Well put. +1. Some people still just don’t get it.
There’s a reason why.
One is too long of light and 2 they take the heavy D nimh batteries instead of 18650’s. It was doomed to fail. I knew this day was coming when the TK75 came out.
If NIMH batteries are so damn good, then why is lithium-ion taken over?
The majority of guys here on BLF or CPF will take lithium the majority of the time.
Statistically... there are billions of lithium batteries out there, and maybe a few hundred incidents?
There is a balance to be had between safety, and anything that you do. You take a risk simply getting out of bed, or even staying in bed.
The risk with lithium batteries, when handled properly, is minimal.
You're far more likely to get into a car accident for example... does that mean you won't drive a car that is not 100% safe?
Also, the TK75 is actually quite well balanced... try one out sometime.
Now there is a guy that gets it.
Yes, if the poor Guy doesn’t accept your recommendation, then you’re going to keep hammering him till he gives in aren’t you. He has already told you what he wants and what Battery Format he wants and his reasons why. Can you not respect his reasons for what he wants and move on. One size does not fit all.
+1
Might as well not use a cell phone if you think about it.
Now Brad, I seem to recall you were a big fan of the TK70 @ one time. Besides imo its only prudent to keep a light for people not as enthralled with lights as some of us are
No worries, friend, but I think the consensus is that at some point, the worrying is null and void. If you have and use a cell phone, you are already taking a risk of something exploding, same with a laptop. And just like driving, you aren’t going to stop using autos because of a much elevated chance of death/dismemberment/injury.
I love my nimh Eneloops and I get wanting them to loan to people in lights without having to worry about explaining li-ion cells. And I, for one, would not loan a series-celled light to someone, protected or not. But I’d not at all worry about single celled lights. With any rechargeable light, the odds of something happening are so low that it makes some doing something stupid like putting alkalines on a charger as high by way of probability as an 18650 going POOF. By that logic, then, you might well only loan out lights with alkaline batteries in them and never give the expectation of recharging (to be consistent).
So, worry should essentially be reduced to nothing.
Because people want the tiniest lights possible with the highest possible output for the size (I’m personally not interested in this). That’s really the ONLY thing that Li-Ion is better at giving you. But take away Li-Ion’s higher energy density (and higher terminal voltage), and you have a battery that is inferior in EVERY OTHER WAY to NiMH.
By the way, if Li-Ion is so great, why has every laptop battery I ever had become a useless paperweight after only two years? I’ve NEVER had a NiMH (or Nicad) battery go bad THAT quickly and with that kind of steady decline over its ‘useful’ life.
It’s really just personal preference. The only downside to the NiMH? They drain quickly in cold weather. Other than that the TK70 is an excellent light.
I don’t think that’s a fair comparison since if you’re like most people, you charge your laptop many, many, many, many times over a 2 or so year period. I’m on year 5 with my MacBook. The batteries don’t hold charge like they used to, but they do fine for their age.
There’s a difference between the death of Li-Ion and NiMH that, to me, REALLY goes against Li-Ion. Much like their voltage, NiMH batteries seem to keep most of their capacity throughout their lifetime. They die suddenly at the end of their useful life. But you seem to get pretty much full use of them throughout their life. Li-Ion, on the other hand, seems to be on a slow march to its funeral from day one. You can literally tell from month to month that you have less and less capacity. It’s like they say, true self-discharge possibly doesn’t exist with Li-Ion so much as permanent loss of capacity. THIS is what I don’t like. You may argue that NiMH has the disadvantage of going without warning. But at least you have pretty much full use of your battery throughout its life. Not so with Li-Ion. Again, LiFePO4 is the exception to this rule. But it’s probably the most poorly supported battery out there.
For anybody looking for one, Going Gear still has a couple slightly used, but excellent condition TK70’s in their garage sale -
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?284550-GoingGear-com-Garage-Sale-2013
They are asking $120 shipped.
Wow, that is really good price.
That’s because most people use a laptop daily 365 days a year that have them over destop computers. You stick nimh batteris in them and use them daily and see how much you get out of them.
The blue Tenergy nimh D cells held a charge for about a month. They wouldn’t even keep my TK70 on turbo mode after about 30 days off the charger. Now say what you want, but I can go a year or more on lithium ion 18650’s w/o having to charge them. And it takes probably 3 18650’s to weigh what one D cell nimh battery weighs.
RIP TK70
For those who want to use NIMH, don’t buy non LSD unless you have only one flashlight and you use it everyday.
I have 16 Tenergy Centura D, still works like new after 2 years of regular use. Li-ion should last as long since we have too many of them and seldom charge and discharge.
Man, I will grab that two TK70 if I am in USA. It cost me USD50 to ship just one to Malaysia including tax. Too bad.
Hi Friend, in most cases people need to use a Cell Phone and have to use a Laptop and of course a Car is an essential in todays world to get anywhere. You don’t have to use a Torch with Lithium Batteries, despite what you may think it is not an essential, it’s a desire not a necessity. So your Car, Laptop, Phone and Torch Analogy makes no sense at best.
If I was to tell you I had designed a new Fuel additive that made your Car go really fast, but it had one drawback over the normal risks of Petrol, it could spontaneously explode without warning or erupt into a Fireball. Would you be racing out and buying it to put into your Wife’s Car (the one she carts the kids round in). I don’t think so, and if you did and told your Wife that she had nothing to worry about, what kind of Husband or Father would you be.
On your comment “So, worry should essentially be reduced to nothing”. Suffice to say, Ignorance is Bliss. I’m also left wondering where any of this advice tendered, had anything to do with what the poor Guy wanted. There is a certain Mentality held by some Members on this Forum, where they feel the need to convert at any cost, anyone who dares to mention that they are thinking of buying a Light that is not Lithium. Sometimes I think it’s just a desire to Validate their own decisions, nothing more.