My first serious flashlight. Love it. I want to buy extra batteries and a holster. Any recommendations?
I won’t pay the ridiculous price for batteries from Acebeam. But I want extra batteries that maintain the high output of the P18.
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Welcome on BLF !
Real question… :
You just gave quite some money for the flashlight that you like… ! Why you don’t get the proper batteries from the same brand… !?
It came with one battery but I want some extras for extended use and they are more expensive to buy from OEM.
But maybe I’m wrong. Should I be buying them from Acebeam? They are $24 each and I need to buy 4 at a time. That expensive and more than I want
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It’s up to you man !
I have only two Fenix flashlight and my spare batteries are Fenix too… ! When i have a 70$+ flashlight and it’s like a tool too me, im not gonna make any compromise on the batteries for 10-15$+… or so ! Just my opinion !
Not sure about the holster, but yes you can use any 21700 cell that you like inside that light. Flat top or button, protected or not. I don’t know what cell they use beneath their wrapper but it’s just a plain button top. If you take a look at Liion Wholesale or Illumn (or 18650battery.com) they have quite a few to choose from. I would probalby go for the Vapcell G50 (which is a Samsung 50G inside) or the Samsung 50E…both have similar high 5000ish capacity and can handle the current this light will use (the 50G having less sag, so maybe a little better turbo performance and a smidge more run time). The Molicel P42A and P45B are popular…higher drain capability that you don’t need here and a bit lower capacity but they’re excellent cells. They have some others from Sinowatt, Eve, Keeppower, etc and they’d all be fine as well…Liion has some with their own house wrapper and they only use good cells when they do that (usually as button-added). If you ever buy a light from Sofirn or Wurkkos, the cells they usually include are very good also (and cheap to boot).
It’s nice that Acebeam kept springs on both ends - there’s been a move toward solid contact posts on the head rather than a spring, and sometimes that limits your cell selection or gives issues when the light is bumped hard.
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btw…companies just love it when undereducated customers think they need to stick with the brand name and buy from the source. I mean $24 for a plain jane cell is kind of robbery even if it’s a high quality cell they use. Sometimes you do need to stick with the brand, like Olight and a few others when they use proprietary cells (either for current flow/design or just for charging setup) and those are getting more common unfortunately, but often you can use a stock plain cell instead (may have to use a button or protection for length purposes in some lights, depending). It’s irritating when companies try to play this up, though, and aren’t honest with their customers. Nitcore and Fenix were both pretty bad about doing this (maybe still are). Even worse when customers regurgitate the myth when it doesn’t apply. Get a better battery or even two for the same price as a brand-wrapped cell?..sign me up, yes please.
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Be careful TS… probably some guys prefer to screw a bolt on the battery, instead to spend a few money and buy right batteries… !?
Thank you for your detailed and helpful reply. Right on target for me.
Hello,
Just to be sure I understand well :
Why do you need to buy 4 at a time ?
Regards
Acebeam requires to buy at least 4 at a time.
I suspect it may have to do with shipping from China.
Ok 
You’re right, I didn’t see that.
It’s true that to spend 100 bucks to get a battery (even if you get 4 new of it, most of it will may remains useless), it’s quite expensive for a 129$ flashlight 
Personally, I prefer to buy one official battery for a brand new high power flashlight (to secure the material, to avoid warranty issues and to be sure to get Bright level and endurance that you just bought). It’s only my opinion, I know that some smart guys will find good batteries at 7$, that’s another strategy.
So in your case, I would suggest to find another site which sell official batteries one by one. It will depends on your country. For example, in France I find it : Batterie Acebeam IMR 21700 5100 mAh LIR - ecologeek4u
Good luck 
By the way, have you already bought the flashlight ? On some sites (not acebeam one) I see they got an option to buy directly the flashlight+ one additional battery
I have bought the flashlight direct from Acebeam and received it. Amazing light!
The batteries available from flashlight companies are often not manufactured by that company. They are often commercially available cells with a different shrink-wrap on them which cost double-quadruple the price. Regardless of who manufactured the original, you can reliably choose the right cell for your flashlight if you know the specs of the flashlight or the specs of the original battery.
Some of the considerations:
- Physical dimensions of cell, especially length
- Continuous current draw rating of the original cell, and/or amp draw measurements for the light
- Was the original cell protected? Is there a good reason for that?
The main thing is to buy your batteries from a reputable source. Amazon is NOT a reputable place to buy lithium ion cells. There are tons of bootleg cells there that are out-of-spec.
You want a website like 18650batterystore, Illumn or some other reputable battery seller that you can find recommended here or on /r/flashlight. Many of the cells sold at these sites are manufactured by huge companies whose name you would recognize. (Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic/Sanyo) These large brands actually manufacture many of the cells that flashlight brands wrap with their brandname and logos.
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Thanks for the info dude
Yeah man no problem !
I simply see some things my own way !
I have experience somewhere to 10years on Li-ion batteries, and i have a lot of them and without any issues… although i preferred to bay the proper ones from the same brand… because i have only two flashlights and i use them every single day and i see them like my tools and i really like them… ! And not like some other members that they playing the experts and giving wrong advices, especially on new members when they don’t really know how good they are and if they know about these things… ! And probably they have many flashlights but in reality they are Self Queens… and trying to find “cheap-ish” batteries around the web… and some others that they break down battery packs to save a few dollars per battery… !
I think that you can get my point of view and what im talking about… !?
Check out some posts in these threads and you will understand a lot of things… ! I even got suspended because probably some experts flaged my post… Just L☻L … !
No one can say you are wrong if it makes you happy. But in my “opinion” you are wasting money and maybe not even getting the best cells.
The Acebeam cells have a ridiculous markup. You need to buy 4. AND we have no idea what they are. Again, in my “opinion” just an inferior option.
@Wiredrob, take a look at the alternate suggestions posted above. You will get better bang for your buck and lose nothing. IMVHO
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Probably you didn’t read my previous post… !?
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Tartara, we tried this in the Amazon Deals thread, but this is slightly different on this thread…I guess. Why don’t you tell us what is “proper” or better about the Acebeam cell…and/or what might be improper about other cells for that model of flashlight? Ten years, you must know this.
(by the way, I assume your anonymous finger pointing is directed at me and now you’re doing that in more than one thread. For the record, I didn’t flag any of your posts. They were removed by the time I revisited the thread so I have no idea what you said other than from others’ comments that suggested you used aggressive language or something. I actually tried to send you a message, good faith, but when I hit the send button your account had already been suspended. Just so ya know.)
But really…what’s your worry here or why is your advice/opinion so strong? What are the facts.
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@Wiredrob , if you want, tells me in which country you live, I’ll try to find an official battery on a “compatible” website (I don’t promise any result
) -
@CollectEverything : I read your point of view and I understand and am agree with. If you want, as an exemple, could show us how to find a compatible battery for a P18 defender ? I don’t understand every parameter :
Acebeam 21700 5100mAh 3.7V LIR protected
High discharge 10A , max 20A
Is this enough to find an equivalent? -
@TARTARA : I read your point of view and I understand and am agree with.
By curiosity, what are your two main “heavy duty” flashlights ? -
@Mandrake50 : I read your point of view and I understand and am agree with
Note : In my case my two mains flashlights are Olight’s so it’s proprietary or even built-in. I’ve no choice anyway