10440’s - do any reputable brand manufacture these? Can only find crapfire ones on eBay.
Also - does the i4 charge these okay if you charge 1 and 3 or 2 and 4? The i4 is compatible but I’m concerned about the current going into such a small cell.
Edit: what does this mean from OP - —Runtime: 90 mins on hi; 35 hrs on lo, with quality AAA/14500?
Sadly there are not a ton of choices when it comes to 10440, I have been using the grey Trustfire protected cells which have been good to me so far but my light doesn’t stress them too much.
I have been charging them in my i4 with no problems. I always charge them with another LARGER battery and here’s why: I want to ensure that the 10440 finishes charging hidden BEFORE the other battery on the same channel. That way it never receives full charging current. If you charge two 10440 side by side unless you are extraordinarily lucky one will finish charging before the other and one cell will receive a 700+mA charge for the remainder . which is too much.
Like RMM said there is not much choice. I am very fond of my Efest 10440 IMR batteries, and being IMR they can handle some more charge-abuse as well (I charge them in the i4 parallel to another charging battery). HKJ tested it quite well. They have a buttontop IMR as well (unbranded red colour), but I don't know how good they are.
I’ve asked Ric but he hasn’t gotten back to me. I don’t think I’d be comfortable with using an unprotected cell, so does anyone know about using protected 10440s in this light? I’m concerned there could be an issue with the extra length that the protection board adds or the flat + terminal that they all seem to have. If protected cells don’t work, what about using a LiFePO4 cell instead since they seem to be safe enough to run without protection?