18500 in 2017

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Well, the image isn’t bright. There are no batteries with both good capacity and good power. I did some research and found very few interesting cells. I decided to share the list.

  1. Panasonic NCR18500A, 2040 mAh, 3.8A discharge.
    This is a well known battery, quite good. It has a 2000 mAh brother, NCR18500.
  2. Excell EBLI-18500C15 1500 mAh, 4.5A.
    Not great specs, but fits between Panasonic and higher discharge cells. I saw no reviews, if I bought one of the cells, I’d surely send it to some reviewer before putting it in any device (charger included). Maybe someone will bite the bullet and do just that.
  3. AWT IMR 18500, 1300 mAh, 18A
    A 100 mAh capacity bump this year. Maybe a real one, maybe it’s just a label. Though looking at HKJ tests, AWT seems to be quite accurate in their specs.
2

Walmart sells 18500s Westinghouse brand 1000mah

My Walmart has in the garden section 18500, 18650, and two different sets a of aa nihm 500 and 2000mah non lsd

3

It’s still a decent increase over 14500’s. Personally, I prefer the slimmer but longer 16650 at 2500mA with almost twice the capacity of an 18500 and three times that of a 14500. A different kind of smaller. 9^2 x 50 vs 8^2 x 65, 4050 x pi mm^3 vs 4160 x pi mm^3. Keep in mind that the rest of the light can be reduced in width so the net volume for the entire light is probably the same or even lower using the higher capacity 16650. Of course you have to either find one or make one yourself to enjoy that trade off. :slight_smile: