Does the FW1A require a high drain battery?

Does the FW1A draw enough current to require a high drain battery? It clearly draws much less current than the FW3A just based on the amount of heat/light produced on turbo. Wondering if I can use a Sanyo NCR18650GA (3500mAh 10A) or if I need to use something like the Samsung 30Q or Sony VTC6? The voltage sag might be higher resulting in a slightly lower max brightness with the Sanyo but other than that I don’t see any problems. It would be nice to know how much current it draws but the tailcap/e-switch design makes it tricky to measure. Does anyone know?

Good question I also wonder this. I often use the Samsung 35E (a very similar cell to the Sanyo GA) in lights when I’m after longevity over ultimate output… would be good to know if I’m realistically losing output on single emitters like the KR1, S2+, FW1A, etc.

All DD drivers needs high drain battery

It says high drain to maximize the performance. The cells I am using are rated at 10A, so right on the border. Realistically, it probably draws less than 10A, much less than 10A after the output has settled down from max turbo due to heat. I totally believe that using a VTC6 or comparable battery will give you a few percent more lumens than the Sanyo I am using, a high drain battery would definitely work better for DD. What I am wondering is, is there some risk of damage to my battery or my flashlight from using the Sanyo 3500mAh? I doubt it, as long as I don’t overheat the light or overdischarge the battery but I am a total amateur, I might be missing something. Considering that I only use max brightness a small percent of the time, and most of the time I use a lower setting, I could use the extra capacity. I just want to make sure im not risking damage every time I use turbo.

I would use a high-capacity medium-drain cell like NCR18650GA or 35E

Sanyo NCR18650GA is what I have in mine. NO issues, these cells are safe. You might draw more than 10 amps initially, but much less in seconds as thermal control kicks in. Sony US18650VTC6 edged out Samsung INR18650-30Q in HKJ performance test. If you want that extra safety level and brightness you’re really not giving up much runtime.

In my opinion any light more than 1000 Lumens should be paired up with a high drain (20 amps or more) battery like a 30Q or VTC6.

As answered by Toykeeper about the FW3A when I did a similar question:

i doubt it needs it for long due to heat

but the bursts might be on the border - depends on definition of high drain

i am satisfied just running any old cell in my fw3a, i don;t care that i am not going to 1500 lumens before it gets too hot

wle

Too early and no Caffeine! I was referring above to the Lumintop FW1A Pro which uses a Cree XHP-50.2 that I often use. I also have the FW1A with the Cree XP-L HD and also only use the Sanyo NCR18650GA in it. At start up it pulls just a touch more than 4 amps and quickly dives below 3. Easily only a 1/3 of what the Sanyo can withstand safely.

Awesome, this was my intuition but certain flashlights people make a big deal about it needing a “High Drain Battery” so I thought maybe there’s something I don’t know. I’d still probably go high drain for anything meant to be run on turbo for extended periods but looks like I can put whatever fits in my EDC lights.

I use an NCR18650GA in my FW1A with no issues. The light steps down due to lack of heat sinking so quickly that maximum drain is for a pretty short period. I doubt it even pulls 10A in the first place.

The 50.2 is kind of rough. I’d go with a 30Q (or equivalent) for the FW1A Pro.