I used to buy from AW, never had any complaints at all, but since air freight’s become a problem I haven’t lately.
Nowadays I buy from MountainElectronics — much faster, no complaints, he knows what he’s doing.
http://www.banggood.com/2PCS-Sanyo-3_7v-2800mAh-UR18650ZT-Rechargeable-L…
These must be UN protected? Doesn’t say anywhere I can see, so I guess not.
Except they are out of stock on all the 3100, 3400 maH 18650…. I can’t find them anywhere.
I would go with the Sanyo UR18650fm, solid battery, holds high brightness for longer (less voltage sag) and available from places like fasttech, illumination supply and mountain electronics (last time i checked which was a while ago)
My opinion is — if MtnElectronics can’t get the cells, they aren’t available; you ought to ask directly about what and when they can supply that’s known good.
I’m sure there are people who would sell you fakes if you insist you have to have that cell right now — there are whole websites out there dedicated to selling the fake wrappers and size-changing crap to make garbage look like whatever you want to pay for.
I’ve recently seen news reports of li-ion battery fires inside China, which I never used to see reported at all. I suspect that means there’s beginning to be some attention paid to controlling the production and transportation of the really dangerous crap there.
There’s no standard for materials nor for construction of li-ion batteries, part of the problem is assemblers substuting whatever’s available cheaper that looks about the same.
The FAA’s been repeating tests on what should be the same product — and finding different and surprising results and new risk conditions each time.
And li-ion cells by design have this long time delay problem — crystals start to grow after a while and eventually may poke a hole in the membrane that should separate the reactants, at which point it suddenly starts to heat up. Replacing the chemistry and making the internal parts less susceptible to eventual failure is a big deal right now.
But the cheapsters aren’t waiting. They’re selling what they’ve got. Remember the electric tobacco product dispensers are a big ballooning market right now.
Me, I’m going back more and more to Eneloops.
Hate to jump in uninvited, but the reason I don't have any Sony VTC5 cells is because none of the reputable suppliers have them right now. I get messages every day from unknown/up and coming companies trying to sell me VTC5s or other hard to get cells, but I won't buy from them--the risks are just too big. Some well-known companies have recently been sold and tricked by good counterfeits.
Regarding the Sanyo UR18650FM: I did carry them, but they weren't popular at all--in fact, they were the slowest selling cell I've ever carried. I thought they were an excellent cell for the money.
You were invited since i mentioned your store 
What disadvantages do other cells have compared to the ur18650fm, i have only owned a laptop pull and these cells
Well, thank you for jumping in uninvited, that explains it I think.
Is Mtn Electronics your business?
Any guess how long/when to get any of these? I guess not.
Panasonic NCR18650B Protected 3400mAh
Panasonic NCR18650BD Protected 3200mAh
Panasonic NCR18650PF Protected 2900mAh
I’ve just been through the order and wait…. wait… 2 months, run out the paypal clock, start over.
Allan: Yes, Mountain Electronics (aka MTN Electronics) is my business. I expect a restock on all of those cells by early next week.
Bort: Honestly, in most lights around 3A there isn't any big advantage over the UR18650FM which has good voltage sag characteristics and good capacity. The PF/BD have a bit more capacity, but may not be worth the price. As you probably know, the 3400mAh B has more capacity, but also a bit more voltage sag than the FM. The big advantage to the higher drain cells is in the souped up lights; the super-high-drain cells (20R, 25R, HE2, EFEST 35A) can really put out a lot of current without breaking a sweat. The PF/BD are great compromise cells, sitting somewhere in the middle of the high-drain and capacity continuum (although the BD is right up there!).
The 4.35V cells offer some advantages in a lot of single cell lights, since they start off with a big voltage overhead advantage and maintain good capacity. Downside is that they can only handle around 6A discharge and require a special charger.
Yes. Highly recommended.
You said you want safety and good value.
For safety reasons use brands that manufacture known, reliable and thoroughly tested cells: Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, Samsung, LG.
Use protected cells to gain some additional chance to avoid overcharging or overdischarging.
Buy from a reliable source. Odds are much higher to avoid fake cells or faulty protection circuits.
For good value (if that meant: lowest price per mAh) take some intermediate capacity cells. Top notch cells like Panasonic 3400 are more expensive when it comes to $/mAh.
A protected Sanyo UR18650FM, 2600 mAh, 4.2V, is a very good bread-and-butter cell up to 3A.
Stay away from any battery with FIRE in the name. Remember Fire in the name, can lead to Fire in the hand!
I discovered BLF this spring and I have to say I love it. I've read a lot but only joined now because I didn't have much to contribute. I think now is the right time.
What about these batteries? They have safer chemistry than LiCo, they have decent capacity and fair price. One problem is I don't know if/where you could find them in US and at such low price. Offtopic, I'd love to see a review of these.
Also these and these are branded, trusted and cheap but with lower capacity and not the safest chemistry.
Mountain Electronics has the LG ICR batteries in stock for US purchasers as well as some Samsung too.
Trust batteries made by LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo and Sony. Efest, Orbtronic, Soshine and EVVA are repackagers who add protection circuits and/or button tops to the better name brand base batteries and then sell under their own names. There are other such repackagers too as the major battery makers do not generally speaking make protected or button top batteries. The repackagers SHOULD list the base batteries they use.
Reportedly for 26650 batteries King Kong are good quality and RMM now has EVVA 26650 high capacity batteries too.
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