New to lights, charger recs?

im just getting into lights, so i havent gotten into any ecosystem of sizes or anything yet. im thinking primarily 18650, but i dont know what brand of charger or batteries to go with. ive been recommended illumn.com the most but dont actually know what brands or anything to go with

Some popular brands include Keeppower, Efest, and Vapecell.
I personally like using the Nitecore chargers. Started with the i2 and then moved up tot he SC4.
Xtar also has some pretty nice chargers.

18650 is a pretty solid platform. Not too big but enough for some decent runtime. If you EDC a lot, the 18350 is smaller and also have a good number of lights. A lot of lights have extension tubes to go from 18350 to 18650 so that’s pretty cool as well.

i was recommended the Xtar PB2 by JCcustoms, looks like a good option aswell and comes with two 18650s, but i dont know about the quality of the cells.

whats a good cell brand? ive heard samsung so far

I would get a charger that can charge 21700 and maybe 26650s as well. You never know… you might get a light or two that is larger in the future. Better to have it available than to have to buy another charger later down the line. Unless you know for sure you’re only sticking to 18650 indefinitely.

As with cells, Samsung 30Q is my top pick. Reliable, high capacity, and affordable.
The Sony VTC6 is also a solid pick. As well as the LG HG2.

A good source for batteries:
https://www.imrbatteries.com/18650-batteries/

Opus C3100 is a pretty solid 4-bay charger that has served me well as a first & only charger. Can be powered from a vehicle with an optional 12v adapter.

There's a BLF charger being developed that will likely eclipse most any other flashlight hobby charger presently available. The Opus would be fine for a first charger until the BLF charger becomes available. That is likely to be some time yet.

As far as cells, my go-to place is https://liionwholesale.com

There are many other places to buy cells in the U.S. but, https://liionwholesale.com guarantees genuine cells, and they're just a personal preference. Buying from Amazon, fleaBay and especially China is a crap shoot on quality.

Welcome to the flashlight rabbit hole! You'll need to bring a light...

slmjim

I’m new to this forum. Just browsed liionwholesale and they had a great price for Xtar VP Plus dragon for $57.99 which is a lot lower than other retailers.
VP Plus Dragon

They also have Vapcell S4 plus charger for $35.99 which is even lower than aliexpress.

vapcell s4

Are they legit?

truthfully im looking for something low tech for only a couple of sells as i dont /plan/ :wink: on having too many lights really much at all

if you have the money go for it but I find it expensive. I have an Xtar capable of charging 2 cells of almost any size for $7 and I don’t know why I would upgrade. Most of the time I don’t even bother using the charger as most recent light have USB charging ports and I can recharge on the go with my power bank. Sure you loose the ability to test your batteries but is that really necessary? For the additional price to get a quality charger, you could get 10 quality batteries instead.

which model xtar?

also yeah, i havent gotten a light yet and ive wanted a USB charging light but i cant really find one that fits what i want outside of something like olight/fenix but i feel i could get way better quality for the money.

It is the Xtar MC2 plus.
As for the light it depends on your budget but I’m sure you could take a look at cheaper alternatives like the EC01 from Astrolux.

ive looked at that one already, a little big for my tastes personally

have a look at Thrunite, Sofirn and Nitecore flashlights. You can use the parametrek website to find flashlights according to your needs.

something small, USB powered, and works with both Eneloop and LiIon:
https://www.amazon.com/Olight-Universal-Magnetic-Charger-Batteries/dp/B071NZ5S3F/

Go for the PB2S if you don’t want to go bat$#|+ crazy on a charger.

It’s a little bigger than the original PB2, but takes 21700s and as improved handling of powerbank functions (eg, gets rid of the Apple bug). And doubles as a powerbank as well as charger, of course.

Oh yeah, it will fit 26650s to charge, but you won’t be able to keep the lid on it, but it’s nice to know they will fit.

Check HKJ’s reviews here:

https://lygte-info.dk/info/roundCellChargerIndex%20UK.html

For a two bay charger, I’m a big fan of the Nitecore UMS2. It can charge multiple chemistries and sizes (including 32650 cells and long, protected 21700 cells). It has a great deal of options when charging. Charging currents are selectable from 100-3000mA in 100mA increments. It even has a mode for restoring over-discharged Li-ion cells. It shows the charge state of both cells on the screen simultaneously.

Its only downside that I can find is that it does not have any analyzing/capacity measuring functions.