I emailed this seller not long ago and ask him if these are for sure the real deal. He assured me that they were. I bought 4 from him.
I’m gonna be using these in my Elektro-Lumens ST90 Search&Rescue Extreme light.
Why didn't you just order from KumaBear? I got two of his 3100 protected's and am very pleased!
-Garry
I have 4 of them from that same seller. Been using them for a couple months and have no doubt that they are real.
He prob gets them from aliexpress and just marks em up a bit.
I didn’t know how much he was on these. And I really didn’t need the 3400mah batteries.
Let me know how much he is on these. If he is cheaper, I will buy from him next time.
See KumaBear's sales thread here. See comment #1 for pricing, although he did comment that prices would be going up a little bit. Genuine Keeppower branded Panasonics tried and tested by our own HKJ and come with battery cases.
-Garry
You can get 4 of those, shipped, for about 10% less than your eBay source - while 'keeping it in the family.'
Win/win.
Here is a link where anyone can buy heat shrink wrappers for 18650 batteries.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3.0.77.saBKb5&id=10193523421&
Compare the clumsy english on the label of the EBay batteries with english on this wrapper
I believe those cells on EBay could be fake
That protection circuit and distinctive black plastic spacer on the negative end look suspiciously like this protection circuit on these samsungs from this Buy in Coins subsidiary.
Even the brownish tape over the plus/minus connection lead looks the same.
So the batteries may be Japanese but the protection circuit may be Chinese - in my case, a NONWORKING Chinese protection circuit.
I bought a couple of the Samsungs and they seem to work fine, but the circuit will not trip for a short circuit or low voltage.
And the negative pole is so flimsy that even a stiff spring permanently dents it. I think if I screwed down the tailcap too tight, the negative contact may even break through the aftermarket negative disk. It’s like double-thick tin foil.
Sorry for the bummer post. I know I hate it when someone points out the possible pitfalls of a recent purchase. Hopefully yours will be different and have no issues at all. Let us know.
I’m through with the battery lottery; I’m sticking with Kumabear. 
dchomak, I don't know about that clumsy english. Check out the same "clumsy english" on this image from int'l Outdoor's Panasonic 3100:
Does anyone have legitimate Panasonic 3100's (clear wrapped) that could post a picture verifying the same or different writing?
-Garry
DX has the same cell - that HJK tested - and found the protection to be just fine.
The cell is a panasonic but its unknown who makes the protection circuit.
Aliexpress them too - with a inside view of the circuit.
When i get home ill post the pictures of the cells i got from the same seller. I dont have much in the way of test equipment but ill do what i can.
Let me know what i can do to test them!
Seller told me for sure these are the real McCoy. No ands, ifs, or buts.
Here is another wrapper for sale with the same exact “clumsy english”
In the song “House Rent Blues” the guy says “ever-body funny, now you funny too”
maybe Int’l Outdoor’s is funny too? I Mean how can we ever know. Buying these things is an act of faith.
and since when does Japan (or China) measure temperature in Fahrenheit?
Seller has a 99.8% feedback rating with almost 98,000 transactions. I got to trust what he told me.
Dear brad870,
These are the real things. I also have some xtar batteries with panasonic cells inside. Both are my best perfomance batteries. Thanks Randy
- r-lsales
John Lee Hooker's song House Rent Boogie is one song that included those lyrics, George Thorogood's "One Bourbon, one Scotch, one beer" is another.
Big fan of both.
Not to insinuate anything, but if you were selling fake batteries as real and someone asked if they were fakes, would you tell them? Remeber, you have to respond how someone who would be unscrupulous enough to sell fakes as real would respond. If they were fakes and even if he knew it and he was selling them as real there is no chance in hell he would tell you they were fake in an email.
Okay here is a REAL Panasonic wrapper. How do I know it’s real? Because I personally pulled this battery from a Dell battery pack. I suppose there is a chance that Dell is buying fake Panasonics from China, but I really don’t think so.
Plus, these batteries are AMAZING, even though used. Some of the best batts (in terms of output, holding a charge, etc.) that I’ve ever used.
And they’re only 2400. And the 2900 and 2600 “real” panasonics I have got from China sellers? Just cannot compare with these and other Panasonic pack pulls. I think most of the unprotected panasonics from china are as fake as the flour-filled trustfires with 14500s inside and all the other fakes floating around out there.
Looks like the Japanese also struggle with the eng.
You’ll know when you get a real Panasonic battery. They just kill everything else. I have pack pulls of the lime green panasonic cgr18650a, which must be 10 years old at this point. Only 2000 mah I think. Beat almost every battery (except pan) that I have. AMAZING batts.
I know that.
But the guy is named Randy, and that sure sounds a lot better than some of the names that I have dealt with. And he’s in the US.
dchomak - your post about these vendors selling Panasonic battery wrappers is quite disturbing. The 2 words, "Buyer Beware" come to mind.
ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS' batteries from his ebay seller looks exaclty like the ones I bought. I took a gamble and bought 10 of these batts from Aliexpress for $8 a piece. I don't have any professional testing equipment but my DESC tests on a hobby charger came back quite close to what HKJ's test reveiled.
My conclusion? I can't say if it is fake or not. However since my results match HKJ's and other Panasonic batteries I bought in the past from other sellers, there's no reason for me to question their validity.
All I have to say is, I don't know know how HKJ does it. Testing batteries can really suck as it takes so much time. I run a few cycles and already want to slit my throat.
I do appreciate all that he does for the rest of us.
| Name | Panasonic NCR18650A 3100mAh | ||||||||
| Purchased Date | 10/30/2012 | ||||||||
| Charge Voltage | ~4.18V | ||||||||
| DESC Time | ~5hrs 50min | ~2hrs 45min | |||||||
| DESC current | 0.5A to 2.8V | Var. | DATE | 1.0A to 2.8V | Var. | DATE | 1.0A to 2.8V | Var. | DATE |
| HKJ's test results | 2994 | N/A | 2923 | N/A | 2923 | N/A | |||
| NCR1 | 2926 | -2% | 31-Oct-12 | 2781 | -5% | 01-Nov-12 | 2785 | -5% | 02-Nov-12 |
| NCR2 | 2914 | -3% | 01-Nov-12 | 2728 | -7% | 01-Nov-12 | 2775 | -5% | 02-Nov-12 |
And even though he is selling some of the cheap UltraFire 18650’s which Marshall at Going Gear sells as well and so does a lot of other reputable sellers who stocks lots of other good batteries, but a guy that is selling this many different batteries in the US I personally highly doubt that he would be selling fake Panasonics. Very few sellers will sell this many type of batteries. That in itself tells me this guy is for real and is serious.
BIGWOOD,
Thanks for the info.
That looks exactly like them.