Okay, so basically which performs better 30Q or HG2 or they are just virtually the same? Thanks for the tip akhyar!
I couldn’t notice any difference through my naked eyes.
Did you also spring bypass mod your BLF A6?
Nope. Mine is stock config
I use flat tops in mine, although I see no reason why a button top wouldn’t work too and would allow it to work in lights that require them. That said, batteries are fairly cheap, so don’t sweat it too much. Just buy for now and worry about later when it happens.
Likewise, the 30Q might or might not be the best battery, really depends on what you consider as best. But it is a good battery for the money and ones that exceed it in performance for this type of light are only going to be marginal. And something you’d only be able to tell by measuring it with a DMM or lux meter, not with the naked eye.
Yeah, will definitely buy 30Q flat tops. I am just wondering why did the Astrolux S1/BLF A6 is advertised as “1600 lumens (use 18650 battery)” I saw it on several websites, whereas here in our precious blf forum it should be the higher Amp/discharge rate / high drain, whatever you call it therefore go for the unprotected high Amp rating batteries for the maximum output. So for a newbie like me, It makes me so confused. 
Honestly, you would not notice the difference in output with the naked eye between a GA and a 30Q.
I actually just happened to be playing with my S1 today and was trying to decide what battery I wanted to keep in it. I tried them all and the HE2 still put out the most lumens at right around 1600 (springs bypassed). The 30q was just slightly lower, (I think the exact starting voltage plays a bigger role then these batteries, although the HE2 does generally give me a slight edge).
The GA’s on the other hand still gave me 1450 lumens, without having 2 of them side by side you would not notice the difference.
So basically what I am saying is you can’t go wrong with any quality latest gen battery now days.
HE2 or 4
30Q
MJ1
GA
HG2
VTC5 or 6
ect
^ Well that’s nice to know, so basically HE2 is one of the batteries that would bring the most output for our precious S1/A6. Thank you for the helpful input! I will just find someone to do the spring bypass mod for my s1 to bring the most out of my flashlight, as I don’t have the capacity (knowledge and equipment) to do the mod.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the advertising claims for this light. Suspect some meaning is lost in translation.
Just to give you a little more info on batteries. I did some further testing. I have the Astrolux S41 (which I highly recommend). It’s quad LED unit, using the same driver as the BLF A6. Mines the Nichia variant.
I’ve not modded this one either, although you could do a spring bypass. But again I’ve not really felt the need, it performs well enough as is.
With the protected Panasonic 2900mah battery I get 6.1amps at the tailcap, so shows the battery can deliver more than the amps it managed on the A6. Which reinforces the fact that rated claims don’t always mean as much as you might think.
For instance, if it can do 6amps here, why did it only manage 3.5amps on another light??? — I don’t know the answer to this.
Anyhow, I also tested the 30Q on the S41 and that does 9.6amps at the tailcap!! So a substantial and huge difference to the Pansonic 2900.
This doesn’t have any direct bearing on your torch, but thought it might be of interest and help you decide.
Dude, after reading this I search for the Astrolux s41, and by the looks of it, I felt the need to buy one. Very good reviews and excellent specs, another bang for the buck indeed! My next light! 
The rating on the battery is only how much the battery can handle without overheating and/or damaging itself.
If you dead short any 18650, even an old laptop pull rated for 2A, you will most likely get well over 20+ amps, although the battery will most likely vent or explode shortly after.
I can put a single laptop pull rated at ~2A into some of my triples or even a Skyray king and pull well over 10 amps.
The amp rating of a battery is only what it can handle safely, it mean nothing for how much is CAN deliver.
Lucky for us, the way LED’s work, it is almost impossible to overload a single battery with a single Cree LED (except the XP-G3). The forward voltage is high enough that even in the S1 a laptop pull will only be slightly over it’s rated amperage.
It will run out of power so fast though that it won’t really have time to damage itself (assuming it was not damaged to start with naturally, I don’t recommend laptop pulls for lights like this AT ALL, just using it as an example).
Like I said above, unless you are building a Paper Queen light, any quality modern battery will work just fine for single emitter lights (and most multi-emitter for that matter). Besides getting numbers I actually use GA’s or laptop pulls in basically all my lights except my show-off lights.
So go for whatever quality cell you can find the best deal on IMHO. That said the 30Q is a great battery with a good balance of features and they can generally be found for a good price.
There is a pre-buy for the Stainless steel version of the S41, the S41S on banggood right now for a heck of a deal. Now is the time to grab one if you want it.
I hate to say it, but suspect the stainless version is more of a shelf queen. Like the Kronos X6 stainless, pretty too look, but weighs a ton. Certainly not pocket friendly at all.
Eh, I don’t really care one way or the other. I have a stainless light and I like how durable it is and don’t mind the weight but also don’t find it to be any better in a practical sense then aluminum.
I like my S41 but I find the S1 to be a more useful EDC myself. The S1 (or a custom built Convoy S2) is much more practical in a true EDC where you never know how or when you would need to use it.
The S41 and multi-emitter lights in general are great flooders but outside of ~200 feet or so you are blinded by the flood. It also takes way more lumens and power to light something up because of all the flood.
For example last night actually I was comparing a triple 219c, Triple XP-L HI and an S1.
While both of the triples are making over 2500 lumens, the S1 looks just as bright due to the much tighter hot spot. In fact it looks a bit brighter if you account for the warmer tint.
The triples are great flooders for around the house but for an EDC I want something that can throw at least 150-200m.
My goal is to get the S2+ I am working on now to 250m of throw.
Surely that’s making thinsgs difficult, why not just use a regular S2?? 
I have tried the S2 reflector, it works but I think the TIR I have picked out for the S2+ might beat it out and I like the beam from a TIR.
That said I recently tried the S6 reflector and I think it is the best yet for the tube lights.
I am also a big fan of the narrow TIR for the S2+. Based on my measurements, the TIR throws better than the OP S2 reflector, but not quite as good as the SMO S2 reflector.
However, the TIR hotspot is significantly larger and this makes it more useful for me.
On the left is the narrow TIR optic (from leddna) with XPL HI V2 3D. On the right is the SMO S2 reflector with XPL HI V2 1A. This picture pretty accurately represents the relative sizes of the beams, but not necessarily the relative intensities. See above link for measurements.
Don’t overthink it. Buy a 30q,hg2, vtc5/6… Bypass the springs and you’ll get real close to 1600 lumens on turbo… Gotta have the 1A cool white tint though for maximum lumens… Tint is more important to me than lumens. the 3D is beautiful!
Indeed, those are about the same results I got in my early testing. I have been carrying an S1 the last week or so, been trying to get a feel for what I do and don’t like about it. Gonna try a few S2+ builds over the coming weeks to see what I like best.
I do like the TIR lens though, the beam is very useful for a tube light IMHO. Plus I don’t know if it is just me but the tint seems to look better with a TIR lens vs reflector.
I got a 1A tint of Astrolux S1. How about samsung 25r? Can you give me an opinion about it over samsung 30q? Does 25r also give the same performance output compare to 30q? Though the former is of lesser capacity 2500mah only.