I was very stubborn about not using 14500 cells.

“So just for around the house work and short walks which type of lithium Ion powered flashlights are most favored? I vote for 14500 size cells.”

My favorite is 16340/CR123A. The reason I say that is that with a few 14500/AA lights that I’ve tested, I’ve found the 16340 to perform as good if not better from an efficiency standpoint even despite the fact that the 14500 will have 100mAh more capacity. And the only explanation I can offer is that it has to be related to the type of electronic driver to cover the voltage range from 0.9v up to 4.20v……….which overlaps the typical Vfwd of an LED around 3.0 volts. This complicates the driver. Some cheap out and use PWM when using a 14500.

The Nitecore MT10A and Jetbeam Jet I MK use a good efficient boost driver for the AA battery and PWM for 14500. The Jetbeam Jet I MK is one of my favorite AA lights but I keep an Eneloop in it.

4-Sevens was probably one of the first to put 0.9 to 4.20v driver capability. I found their lights were not as efficient as others that did not cover that voltage range.

The Fenix E15 and PD25 with a 700mAh 16340 have better run times per comparable output than do the LD11 and LD12 using an 800mAh 14500.

So after discovering this I absolutely fell in love with the 16340/CR123A size and only considered AA/14500 lights if I was intending to use them with an AA Eneloop. Disclaimer: I still use a 14500 in the two LD11’s that I have……….knowing that in a pinch I can always use AA. And that I think is the most important aspect of an AA/14500……….the fact that it will take a very common battery.

I carry the Koenig 16-18 hours a day, every day. BUT, to keep it from being a “beater” I use this little Stedemon also with CTS 204P blade steel to open cardboard boxes and cut tape and such. :wink:

I DO have way too many lights to use each one daily of course, with some 220 lights here, other than that I use the things I buy. I don’t have money to buy fancy things and let em sit around to be admired. I use quite a few of my lights on a regular basis, even the Thorfire TK05 in 14500… but I modded the TK05 with TK’s Anduril and put a nice Samsung 80 CRI 5000K emitter in it so I use it quite often in candlelight mode. :smiley:

I have an X5 with JHorton glass aspheric lens (fixed, not zoomie) and I have a high CRI Nichia X5 as well as a very cool little 14500 prototype that also gets used frequently. The Manker Godmes T01 is similar to the X5 in that the reflector is virtually identical, but it too is a unique little 15400 light that I really like a lot.

My TexasLumens chopped 14500 MiniMag has a triple XP-L HI and as a twisty is an all time favorite with over 2000 lumens on tap. This one sports an engraved outline of the Great State of Texas and I also have a unique battery carrier that has a threaded lid that is itself the State of Texas, standing proud and unbelievably well done on a CNC machine by TexasLumens himself. :smiley: (another chopped MiniMag by Dan is micro chopped, using a half cell… the diminutive 14250, this one so small it was difficult to operate as a twisty so I made it a tail clicky.)

The Klarus Mi7Titanium is another 14500 of mine that is sleek and elegant and one of the few lights I own that is not modified in any way. That’s how much I like it! :slight_smile:

The UTorch UT01 is also quite special, in it’s own right…

And that all said, Rey’s Bronze pineapple light is another 14500 that I have left completely stock, a status not many lights that come my way get to keep. :smiley:

Olights S1A Baton in solid copper with a Rose Gold PVD coating even got modified with an emitter more to my liking in the tint region. A very sweet 14500 light though…

And yes, the Zebralight SC52 is unique enough to garner a permanent residence here.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say anything about Jaxman’s M2, I did modify it to use only 14500 cells as it now has an XHP-50.2 making just over 3000 lumens, terrific performance from a “penlight” , an outstanding 14500 light that is another cherished variant in my arsenal.

The 14500 format is alive and well over here, fear not! :slight_smile:

I have not tried the other small size lithium ion battery flashlights yet. I am waiting for the smoke to clear so to speak. I want to see which size turns out to be most efficient, cost effective, and reliable. I am not comfortable using the CR123 size rechargeable batteries currently available. I use as few primary type batteries as I can because batteries are a large source of pollution. Thanks for the info. I will take a look at some 16340 flashlight now.
:+1:

I have heard a lot of love directed about the Zebralight flashlight brand. I just can not allow myself to spend more than $50.00 for a flashlight or multi-tool. So i do not have any Zebralights or FourSevens. Sounds like you have a real nice selection of gear for EDC. I opted for the Lumintop edc05 instead of the Utorch UT01. I naively felt more comfortable thinking since it was a larger company than Utorch that I would be more likely covered by their warranty. I like the design of many Lumintop flashlights. And to date have never had any issues with my Lumintop flashlights. I think I would be person non grata with my wife if I owned 220 flashlights. I own about 15 different flashlights models and feel overwhelmed choosing which one to use. I do have multiple units of some. I do have a Klarus Mi7 ordered from Massdrop. I am going to give another go.
My 14500 flashlights are:

  1. Jetbeam MK-1
  2. Klarus Mi7
  3. Lumintop EDC05-Warm Tint
  4. Lumintop Tool AA V1
  5. Olight S15
  6. Olight S1A
  7. Sofirn SF14-Warm Tint
  8. Thrunite Archer 1A V3-Warm Tint
  9. Wuben E05
  10. Xtar 007-Most bluish tint I have seen in a name brand flashlight.

:slight_smile:

I like the designs of the Nitecore flashlights. The two negatives for me is their beam tints tend to be very cool white and of course the price. I have two Nitecore HC50’s headlamps I purchased on sale. They both have warmer tints. I have a Nitecore P16 18650 original version. These are great products.

What I don’t like about 16340 cells is their low capacity. You’re much better off with 18350 cells instead. Maybe there aren’t as many 18350 lights out there as there are 16340 lights, but some 18650 lights can be easily converted to 18350 lights by using short tubes, for example Convoy S2+ or BLF A6/Astrolux S1 or Emisar D4. An 18350 cell can also typically deliver more current than 16340.

For me getting the Zebra I really liked was cheaper than buying 5+ other lights, not being quite satisfied with them and going with ZL in the end anyway. If others work for you that’s good but I will say I feel more confident in the durability of my ZL over other lights I’ve owned or handled. At this point the only other EDC I’d really be interested in is a PFlexPro or if something totally new comes around.

I replaced the lens entirely with with DC-Fix but it wasn’t the stick on stuff it was the non adhesive thick and stiff like a credit card material stuff. Worked wonders.

I mistakenly did not actually use DC Fix film on my Wuben E05. My bad. When using the Wuben with the supplied 14500 battery on turbo all the defects in the beam can be seen. When using AA battery the film is able to create a blemish free beam and tint. In the next few days I will replace with genuine DC fix and see what happens.

I haven’t tried the thin peel and stick stuff yet. I know this thick stuff I have blocks more light than the original. Might try it. Don’t know why I didn’t try it the first time.

I have DC Fix (thin original) on 3 of my lights . It cuts throw and makes a smooth floody beam. On lights that don’t put out a lot of lumens, it may seem too dim.

FTR, I didn’t buy the Zebralight… it was a gift. I liked the overall look of it so much that when a friend was “trimming his herd” he gave it to me.

Aren’t 16340 cells 600mAh, same as 18350 and 14500? The Aspire 18350 came out claiming 1300 but that got changed pretty quickly. I know there are some variations between 600 and 700mAh but it’s typical for the better cells to be on the low end.

I have bought a great many lights, sold quite a few and had my stable grow yet again. Need to sell another 100 to be honest but after selling some 70 lights before it’s just really difficult deciding what to part with. I’ll thin em down again, eventually, or build a flashlight storage building…

Aspire 18350’s rating was revised to 1100 mAh, and it does deliver that, and can deliver reasonably high current as well.

I use two of the original 1300’s in my Ti X6 from Rey, they perform quite admirably! :smiley:

I’m really not keen on the 14500. I had to get into them when I bought a couple of BLF X5s. At that time there seemed to be only one good choice, 700 mAh as I recall, so I bought four.

Which sit sadly on the shelf, along with the X5s, that serve no purpose for me. Like Goldilocks porridge, just a bit too big, under-performing, not quite right.

I don’t think things have moved on at all since then. An Eneloop has more overall capacity and just quietly delivers the goods. NimH still has a place at the AA size, in this weird world of ours, that continues to ignore boost and buck drivers, perhaps because it’s just too difficult. Or out of the comfort zone. Just a decent linear driver could enthuse me. I think I see some progress happening there, thanks to Mike C.

Stick an Eneloop into e.g. an Olight S15 and be happy. You could use a 14500 too, it would work, but that would be pointless, once you analyse the results. As with any other 14500 powered thing.

Another point, having charged up 14500s in e.g. a domestic environment where they might easily be mistaken for AAs, is not a great idea.

Vapcell seems to have a direct line to the the SOTA cells, which are rather different, if sheer capacity is the be-all and end-all.

I used some actual DC-Fix this time and it made an tremendas improvement in beam quality. Photos taken on a white basement wall. Beam photos are same distance from wall. The beam of the the flashlight is quite nice when you take out the reflector also. It is the Wuben E05 flashlight of course. An important thing I forgot to mention that it was Boaz that sent me the DC-Fix last year so I could do some mad scientist work. It took me almost a year to find a flashlight worthy of needing the fix.

Great looking beam :wink:

I've tested 14500's against eneloops in my zebralight H52's & they give more or less the same run time exept you get turbo (+200 lumens) for 1 min with lithiums.

Thanks man.

Well I took my new Wuben E05 on a test drive tonight. I used both the supplied 14500 battery and a couple of old worn out Energizer rechargeable AA’s. I live in an urban environment so lots of ambient light even on a nature trail close to my home. Even the old Energizers could kick out enough light to make a difference on high mode. But using the supplied 14500 the flashlight can light up a field a couple hundred feet right in front of the user. Nice little flashlight I must say.