What cell do you prefer and why?

I voted for 14500s, because I have ~40 lying here and I donā€™t like that short 16340 hosts.
They donā€™t fit my hands as good as 14500 hosts.

asking the real questions

I prefer 18650 cells. :crown:

EDIT: Just about all of my favorite flashlights are 1 x 18650 or 1 x AAA. 14500 and 16340 cells are too big to fit on my keychain, and compact 18650 flashlights fit in my pocket quite well.

My sizes mostly favor runtimes with some heft or extremely low weight and volume.

1x18650 just canā€™t be beat in power-to-size while keeping it light. Far and wide my favorite, wins by a nautical mile.
2xAA offers about the same power of 14500 while feeling better in the hand and lasting far longer.
1xAAA you practically forget is there with you, moreso if you donā€™t carry it on your keychain but instead clipped to your clothes like I do.

16340 just feels awkward on my hands and is impossible to reverse-grip - I already have to hold my S1 with just two fingers -, and itā€™s jarringly heavy given the size. The battery life leaves a good bit to be desired as well.

My edc has been a small 16340 light for three years now (currently a modded Supfire S1), I keep trying a 14500 light every now and then because it comes higher current, but it is too long free floating in my pocket (it must be a xlicky), even the ET D25A is too long. Will try a Thorfire TF06 next, but doubt it will last for long.

I use 2 sizes overall. Prefer 18650 then 14500/AA/NIMH for size, power, and convenience.

16340, 123A,etc. are the peasants of my troop and see the least use.

14500ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦.

It lets me use up all the various half used AAs around the house, so I can recycle the dead cells

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My EDC is on the left the Xtar WK21 and the others are pretty famous lights lol

As much as I like my Olight S1, I still usually prefer AA/14500 cells. Itā€™s mostly due to the thinner aspect ratio. That is, assuming the lights donā€™t have a lot of extra bulk. I like them in the size of the CNQG brass AA, or the L3 L10. Perhaps even as big as the ZL SC52. However, the ET D25A is pushing it as far as size goes, the TN T10T is also on the large side, and the Kronos X5 is actually bigger than some of my 18650 lights.

About 16340/18350, they usually feel uncomfortably wide. I like the Olight S1, but itā€™s an exception because itā€™s unusually small for its cell type. The Rey Ti 18350 is nice too, but thatā€™s mostly due to bling (itā€™s large for its cell type). However, the Olight S10 is overall bigger than the 14500 lights I like, and even itā€™s consider small-ish. Going up to things like the UF-602C, those are bigger than a L3 L10 in every dimension, and so is the JB RRT01. However, the UF-602C is uniquely appealing since it takes standard-sized parts easily so itā€™s great for custom builds. A Convoy S2+ shorty or BLF A6 shorty is even biggerā€¦

Soā€¦ I guess my answer is either/any, as long as itā€™s small for its battery type. For example:

  • DQG Fairy
  • DQG Tiny AAA IV
  • L3 L10
  • CNQG Brass AA
  • Olight S1
  • CNQG Brass 18650
  • Meteor M43

But there are some I still like despite being big for the cell type:

  • UF-602C
  • Rey BLF Ti
  • Kronos X5, X6
  • JB RRT01
  • S2+ triples

I guess, for me to like it, it needs to be small or somehow special.

Other than 18650ā€™s, my favorite EDC cell would have to be those ā€˜NICEā€™ AA lithium primaries from FastTech.
Theyā€™re about 99% as good as Energizer Ultimate Lithium primaries for about a third of the price. A couple of 4-packs of those in my shaving kit and a very small 1xAA light in my pocket, and Iā€™m good to go for a really long time. The added advantage is that they can be used in almost all small portable AM/FM/SW radios and even a lot of cameras - and they never leak!

In general, I am open to many cells but since I live in the Phoenix area I have started to use only primary cells for the lights in my car; either cr123a or aa primaries. The heat will kill any other cell as the temp in my car after work could easily be 130 degrees or higher.

Between those two choices the 14500 because of itā€™s physical size.

18650s FTW even my EDC is a 18650 based torch( currently a modded S2)

I use some 14500s/RCR123s all arround the house thoughā€¦.actualy the wifey and the kids use those while seaqrching for a lost toy or a dropped ring or something

16340 = very compact light :smiley:

And by that you likely mean ā€œenough to be placed on the brim of a hat without the tail poking your headā€ compact, yes? :wink:

Oh, one other little detailā€¦ When storing a bunch of lights upright, little AAA-sized or AA-sized lights have a tendency to fall over like dominoes when bumped. Especially the BLF-348. This doesnā€™t happen so much with fatter lights like 16340 or 18350 or throwers or soup can lights. So thereā€™s that.

But aside from the domino effect, I still prefer the narrow ones most of the time.

Heh Tk you are quite right :slight_smile: I have a BLF-348 as a shelf queen and it falls over like everyday.
Danm that torch is a tough one, still works

Yea I have a bunch of hugsby xp1 and xp2 stored around the house but on their sides. The sk68 is good to place standing up.

I like slim AAA batteries they are easy to find

I like the 16340s for the compactness and cheap lithium primaries.