Panasonic NCR18650A 18650 3100mAH at HKE

$22.99 Unprotected.

Specifications:
Capacity: 3100mAh (Min 2950mAh)
Max charge current 0.7C 2A
Recommend discharge current 1C 2.9A
Discharge Termination Voltage: 2.5V
Size 18.6mm x 65.2mm
Weight : 45g
Positive with button, fit for flashlight and other common application

Package Includes:
Panasonic NCR18650 Li-ion Rechargeable 3.6v Battery x2
Ultrafire Battery Case for 2x18650/4xCR123A x1 (Random color)

Im not sure ill order any yet or not, But thats a good price with free shipping compared to CalliesKustoms at 2x $13.99 +$6 =$34 total shipped but are protected from inside the USA.

Probably not a bad deal but be aware they are old stock batteries. In fact it looks like all their Panasonic batteries are old stock. They changed the wrappers quite a while ago.

Those look just like the batteries that Reverend Jim is selling on here for 2 bucks a piece.

Looks good, my 2900 from HKE overperformed Xtar 2600 and Solarforce 2400 multiple times in my runtime tests in the light. 61 mins vs 54mins and 50 mins respectively. Also able to produce prodigious amount of current and not heat up that much due to lowest resistance compared to the other cells. Important thing is, Li-ion cells need to arrive at say 3.7V or so min (40% thereabouts) and not drop below that, they can be as a good number of years no issue at all. If i remember correctly, the release date of 3100mAH cells from Panasonic was just last year. The 2900s were released in 2006, not too bad for an "old" battery.

Actually in my office, i just started to use a "new" notebook pack which is 5 years old, started to use it like 6 months ago just after Christmas. I purchased it as a spare then and suddenly found it in my server room cab drawer. Its able to provide the same amount of juice compared to new. Just need to store it properly, well my office is always at 22 deg C. My notebook has become portable again! (the current pack is long gone....can't use). But if you have used it and dropped below that critical 40% threshold, even if its 20%, it can't last like 1 year even. Experienced many times already, last time as IT support I purchase batteries at a rate of several packs a month/usually more than $1,000 a month from the POs.

PS. It is a Lenovo X61 which we purchased when it just came out, can you imagine how old is that?

My experience with Stanley's excellent service indicates that he always gives a good price esp if you get 2 pairs or something, just tell him you are from BLF. *coughs coughs*

I have Rev. Jims Panasonic 2400's and also a set of HKE's Panasonic 2900's and id say the only thing the 2400's and 3100's have in common is the outer coating color.

Even tho i tend to like to try new things including higher end items i still need to justify prices before ill buy high end stuff.

To me $23 shipped is much better than $34 shipped from CK, But there is something to be said about buying protected cells and fast shipping times within the USA.

But as of yet i have no plans to buy these, I did just order more IMR 18650 cells tho at $10 for 2x 1400mAh cells.

The IMR 18500s I have no issue dishing out 3A for 1 minute and not getting warm at all. Perfect for a Trustfire/Sky Ray 3 x XM-L shorty pocket rocket.

That is exactly what I have been using in mine the 18500 IMRs from Bestinone they push the 3XML along fine.

The 14500 is limited to 1.9A currently, still cycling....just decent but nothing great (AW can do 2.4A). The 18350s are good too, 1.8A, amazing.

I wasn't to impressed with the 14500s I got, one was DOA the other only pushes 1.8 maybe it will pick up a little with a couple cycles. I will definitely try a couple 18350s next time for my 501As. For the price these are a great deal.

My two bestinone.net IMR 14500s were ok, i then accidentally discharged one to 1.04V. LOL! But it recovered well enough since it probably spent like 10-15 mins below 2.7V and i recharged immediately. Now still gives enough juice, no apparent damage. I feel safer with the IMRs anyway in the E03 doing 1.5-1.8A.

Still monitoring...

The IMR cells pushed my lights to a level so much that i don't want any more amps out of them.

I have an R5 drop-in that normally runs 1.5A's now pushing 1.85A-1.9A and my ManaFont XM-L 2.8A now runs at 3.5A's. The R5 is in a SureFire 501A shorty on a 18350 IMR and its hard to tell the difference between it and my XM-L's on Li-Ion, Its a pocket rocket now and may even be upgraded to an XM-L if it can contain the heat long enough to be useful.

Ive been dealing with Bestinone.com and be forewarned that the 18650's they show and list as 1500mAH is NOT what they are shipping, They are shipping 1400mAH IMR's as thats all they have until a new batch comes in. I spoke with Kiko there about changing the description and she declined to make the appropriate value change listed on the cell. Not good business sense, But at least i know what im getting as i order 2 more sets.

I do worry about premature death of drivers as i think they can handle the amps since its voltage they are sensitive to, So i will keep runs on high as a minimum and use medium alot more since its close to what high normally would be without the IMR cells.

The 3100 are the current wrappers. They haven't been out long enough to have the old style wrappers.

Yep, announced late December 2009. Just came into the market early 2010.

"The 3100 are the current wrappers. They haven't been out long enough to have the old style wrappers."

I have 300 of these batteries sitting on my shelf in manufacturer boxes with dates on them. YES THEY ARE SELLING OLD BATTERIES! Its been talked about before on message boards. I'm not saying their bad. Sorry if telling the truth and giving more information offends anyone.

If the other guys are having old batteries, then i guess theirs "may have a problem". They had Panasonic 3100s since 2008 or 2009? Like i said Panny released the info pack on 18th Dec 2009, and probably just pushed them to the dealers after that in Jan 2010.

I'm inclined to trust direct information from panasonic.co.jp

http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/en091218-2/en091218-2.html

I have older batteries, the 2900s. I guess age could affect the batteries capacity definitely, not disputing that.

What I've got is that from a 4.20V starting point, the Panasonic 2900 that I have got from HKE does 60-61 min on Sky Ray 3xT6 till cut off. This is a real world application which current starts from 2.55A and ramps up till just below 4A before cut-off by the driver (not cell PCB).

Solarforce 2400 version 2 (blue lettering) is 50 mins. Xtar 2600 Sanyo is 53-54 mins. I have done this many times, definitely more than 10 times with Xtars 2 runs and the others more than 3, I can't remember. All immersed in water, so the cell discharge temperatures cannot even vary a single bit and run times are right on the dot ie. repeatable. From what I calculated, all the cells are right within their spec.

If you want harder numbers, I'll see what the HKE 3100s can do on a hobby charger.

If you really want new, there are 3.4Ah and 4.0Ah 18650s. These are not Ultrafires.

http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/en091225-3/en091225-3.html

I would love to get my hands on some 4000mAh Panasonic's They say they will be out by the end of 2013 so we will probally get our hands on them a year or 2 later.. 2014-2015

On the positive side Ultrafire will surely be at 5000-6000mah by then!

Yeah, with a real capacity of 2000mAh

The BIG problem is that the Japanese suffered a real set back on March 12th. I have a couple of Jap colleagues and my wife also has 2 Jap colleagues.....pretty bad situation. It's improving though. I have been waiting for the new Nikon dSLR releases, slated for release in April. Till now, no sound no picture no smell! Not even press release, usually it takes about 3-4 months to hit the market. I think no new releases even till Christmas.

Imagine a 4Ah 18650. It would crank out 4A with no sweat at all and top out at just above 7A, may even be able to hang around with the best IMRs.