First Impressions Vapcell INR 16340

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1

I received a review sample of the new Vapcell INR 16340 800mAh cell and compared it to an Olight 16340 ICR 650mAh

Here are some of my initial observations and impressions

Advantages of unprotected Vapcell INR 16340
It has a round button top
shorter than the Olight ICR 16340
fits and works in both my Atom AL and Jetbeam RRT-01
produces 400 lumens in my RRT-01, 49 lumens brighter than my Olight 16340
does not shut off suddenly leaving me in the dark.

Disadvantage of Olight protected ICR 16340
Does not work in my Atom AL, the button is too flat
Produces 352 lumens in my RRT-01, 49 lumens less than the Vapcell
Protected Olight ICR cells can leave me suddenly in the dark, and use a more dangerous chemistry than Vapcell

Output comparisons in Original Jetbeam RRT-01 with N219b 4500k 9080
Vapcell 800 mAh unprotected 16340 INR 401 lumens
Olight 650 mAh protected 16340 ICR 352 lumens

Height comparison:
Vapcell is shorter than Olight cell


fwiw the protected Fenix ICR 16340 is even longer,

and does not let me close the lid of my battery carrier all the way.
It also does not work in my Atom AL.

Capacity comparison
Vapcell has almost 25% more capacity

I recommend the Vapcell for lights such as HDS and Novatac. Those lights have built in Low Voltage Protection.
The Vapcell uses the same INR chemistry, has higher capacity, and costs half as much as the cell sold through HDS.

I recommend the Vapcell for experienced flashaholics that are familiar with safe use of Unprotected High Drain Cells.

I recommend the Vapcell INR chemistry as being safer than the chemistry of the Olight ICR Cell.

I like that the Vapcell button top is compatible with my Atom AL, that requires a button top on a battery that is not too long.

I like that the Vapcell fits my spare battery carrier and allows it to close all the way, without crushing the cell.

otoh, I would not give an unprotected cell to someone that has not learned the safe handling of LiIon. I would start them on a Protected Cell, and I do like the convenience of USB built into the Cell, for people that do not own any LiIon chargers.

The Olight and Fenix cells only work in the RRT-01
Vapcell works in both my Atom AL and RRT-01,

2

Seems like vapcell produced the best all around 16340 for the time being.
It does everything better than the alternatives (maybe a bit short for some lights? Haven’t heard of any such cases) and it’s only missing a protected version for people who need/want that added failsafe.

3

To keep the same height, vapcell would have to make a shorter less capacity version just to have room to fit the protection on or the battery ends up being to long to fit most lights if they stick it on this version. Also the protection circuit would need to be a high current one, or it kind of defeats the purpose of having a high current cell.
From what I have seen there’s no better or equal to the vapcell 16340 in its size.

4

Confirmed.

5

CRX, thanks for posting the very informative runtime plot
it adds a lot to this thread

is a High discharge cell needed for all or only some of the 3 examples:

1. starting at 360 lumens and ending at 360 lumens, 45 minutes later (high discharge not needed?)

2. starting at 1060 lumens, and ending at 790 lumens, 20 minutes later (does high discharge matter at this level?)

3. starting at 2600 lumens, and ending at 800 lumens, 14 minutes later (high discharge required?)

When using the Vapcell INR in my RRT-01 there was a 13% (50 lumens) higher output on maximum, than with a protected Olight ICR…

questions, do lights that produce less than 1000 lumens benefit from a high discharge cell?

does the added capacity of the Vapcell justify using an unprotected cell in an unprotected light such as the RRT-01?

6

From memory, a high discharge cell should maintain a higher voltage and capacity at a given current draw and remain healthier in doing so.
These are small cells so with the older chemistries like LiCo (often found in protected cells) a safe discharge would be something like 1C, (500-750mA) they could be pushed to maybe 3-4C but they would degrade faster as they’re not made for that.
I believe cell longevity is important too, the yellow AWT 16340 have been absolutely great, after some of them being used hard for a couple of years they show negligible degrading, I hope the Vapcell are similar.
My Vapcell 16340 measured 812mAh & 827mAh at 1A discharge rate.

1. starting at 360 lumens and ending at 360 lumens, 45 minutes later (high discharge not needed?)

Not really needed but this is still well over 1C for most cells at 940mA current draw.
This is where you see the most difference with the higher capacity Vapcell.

2. starting at 1060 lumens, and ending at 790 lumens, 20 minutes later (does high discharge matter at this level?)

I would say yes, around 2.7A current draw from a 16340 is not too good for low discharge cells.

3. starting at 2600 lumens, and ending at 800 lumens, 14 minutes later (high discharge required?)

Definitely, this level probably draws around 8A at startup.

So if we take an LED like the XP-L HI v2 and want 400lm output, this would require around 1000mA current drain or just under 2C from an average 16340.
This should be ok for a non-high discharge cell but it’s like a fit guy and an unfit guy doing the same work.
From the same LED, around 690lm would require 2000mA current draw, at this level you can see how the ‘unfit guy’ is really getting out of breath (voltage sag) & losing performance (capacity)
High Discharge for the Win! :smiley: :+1:

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7

So CRX, what I'm reading is that my D25C with a 6x7135 "turbo" mode is getting shortchanged by the Olight 16340 in it?

Makes me more excited for the Vapcell 16340s I won about a month ago (5/2/19). Slowest shipping I've dealt with yet.

8

I use a pair of Vapcell 16340’s in my stargazing laser. They work extremely well. Illumn has them

9

CRX, your post is helpful beyond my imaginings

it sounds like lights that have more output than an HDS (325 lumens) benefit from High Discharge Cells.
That helps me understand why they recently started offering an INR cell that has only a 2.1a discharge rate.

The $4 price of the Vapcell 16340 at illumn is half the price, with triple the discharge capability, and more capacity than the cell HDS recently started offering.

Vapcell for the win!

fwiw, Ive quoted a couple of the posts here, in my similar thread on CPF. I trust no one here minds, or let me know by PM and I will remove the quotes.

10

Those of you who got their Vapcell 16340 cells from Illumn, is the wrapping all wrinkled on yours? It is on mine.
Also, my two cells tested lower in capacity than what Vapcell stated, but I attribute it to my Lii-500 generally giving lower capacity results.

11

I got mine from Illumn, and they were fine. Didn’t test them. You can take a heat gun to the wrappers and smooth them out.

12

I have 2, came from nkon.nl
So far the best performance of all, even better than AW IMR 550mah

13

I did not do a capacity test for the Vapcell myself
however
here is some Vapcell test data I found through google

14

Yeah, that’s the reference chart I was comparing my results against.

15

Thanks very much for your review :arrow_right: