First Expensive Flashlight Purchased. Advice Please.

Decided to drift from the usual. Been a standard Maglite D cell user for a while. Just bought a Surefire P3X Fury Tactical and wow is it bright for such a small unit. This is the reason I drifted, tired a hauling around a large flashlight. My question is about batteries, hopefully this thread is in the appropriate location for this discussion I am not a forum/blog master user. The research I've done between battery manufacturers and rechargeable vs primaries has left me with more questions than answers. This first go around I bought 72 surefire batteries for $1.86 each. What are the users here using? Which battery make? Ive seen downsides to rechargeables as in they don't hold a charge as long. Are they still the best way to go?

Thanks.

There are lots of Surefire people on this forum that would have more comments than I could provide. As far as batteries go, the SF CR123A's are fine as far as batteries go. I think Panasonic, SF, & Duracell are made in the same U.S. factory.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?362052-Selfbuilt-s-CR123A-Battery-Comparison-2013
I do not care to run 2x or 3x CR123A batteries in series in a light. My favorite is 2xCR123A form factor that will accept a single 18650 rechargeable battery.

I keep several dozen surefire batteries as backup. I use quality 18650 and 16650 on a day to day basis on most my lights. Don't buy rechargeable brands like xxxfire, stick to name brands. I use keeppower. Not sure of what options you have on rechargeable batteries for your p3x. You may want to look into malkoff as they produce lights compatible with nearly all battery types. A malkoff m91t md3 runs on 3 cr123 like your p3x, it will also run on dual 18500 as a rechargeable option.

I prefer rechargeables for almost all situations I run into daily. Unless you are thinking of storing cells for a year or more without use you are better off with rechargeables.

Didn't Surefire sell or recommend a specific rechargeable? The Li-FePO4?

Welcome to the site farmer3. Ya dun good.

Battery Junction sells Panasonic in batches of 50 at about $1.35 each. They also have the SureFire batteries. But the Panasonic have a bit more fuel in the tank. They show the word "mAh" to indicate capacity. You'll see that with rechargeables as well.

Rechargeables use the diameter and length to give model numbers. Example 16650 would be 16mm by 65mm long with a free zero at the end. A CR123 is about the same size as a RCR123 (R for rechargeable) or a 16340.
NiteCore sells some mighty fine RCR cells. At only about 650 mAh they have way less fuel than a SureFire 123 at about 1350 mAh and they go for $10 ea. but... you can recharge them hundreds of times. SureFire sells a "LifePo" cell that has about the same voltage as the CR123 so you won't over drive your light using that chemistry. Again they can be recharged hundreds of times. A good charger that lets you charge LifePo or nearly any chemistry safely is the Nitecore D2 and D4. 2 or 4 cell chargers that go for about $20 and $30. Sounds like a lot going in but the 50 or 60 bucks you spend now will pay for itself in time.

Enjoy that fine new flashlight.

If you do start looking into rechargeable cells I would suggest 18650s as there is no cell that had more capacity for its size. And 1000 lumens is just getting started for a rechargeable as primary cells are running into their limits

It would also give you a good excuse to get another light. And then you will want to try something new. And before you know it you will end up with dozens of lights like the rest of us.

I first switched to rechargeables with NiMH cells to replace the AA primary cells I was using up. When I bought my Nitecore TM11 when they came out I added 18650 cells, because running 8 CR123A cells was costing me about $10 per set, for an hour or two of run time. It doesn't take long for that to add up. I figure between the NiMH and the 18650 cells I saved enough in about a year of use to recover the cost of all my rechargeable cells and the charger. So now I am running on what they call around here 'Free Lumens'.

I use two 17500 batteries for my SF P3X lights. They're made by AW. They'll run you $10.80 each from RTD Vapor.

You can also get the LFP123A batteries by K2 Energy but they're harder to source. The batteries/charger are no longer available direct from SureFire though.

Make sure that you get protected cells for your P3X, so that you can't discharge them too far.
I also used AW17500s when I had a P3X, they worked well.
With rechargeable, you just get into a routine of popping them out at the end of a session and putting them in the charger. Best to have a couple of pairs so you can use the light while the others are charging. Also a good idea to carry some CR123s just in case.
Enjoy your new light.
P

Edit: The only downside to using protected cells with your P3X is that when the cell voltage drops too far the protection circuit will cut in and the light will extinguish. To avoid this you could use unprotected cells, but you will have to replace the cells when the light dims to avoid damaging the cells (lots about this on CPF). If you don't feel confident about this or it seems too much of a faff, stick with your disposable primaries.
P

Also, you should not rely on the protection circuit (PTC) to tell you when to recharge. Most PTCs kick in (or out) at about 2.5v, which is about the absolute lowest you can run a Li-Ion cell without causing physical damage. It will shorten the life of the cell, however, so should be avoided. Many users stop at 3v, others at 3.5v. As Peter said, it's best to just throw them on the charger after a serious session of use, to be on the safe side.