Hello NightCrawl,
Thank you for your interest.
The 16340 is reviewed HERE. HKJ is an excellent reviewer – a little reserved as far as his complements are concerned and careful regarding what he recommends – but that’s good. He will be receiving several other batteries from this primary manufacturer and if he approves of them, there will be at least 2 consequences: First, we will use some of them; and second, he will gain more and more confidence in the company’s capability. By the way they’re a huge manufacturer and although they have a very broad range of product with some cells that are made just to meet a price point, they are also capable of producing very high quality cells.
About protecting IMR cells, what you say is often quite accurate but my information indicates that the protection circuits do not have to limit the cell’s capacity significantly – that is if the circuit is designed properly.
Best Regards,
Bob