Review: Intl-outdoor NCR18650 3100mAh (Blue)

Thanks .

Looks like a pretty good battery once the protection current is raised.

thanks, I think the new protected version will be the next cells I purchase. intl-outdoor doesn't have a huge selection but he's obviously put some thought into what is offered...

Any updates?

Hm, strange :| I'm almost sure, that if you remove the protection, it will work @ 3-5A for sure. Why it being tripped at such a "low" current?

Thanks for review and test.

So this battery is NOT suitable even for one 18650 X-ML flashlight model?

What a shame indeed.

I think even if we say it's suitable for XP-G XP-E and not for XM-L is somehow not acurate. It's not about XM-L or not. It's about the current that passes through MOSFET that is the shut down problem.

It doesn't matter what LED is, it only matters what current is being drawn by the driver. From what I see 2A current is OK.

Look at it like this, use one battery with a flashlight that says max 650 lumen or a mode that has 650 lumen.

Excellent. Thanks Hikelite, well explained.

Very good explanation, I also ordered this one and I am having the same problem with them, mines cut off at about 2.5A, I am using them with XR-E and 2*18650 flashlights.

I hope they will update the product with new protection boards able to reach at least 5A out of the 6A given by Panasonic data sheet.

Before I ordered them, I asked about it to Intl-outdoor, and they told me the protection was made to kick at 6A, it made me so happy to have a great battery with the best runtime and also a high drain, but unfortunately it was not true.

That is correct and because a XP-G is about 1.5 ampere it works fine with a single XP-G led. A XM-L needs about 2.8 ampere to be driven at full power, it is just at the limit and if the light has a boost driver it will be above the limit.

On my website there are curves that shows the exact current draw for some flashlights at different voltage (Just measuring the tail cap current with a fresh battery does not tell the full story about current draw), this gives a much more detailed picture than just saying XP-G and XP-E leds.

In a different thread about these cells, Hank from intl-outdoor stated that when the protected cells were ordered form the person/s who assemble the protection circuit and cell, he requested that PCBs with a high dicharge current value were used. It seems that during the actual assembly, his specification was ignored and PCBs with a lower discharge value were used instead.

As such, when you contacted him, it is entirely possible that he did believe these cells were capable of a 6A discharge rate, as that is what his specification called for. It appears that it was only after people started purchasing these and testing them that is became apparent that the wrong PCBs had been used.

So we're to assume they don't have the updated cells yet? I'm not sure if he hasn't updated his website or if they're just not in yet.

If you look at the intl-outdoor website, only unprotected batteries are sold. The checkbox for ordering protected batteries are missing.

Yes, I understand they were told by the supplier they were made to give 6A, and they realized about it later on.

I did not ask for a refund or anything else, but it is true I asked about it before purchasing them and they were not as described.

If they get a new model with a better protection board I will probably get them for one reason, they are much cheaper than their competitors using the same Panasonic battery ( Kallies and Redilast) at lest shipped to Spain.

For these reasons stated herein, is why something should be done by Hank and Intl-outdoors. Either send us the cells that we thought we were getting as a direct replacement, or give us a very discounted rate on the "new" cells when they are done. I thought I was buying a premium cell, and did not get what I thought I was getting. It needs to be corrected for all who purchased them. I realize that it may not be Hank's fault, but it surely is not our fault!

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Yes, I understand they were told by the supplier they were made to give 6A, and they realized about it later on.

I did not ask for a refund or anything else, but it is true I asked about it before purchasing them and they were not as described.

If they get a new model with a better protection board I will probably get them for one reason, they are much cheaper than their competitors using the same Panasonic battery ( Kallies and Redilast) at lest shipped to Spain.

[/quote]

For these reasons stated herein, is why something should be done by Hank and Intl-outdoors. Either send us the cells that we thought we were getting as a direct replacement, or give us a very discounted rate on the "new" cells when they are done. I thought I was buying a premium cell, and did not get what I thought I was getting. It needs to be corrected for all who purchased them. I realize that it may not be Hank's fault, but it surely is not our fault!

[/quote]

Sounds reasonable for me. Hank can get his money back from "dealer".

With out the protection I've tested them to 6.2 amps no problem, that's the maxium Panisonic recommend.

I believe the protection trips early due to there only being one cheap MOSFET in the protection circuit, even the cheap trustfire flames I've tested have 2 and other high end batteries I have have 3.

HKJ has done some Awsome work here.

A little off-topic here, but how does one make a safe battery after removing the protection circuit? Can someone with more knowledge show us please?

It IS a safe cell in the first place. The wires used were 12AWG, way thicker and lower resistance than even hardcore mods in any light (save for the 60" carbon arcs) or any driver dead short instances.

I thank you for that. I was looking more at trying to remove the "weak" protection circuit from these batteries to make them more useful, I am just not sure on how to go about it safely.