I indirectly inquired Mooch about this very recently here aand, wellp, unless Vapcell or someone else sends him a couple samples, seems that ain't happening in a near future.
Vapcell said the H10A is sold out and production will not resume until May due to virus. Lucky I decided to buy some and not wait for Mooch review. From Djozz mah measurements these are not the same as Shockli 14500, which I was suspecting it might be
Discharge capacity tested on a Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus:
Vapcell 1000mah gold – 993, 995 mah
Vapcell H10 1000mah purple - 962, 961, 943, 962 mah
Vapcell L10 1050mah purple - 1063, 1063 mah
Orbtronic 1000mah protected – 990, 972, 967 mah
Shockli 1000mah button top – 957, 921, 947, 950 mah
Shockli 1000mah flat top – 889 mah
Lumen on direct drive (highest output) tested with Texas Ace Lumen Sphere calibrated with Maukka lights:
GT Micro XP-L HI 4000K
(flat top no contact) Sanyo UR14500P 840mAh Battery
(flat top no contact) Vapcell 1000mah gold
964 lumens –14500 KeepPower 840mAh Sanyo UR14500P Protected Button Top
951 lumens – EVVA Protected Button Top 800mah
974 lumens – Orbtronic 1000mah protected button top
1194 lumens – Windyfire 600mah button top
1195 lumens – Shockli 1000mah button top
1155 lumens – Shockli 1000mah flat top
1247 lumens - Vapcell H10 1000mah button top purple
948 lumens - Vapcell L10 1050mah flat top purple
Kronos X5
903 lumens – Sanyo UR14500P 840mAh Battery
1110 lumens – Windyfire 600mah button top
1104 lumens – Shockli 1000mah button top
1086 lumens – Shockli 1000mah flat top
842 lumens – Orbtronic 1000mah protected button top
931 lumens – Vapcell 1000mah gold
1180 lumens - Vapcell H10 1000mah button top
930 lumens - Vapcell L10 1050mah flat top
The Vapcell H10 is a monster! It is both a high drain and high capacity cell, which is just incredible! It even managed to beat the Shockli and Windyfire which was the previous 14500 amp king. Hope to see more flashlights that can take advantage of the high current. Both button top and flat top version outputs the same.
The Vapcell L10 is the highest capacity 14500 in existence. Output is equal to the previous Vapcell 1000mah gold.
The former 14500 king Shockli 1000mah just lost the throne but it is still an excellent high current and high capacity cell and besides these two flashlights, you won’t see any output difference vs the Vapcell H10.
Seems like the Orbtronic uses the same cell as the Vapcell gold and that they used an extremely high quality protection circuit because the output on the X5 is about the same between the Orbtronic and Vapcell. These two cells still have their uses because in lower power regulated lights, you won’t gain any lumens by using high drain cells and the Vapcell gold and Orbtronic is still the highest capacity 14500 by a small margin in low amp modes that would give you a bit more run time.
I recently ordered just one H10 from nkon (among other stuff), just to test it. I hope flashlight manufacturers start paying attention to the 14500 category now. Having a very small and powerful light in your pocket is really nice.
NKON's shipping quotes are relatively high because they use courier services. A couple years ago, though, I could see shipping quotes as low as €5 to Spain “flat rate”, because I could select an option called “pickup at Correos office” (Correos is Spain's postal service). If I were you, I would send a message to NKON and ask them to arrange some affordable postal service shipping options for small orders. From my part you can also tell them “the old site was better”.
According to Mooch's figures the actual manufacturer capacity rating (0.2C down to 2.5 V) for this cell seems to be 950 mAh.
Can't say I love the discharge curves of these newer chemistries, don't like them in fact. I understand they are made that way to make the life of any capacity measuring electronics easier, but otherwise it is a drawback high power / high discharge wise. Best curves are flatter or flat with sharp drops once finished in this regard. If battery state of charge is so important to know, other methods could be devised and built into the very cells or batteries.
950mah would be a more realistic rating since my measurements average just a bit higher. But I see no problem with the curve. For a tiny 14500 cell, being able to maintain the curve shown in Mooch at a whooping 10A is previously unimaginable. All batteries, even high capacity larger cells have a similar dropping curve like that.