21700 is the future

My winter coats pockets have both. A BLF-A6 18650 in my work coat upper inside pocket, and my casual winter & hiking coat EDC’s a Fireflies PL47 21700.

I pocket carry my Fenix PD36R with no problem. It is almost the same as my Acebeam EC35 which takes a 18650 battery.

Meh. I was EDCing a UT20, which is a moose of a light. Didn’t bother me much, if at all. And that was in-pocket, not in a holster or anything. The deep-carry clip for a S2+ fits absolutely perfectly on it.

Went to a MH20 which seems like half the length, and likely won’t be going to anything different any time soon. It seems barely bigger’n the 18650 it’s wrapped around. Just disappears in my pocket…

Anyway… thicker tube for a 21700? Don’t think it’d be too different, but the only lights that I have that take those are big-head lights, hardly pocketable.

18650 is as thick as is reasonable for normal jeans pocket carry with a deep carry clip

Also remember that theres quite a few 18650 lights that take 18350 tubes for a smaller EDC

I EDC 26650 now. But it IS too large and my preferred choice is actually 18350.

Astrolux EC1 is very pocketable 21700 light, I EDC it for a few months now. Switched the led to sst-40 De-Domed which made it a well balanced thrower.

Pants pocket: 18350. Jacket: 18650. Yeah, the 21700 has greater mAh capacity, but I’m not changing over to it anytime soon. Feels to me like LED efficiency has reached a pretty decent milestone at this point. And 18650 cells are cheaper than 21700 ones. Plus, they can be harvested from laptop battery packs. :wink:

I’ve EDC a Acebeam EC65 in my jeans and it is not really noticeable. The EC65, is the same size or even smaller than many 18650 lights though.

And many other 18650 flashlights are smaller than EC65.

I’ve been edc’ing an FT03 in my winter coat. It’s cold enough some of these days that I can use it on full turbo without it overheating (xhp50.2). The 26650 battery doesn’t last very long though; I have a keepowed 5600mah and vapcell 5800mah one. They get about 40 mins to an hour on turbo before lvp kicks in and turbo can no longer be maintained.

18650 is the biggest I’d be willing to go for something normally pocketable though. They’re really the perfect size because18350s are a bit too short for me to hold in my hand comfortably and everything smaller lacks discharge capability and capacity.

Inclined to agree. Alot of R&D are in 21700 nowadays, likely thanks to Tesla.
I EDC a Convoy S21A and I like it far better than my Sofirn sp31-v2, marginal weight increase due to the battery, much-much longer runtime between charges. So far, my only gripe is with the driver for my 6V XHP50.2 build, not enough levels with the Kaidamin H1C driver, but I can actually hold turbo for about 10 minutes before it gets too hot and no green halo at the lower levels.
The XPL2-HD, MTN-20DDm Driver gives me more levels and more light at turbo, but gets damned hot damned fast.

I EDC 21700 vape gear, but only 14500 or 16340 lights.
21700 is a Tesla and Panasonic collab design, having more power density, with less weight density relative to 18650’s, making them more efficient for vehicle cells and power walls.

I often EDC a Zebralight SC64w HI, which is a very small 18650 light. About as big as is comfortable for me. Sometimes I’ll pocket-carry a Zebralight SC600, which is a slightly larger 18650 light but still smaller than most budget 18650 lights. I’ll only do that if I know I’m going to use it a lot, as it’s too large to be comfortably carried in a pants pocket.

The larger 18650 lights, like BLF A6 and similar designs, are simply far too large to pocket carry. 21700 lights are out of the question; suitable for larger coat pockets only.

IMO, the 21700 is a dumb choice for EDC lights. It’s fine for something you’re going to hand-carry, like a utility light, when you don’t care about size and weight.

18650 is the best choice for energy density right now, as well as being about as large as you can go and still design a light small enough for EDC.

26800 would be a better cell for this light…

For EDC I prefer something smaller than even 18650. I’d go for AA (eneloop), something like the venerable Zebralight SC5. I have never been in a situation, where I missed the additional capacity or the higher output of a LiOn powered light.

However, I use my Emisar lights (D4, D4Ti, D4v2 and the D1) pretty much around the house.

SC5 is a great light, but a little fat for EDC. The SC53 makes for a better EDC. Still 1xAA and almost as bright, but thinner and easier to pocket.

Yeah, usually a 1xAA light gives plenty of output and runtime for EDC. My most-carried light is a 1xAAA, because most of the time I’m 99% sure I won’t need a light so why bulk up?

EDC’ing a 21700 light would feel like wearing a ball & chain.

not interested
18650 is small enough, has enough power and energy
period

wle

I’ve gotten to the point where a YLP Unicorn 1.0 is the largest I’m willing to carry for a normal work day. Even then, when it’s not winter (i.e. when it’s not dark when I leave for work and get home after work) I often carry something with a smaller cell type, 18350/14500/16340.

I admit I’ve often wondered if Zebralights were worth the prices asked, but I’ve never bought one (nor even seen one).

Yeh, if I add up what I’ve paid over the years for inadequate and poorly made lights, I could’ve had a couple of Zebralights.
Who knew?

It’s not the future, it’s just another battery size

21700 are way bigger and heavier than 18650 lights. Think in a 21700 alternative for the SC64 or YLP unicorn. There isn’t one close to its size, and if there is one, who needs 5000mAh in an EDC that barely sustains 600lm? I charge my 18650 EDC lights twice a week…