokehold on the smaller EDC market. Also another problem for now sure there are AW 18350's and Keeppowers etc. but when it comes down to it there just need to be more big cell makers that need to get behind the 18350. The size of the 18350 is not standardized. Everyones 18350 are about always different in length enough to make light builders think twice about pushing forward with EDC 18350's. It will take years for the 18350 to break the choke hold the CR/RCR123 has on the industry. The big cell makers dont want to hear about 18350's when they are making millions of CR's and selling them all no problem. 18350 EDC lights will require new engineering as the new cells just get hot fast. 18350's have a few years to go in order to be built to run a bit cooler and to pick up the backing of the mega brands. It will happen....maybe when the millions of CR's finally start selling out 18350 tech will have matured enough to become the no brainer replacement of the CR.

cancow said:

I don't get why cr123 lights are even still I production.

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Totally agree with this. My first real flashlight was a surefire 2xCR123 E2DL. That was cool and got me interested, next light was a Fenix TA21 that accepted an 18650. To me the management of these two different cell types was day and night (no pun intended). I knew immediately I wanted rechargeable cells and no more CR123 lights. That ruled out most McGizmos (in 2009) and some other drool worthy lights at the time but the CR123 power source just didn't make sense to me. I have never looked back and still hardly ever look at CR123 (or 16340) based lights. Then along came Mac's Custom lights and AFAIK he was the first maker to really incorporate an 18350 body into his primary bread and butter design. Those that got on board with the 18350 loved it, and sure enough it has caught on and rightfully so. Good 18350 cells are much more readily available than they were years ago, so I see that as a true improvement in acceptance/adoption.

As far as EDC goes, I go back and forth about what is too big to truly carry on your person, and for me a AAA is honestly as far as I can go in a front regular jeans pocket. If I'm wearing cargo shorts or pants or a jacket (hey it's cold here a lot), then anything up to 1x18650 might fly, but in reality it is usually a AAA/AA/14500 that ends up in a pants pocket, and a 1x18650 that ends up in my coat pocket.

I don't have any 18350's I would consider EDC sized, they all have flared heads and/or tails and none that I own has a clip. The light Ven posted is pretty sweet looking and would beg to be carried though :candle:

I regret that I never bought one of Mac's 18350 lights. Loved the fact that it didn't have any nasty knurling. The clip pushed it over the edge for maximum carry potential. Simple but great design and slightly ahead of it's time.

One of the only disadvantages that I can see in the 18350 is that there is not a primary cell version (that I am aware of) with a 15-year shelf life. That would increase the versatility of the platform. Perhaps we might get those in the future.

As to the observation that CR123a cells are not always available everywhere batteries are sold, that is true, but one of the members here who was in Japan when the tsunami hit, found that when he was first able to get to a store, the AA's were cleaned out. As were the AAA's. I think that the C's and D's were gone too, but there were still some overpriced CR123a cells left on the shelf. Normally AA cells are the most commonly available cells everywhere, but in certain emergency situations, they are the first to go. Which is why I am glad that I have a variety of flashlights running off of different types of cells in both my car, and at home.

I don't currently have any 1x18350 configurations, but I plan on setting one up in the future using a nailbender drop-in.