Hello
Can you please tell me which are (in your opinion) best protected and unprot. cells at this moment.
Maybe you can limit your answer to top 3 cells in both categories.
Thank you
Kind regards
I’m following this thread too. I’m a year out of touch and would like to know what the scene is on unprotected high drain cells.
For general use: NCR18650B with protection (I don't see much difference between brands, only the length added by the protection circuit varies). For high drain use: Samsung 30Q.
For capacity:
Sanyo NCR18650GA - Protected versions include Keeppower, EVVA, Orbtonics, Olight
LG MJ1
Panasonic NCR18650B - Many protected versions out there
For high drain (unprotected flat-top stock factory cells)
Samsung 30Q
LG HG2
Sony VTC5
I like the LG18650D1 a lot, they are 4.35V batteries and they have a nice and high discharge voltage which lets simple drivers maintain the brightness for a long time.
They are not made for really high currents so for any fetdriver light the use of a 30q is better.
I also have some samsung25r they perform about the same(maybe slightly worse)as the 30q but have lower capacity.
There are three main category of 18650 battery.
The IMR18650, INR18650 are unprotected by PCB (because it use special chemical and don’t need PCB) but they give high-drain that is best for e-cigars and flashlights
And ICR18650 has protected by PCB, they has high-capacity, that is best for the devices which need stable-continue-current such as laptops, cameras, etc.
While we’re at it, what’s the best high drain unprotected 26650 on the market.
Do you maybe know where can I get cheapest price for samsung 30q and panasonic ncr18650b?
Thank you
usually keeppower IMR 4200mah is recommended for that.
take a look at the 26650 comparator to see for yourself.
gearbest: $8.59
banggood: $12.99
I agree on the LG D1 4.35V.
For my lights (3A and below) the LG D1 18650 (only comes in unprotected) seem to have the best performance according to HKJ’s charts.
Best performance meaning it’ll keep the high level longer than other cells.
The d1 is available as a protected cell on aliexpress…
I have non but they are available.
Thanks I wasn’t aware of that.
I wonder if the protection circuit is actually 4.35V. The one’s HKJ has tested on 4.35V cells have been tripped around 4.3V irrc.
EDIT: the recent Keeppower 2500mAh 16650 HKJ tested is technically a 4.35V cell but the protection circuit stops at 4.3V.
The Aliexpress LG D1 I have no idea but might even use a 4.20V protection circuit for all we know.
as far as I know it’s the keeppower 5200mAh that’s the best 26650 cell, available at http://www.nkon.nl/ and gearbest
He asked for high drain cells, and if you look at the comparator you’ll see that the 4200 mah keeps its voltage higher all the way.
Redilast Panasonic is the most expensive, but also the best, IMO. It is between those or Orbtronic. As for unprotected, I've yet to find better than Sanyo 2600s or Samsung Rs.
keeppower IMR 5200mAh is high drain also, and higher capacity than keeppower IMR 4200mAh, at all currents according to Battery test-review 26650 comparator
There is an IMR and non-IMR version of keeppower 5200mAh cell
Yes, but when we talk about high drain batteries, higher voltage during high load is better. Since higher voltages means our LEDs get more current, and (if sufficiently cooled) that means we get more light.
We often mod flashlights to be “hotrods”, where output is king, and runtimes not as important. That’s why voltage under load is more important than maximum mah.
if you look at HKJ’s graphs, you see that the extra capacity the 5200 mah has over the 4200 mah is @ 3.4V (for 3A loads).
And if we then take a look at djozz graphs (post #51, with both XM-L2 and XP-G2 graphs) we see that at 3.4V our hotrod flashlight isn’t as hotrod anymore.
And if you’re happy with that kind of output, you really don’t need high drain batteries. And if you don’t need high drain capabilities, you would be well served by the extra mah a 5200 mah battery has 
We have batteries forum here! Please do some homework!
Regarding the D1I asked once a seller and he promised that he uses high class protection circuits which have 4.35V limit…I never bought them because I only needed them for my courui so I went with the unprotected without the fear that the protection kicks in to early…
Regarding the 26650 I also have a keepower IMR 4200 and it is almost the best cell HKJ has tested there was one which was slightly better but I forgot which…
My favorites right now, I’m replacing all my Panny A/B/BD, LG HE, Sam 25R for these two:
High drain: Samsung 30Q
Sub-3A Mid/Low drain: Sanyo GA