or...
These rank pretty well for the price based on: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?330236
Well, looking at this chart from CPF (see previous post for link), it was pretty much a no brainer... It was $11.70 for two of the "3000 Trustfire" flames. It costs about $32 for two "high end batteries" and you only gain about 10% to 20% in performance...
The 3000 series Trusfire seem to rank much better on the chart than the 2400 series, and they are only $1 more. Trustfire 3000s FTW!
Hi Rez, mind if I give you an alternative, since you will need 4pcs of batteries and the King is designed for unprotected batteries (protected will scratch the upper pcb due to extra height), you may want to consider these Panasonic NCRs. Buying four will drop the price to $6.47 shipped, only slightly more than the TF 3000, but the TF only will give you around 2500mAh and these will give you minimum 2750mAh up to the nominal 2900mAh.
Anyway, just to give you an option. Congrats on getting the king! I would have suggested that one as well.
That's a great chart, Rez, thanks for posting. To me the issue with Trustfire flames is are you getting what the wrapper says on it? Too many fakes out there. Seems like depending on who tests what batch from different suppliers, results are different. You can get good quality Hi-Max 2600, Solarforce 2400, Xtar 2600 batteries for a lot less than $32. And long term, I think the high quality cells are going still be there plugging away. I just don't get a good feeling about the TF any more. If you are using cells in a multi-cell light, I suggest going for quality over budget every time. Just my $.02.
Pulsar13, you bring up a very good point about the protected batteries scratching up the traces on the board. I read several posts about this and I also read another where someone said they took their light apart 15 or so times and had only wear marks. I suppose it has something to do with the vent holes in the top of the battery and how sharp/angled they are and also how long the total battery length is. I will have to see if there is something you can put down over it to lengthen it's life. It would be interesting if you could use that "wire glue" (conductive epoxy) on the trace itself, then it would literally outlast the batteries... Thanks for the battery recommendation but I can't run the risk of having unprotected cells in my house. As it is, I store all of my lithium batteries in a small sentry fire safe.
BetweenRides, I know what you're saying about the risk of getting counterfeit crap from overseas. I only order most of my batteries from manafont now. They seem to be pretty reputable for not selling knockoffs of knockoffs. DX is another story, which is why I don't buy from them any more (well that and their terrible customer service). Even if the trustfire 3000 series are even 10 or 20% better than the 2400 series, that's fine with me. Most of my collection has the 2400 series trustfire flames in them and I've had zero problems with them so far. The most dangerous light I have (3 series li-ion) is my TR-3T6 and I've had great luck with the TrustFire flames. In fact, I have the Manafont XM-L dropin, which pulls almost 5 amps, and the Trustfire flame 2400 series is the only battery that doesn't "cut out" when I use the light on high. I'm hoping the 3000 series is just slightly better with run times.
Rez, I hear what you are saying about protected batteries and generally agree with you, but have you considered Lithium-Manganese (IMR) or LiNiMnCo? Unprotected yes, but different and safer chemistry than traditional Li-ion (Cobalt) batteries. Shorter size, safer, might just kill 2 birds there.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/the_high_power_lithium_ion
Regardless, Happy Birthday in advance and looks like you chose a killer light!
BR, who has the best selection and/or prices on IMR cells? I’m thinking about getting some in 14500 & 18650.
JohnnyMac, I don't have a lot of them (3 only, actually), but I'm leaning heavily towards making them the rule for my multi-cell series lights and my 'pipe bombs' (26650 
). From what I've seen, Lighthound has the best selection of batteries I would trust, followed by batteryspace. I'm not interested in best price, more concerned with getting what I expect and pay for. I only have 2 multi-cell lights and 1 26650 right now, so it's not that big a deal to pay a few more bucks for additional piece of mind.
I buy all of my AW cells from Lighthound.
Minus one on TK41, I really really should have gotten some Sunwayman or that SC600 instead of it :(
It's still one of my favorite edc's. :bigsmile:
Good choice! You'll love it! :)
How could I forget that you can get those DQGs again, for a short time(?) => Just ask Ric to add a DQG III AAA NW into the same package. Then you'll have best of both worlds! (and save on shipping cost)