Olight X7 apprehension

New guy here and am seriously considering an Olight X7 Marauder. My concern is the batteries. There have been numerous reports here and elsewhere that the Olight batteries for this light often times have insufficient power to operate Turbo S as designed. Some have recomended unprotected Samsung 30Q button tops instead. Others say the 30Q's are too short and you have to shim with magnets. If the steeply priced Olights would work properly , I think the peace of mind aspect might make them worth it. Would appreciate hearing others thoughts and experiences.

I got my modded Olight X7vn with cells that Vinh recommended, 18650MJ1 button tops. I've actually tested three kinds of cells successfully, at a much higher lumen output (drive current) than the stock X7:
- lg 18650MJ1 (green, button top, 10A) 3200 mAh to 3V
- sanyo NCR18650GA (red, flat top, 10A) 3250 mAh to 3V
- LG HG2 (brown, button top, 20A) ~~2800 mAh to 3V

I don't treat this light roughly, so I'm not sure if any of those cells will blink or otherwise malfunction under shock loading or vibration.

For what its worth, the $150 that the Olight store is listing for this light seems like a screaming good deal to me for a solid 9,000 lumen light. Even if you buy qty=4 or 8 "backup" cells for it, that is $32 or $64 that you'll want to spend anyway--it is a LOT of fun to drain batteries in this thing, and you'll want fully charged backups!

Also, to put another fly in your ointment, the X7VN would only cost you an extra $185, get you a better UI, get you XHP 70.2's, and give you a 21,000-lumen hand warmer (and fire starter)...

I believe those cells are unprotected. Any issues with fit or Turbo S dropping lower immediately after selecting it? Not opposed to unprotected as long as they fit without adding magnets or solder blobs. Would prefer protected cells but the Olights are around $75.00 for a set so forget about buying spares. I just saw the Olight store $150.00 price but was thinking Going Gear might be having a sale too in a couple weeks. Heard good things about their customer service.

Any others with X7 experience willing to share info? Would also appreciate hearing from others who have bought from the Olight Store.

I have used unprotected Sanyo/Panasonic NCR18650GA button tops in mine from day one with no issues at all. I set aside 8 of them that I only use in the X7. I have had the light almost a year. The positive contact points inside the light and on the tail cap are slightly recessed so flat tops without modification will not work in the light.

There exists unprotected button tops which is what you want.

So, my options are, buy the X7 kit which includes the Olight protected cells and a Miboxer C4 charger for $220.00 or buy the X7 for $150.00 and 4 unprotected High Drain cells (approx. $30.00-$40.00) and use my existing 2 Tenergy TN 270 chargers. Not a huge difference money wise. I just want the light to work as designed, especially Turbo S. I have read of Turbo S issues with the Olight batteries. Perhaps this issue was fixed in newer batteries. Can anyone verify that the 30Q button tips fit ok? 30Q's, HG2's and VTC6's all seem about the same length in the button top versions sold by Mountain Electronics.

I can tell you my experience is that unprotected button top HG2s work fine. I do not have any other batteries to test it with so other combinations such as button top VTC5 5a 6 and 30q should all work perfectly fine. I would imagine MJ1 and GA would work fine as well since they are fairly high drain as well.

Appreciate the info regarding the HG2's! Anyone using the Olight High Discharge cells? I believe these were the cells reported to have issues with Turbo S activation.