Test / Review: Hi-max 18650


Originally known as the Wow 18650 , I tested one way back and was impressed with its performance . The Hi-max certainly did not disappoint , and in my MTE SSC P7 [ used for run times ] , it really was a hand warmer all the way to the end , and Im sure I didnt capture the discharge current fully , but still a impressive battery . If Hi-max only marked the battery as a 2400 , then I could give them a few brown'y points for not exaggerating capacity just a little .



In the discharge testing the Hi-max did extremely well , especially considering its up against Japanese cells , and if it were compared to cheaper Chinese made cells , it would surely look even better .






I removed all the clutter from the run time test , but the results are close enough to the AW 2600 for me to call it about the same [ close match ] .

Now I used my Imax B6 to discharge the Hi-max [ no pun intended ] at 0.5A for a discharge capacity of 2379mAh [ discharged from 4.2v down to 3v under load ] . Now what impressed me was I charged the Hi-max about one week ago to 4.2v , and a week latter it was still 4.2v , and the run time test was done after checking the voltage state with no top up .

In case anyone is interested , http://www.jayki.com/?mid=flashlight_review_board&page=2&document_srl=11340 , original Wow 18650 test .


So there you go , excellent discharge capability , decent capacity , and still performs well .

As a footnote , my Wow 18650 is still performing well , and has given me no issues to be concerned about .

Thanks for your usual incredible battery review. My last batch of new flame trustfire batteries dont perform as well as the 1 year old versions of the same battery with 50 discharge cycles on them. I was warned that battery quality might be declining but I guess i needed to find out for myself. It looks like you've found another good budget alternative for me... again. Thanks old!

Thanks for the review Old! Looks like a nice product. Do you have a link perchance?

Sticky'd.

http://shop.ebay.com/pingyi.co.ltd/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562 pingyi.co.ltd , the only seller Im aware of .

Old4570,

Sorry if I don't say it enough, but thanks for all the work you're doing on the battery testing... It's really quality work! Excellent review, and one I'll have to try.

Excellent review, Matt :crown:

Questions: What SF is that? White-black or white-blue? (don't know what that V2 mean)

Could you add TF black to your test?

Could you post time tests without numbers? I can't distinguish anything, they just disturb IMO ;)

V2 = Blue and white [ Version 2 ] The black and white was the first offering or version , so Solarforce calls the blue and white V2 [ version 2 ]

TF - Trustfire Flame ? [ red and Black ]


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=282096 / Trustfire - Fireworm - Spiderfire 18650 Test




Nice review. A couple of days ago I got 4 of the HiMax 2600's that I ordered off of eBay (based on the recommendation of folks here).

I paid $20 for the 4 plus $4 shipping. Seem to be nice batteries.

Yeah these seem to be pretty consistant in quality. Lots of us here have bought them at differt times (and over time) and seem pretty satified. For the price Hi-Max get a thumbs up. Just ordered four more a few days ago.

Thanks for all the work you do old4570!

Great and through review as always. Thanks.

I bought 2 WOW batteries and received 2 Hi-Max from that Ebay seller a while ago. The prices have gone up since then. Is it a reasonable assumption to say that they just re-labled them? (The seller claims that) Possibly because Blizzard has the copyright to that brand. ;-)

I would also like to thank old4570 for his efforts to find the battery with the best value/money ratio, even when it gets him into trouble at the other place.

Thats what I understand , the Wow was simply relabled Hi-max .. So should still be the same cell , simply by another name .

Just ordered 6 for 27.99 + 10. Thanks for the review, very interested in comparing these to my only (for now) 6 TF flames, and my "on the way" palight 3000mah's from MF.

I don't understand why 2200 mAh cells give longer runtime than 2400 cells, which also give longer time than 2600 (Using the three Xtar cells for example)

Also how do the ever popular Trustfire 'Flame' 2400's compare to the above cells?

Because its a runtime test , in a actual light , as opposed to a constant current discharge ...

So the discharge rate affects run time , if a battery has a lower discharge rate in a flashlight , its delivering lower current , and there for will run longer .

A higher discharge rate will equate to lower run time ..

So if you had two equal capacity cells : One starts at 3A and the other at 2.5A , which one will run longer ?

My brother got himself 6 of the Himax cells ...

So I borrowed one to update this thread , and I did a discharge @ 0.5A and it returned 2524mAh .

Cells were purchased about 3 weeks ago and arrived about two weeks ago ..

I'm still impressed by my Hi-Max cells. I have had several 2500+ mah readings. The 5A discharge results where also pretty impressive.

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/6pcs-18650-2600mAh-Protected-Li-ion-Battery-3-7V-/320479544838?pt=US_Batteries&hash=item4a9e11c606