I’ve been using these in my L6 and… I assumed they were protected. I guess that light has a good low voltage cut off.
The truth is: they are unprotected, as many have suspected already because the batteries are too short to carry a PCB.
And they can’t stand more than 10 amps, show very rapid voltage decay at 15 amps, probably a PTC kicking in (so it wouldn’t be totally unprotected).
This confusion may be why flashlight manufacturers are beginning to use proprietary batteries in high output flashlights as a hedge against product liability.
We need certain amount of regulation to restrict misinformation being used in product advertising and promotion.
Damn, i just ordered a coupple of these…I’ll have to return them then if this is true, I do not want unprotected batteries…
I guess it was too good to be true.
LW , I hope you’re not thinking that I was implying that you don’t know what you are saying. Not the case at all !
I’m just looking for more verifications to the cells being not protected as they are advertised !—This meaning the
second , third and so on , other opinions about the veracity of their stated protection.
“ThorFire 5000mah 3.7V 26650 Battery Protected Rechargeable Li-ion Battery for Flashlight (Pack of 2) by Thorfire”
Amazon.com U.S.
Under specifications there is no mention of being ‘protected’.
You’re correct . In that Amazon ad “Protected” is stated in the main heading of the ThorFire advertisement.
Also in the body of the ad , it’s stated that there’s “protection recharge integrated circuitry built in” ! Now,
read a little further in that ad and notice their slick , somewhat backhanded way of MAYBE denying protection.
It reads: (ThorFire Protected button top 26650 battery is a bit LONGER than “other” NON-Protected alternatives.
Other NON-Protected ! How do we figure it out ? What’s your interpretation ? It appears to me that the ad has
some false advertising attributes !
There will always be a need for critical reading and evaluation; a misunderstanding can be an intentional act.
202bigmike, I did say earlier in this thread that I was not 100% sure whether these cells were protected due to their length but that Thorfire had stated in an email to me that they were.
From what light-wolff has posted it would seem that my suspicions were correct.
What I can say (& is confirmed by several other users of these cells in this & other threads) is that they are the claimed capacity, have low IR & certainly perform fine in lights drawing up to around 6.5A.
Personally nearly all my cells are non protected & I am personally content to use non protected cells.
If you need protected 26650 cells then the easy answer is to purchase some Keeppower 5200 mah protected IMR”s as these are confirmed as a good cell with protection.
I have a pair of KP”s & they are good cells but are 2-3 times the cost of the Thorfire, Basen & Liitokala 26650”s I have & do not have any more capacity than the Thorfire or Liitokala”s (a little more than the 4500mah Basens but not much) & do not have lower IR than any of them.
At the price they cost me, $5 a piece I am happy with the Thorfires, but if you really need protected cells then they are obviously not the cells for you.
If you could live with non protected cells then the non protected Liitokala 5000 mah at about $5 a piece have got rave reviews on this forum & would seem to offer the best “bang for buck” at the moment & would also seem to offer higher drain than other 26650”s available at the moment.
If they call PTC protection but are vague if the parts we consider to make a cell a protected one are installed and now confirmed have not on these tested cells I personally think that is not good.
I will email Barry about this topic and strongly recommend him to have Thorfire give an explanation here. He probably won’t read it till Monday though.
+1
For those who plan to use 26650 batteries in series, like the Convoy L6, battery length and and the positive terminal being a correct height is an important consideration too.
Barry already responded.
The information will be corrected soon was his reply
So I asked him if Thorfire could explain here in this topic about the cells.
Discharge curves of Thorfire 26650 5000mAh:
Tracking of the 2 samples is not good.
.
The relatively sharp cutoff at 10A and 15A ist most probably a PTC kicking in. It is for sure not caused by an electronic protection circuit board(PCB).
The higher the cell temperature, the faster this cutoff occurs.
Details of cutoff at 15A with warmed-up cell #2, about half-discharged:
PTC kicks in after 17 seconds. However, due to its nature, it just limits the current to some A, but does not switch off. It is the electronic load that stops (it is programmed to do so). If it wouldn’t, the battery would be deep-discharged down to 0V.
.
The tested cells were purchased on amazon.de
Length is 66.7mm.
Photos of tested cells:
The wrapper states “Integrated battery overcharge / discharge protection circuits” even twice.
Hmm, if they call the PTC a discharge protection circuit, they may well call the CID (if present) an overcharge protection circuit.
Also note the funny writing of “High d ischarge p erformance …”. Even Thorfire’s own product photos show it.
Thank you light-wolff for the information, I found the comment: “…PTC kicks in after 17 seconds. However, due to its nature, it just limits the current to some A, but does not switch off. It is the electronic load that stops (it is programmed to do so). If it wouldn’t, the battery would be deep-discharged down to 0V.” to be telling.
We do make an assumption when the term ‘Protected Battery’ is used that we all share the same definition.
And rightfully so I’d say. This is blatant misrepresentation on the part of Thorfire as far as I’m concerned. I bought a set of these batteries for my L6 based on them being protected so I’m none too impressed to be lied to.
Language is a slippery slope and has an ability to misinform as well as inform.
Oh yeah ! The TRUTH IS OUT !! WTF ! This is really a rat piss poor , deceptive ass sale practice by ThorFire ,
done to all who have purchased these cells under the totally misleading text of their sales ads. The ads were,
disguised as being very informative , while putting customers to sleep about their lack of real protection .
Does anyone think , that ALL who have purchased these cells , should seek a TOTAL refund from ThorFire
for its’ deviant and abhorrent sales practices regarding the cell protection !—In other words: Straight lies & BS !
P.S.,
Does the ThorFire sales practice only apply to their 26650 cells or does it also have a “blanket” effect covering
all of their goods—-Hmmmmm :question:
Hmm… Let’s not go nuclear here. 
None of the drama nonsense. All situations must be approached wisely.
Nonsense & Drama is in the eye of the beholder !—What would you do , if you learned that you had been hoodwinked , conned , deceived ,
lied to and your $ taken by fraudulent practices ? Since you stepped up ,what is your wise approach to this situation ?
P.S.,
Not nuclear , ok. Just a little carpet bombing then ! 
Just to say that my cells are flat tops & not button tops as shown in l-w”s pictures ?