there has been much debate as to whether or not the l2i is a good host for 18650 applications. some say yes (with modification or not screwing down the bezel all the way), and some say no. i say that if you can't tighten the bezel and/or tailcap all the way then no, it isn't a good host for that sized battery. i gave up on trying to make it a good host for the 18650's and committed it to junk drawer duty with the 3xaaa module it came with until i tested out a tenergy protected 18650 in it that i bought off of ebay. the battery was about 3mm's shorter than a similar fandyfire battery that i was using and not seeing good results of the fit factor. the tenergy fits like a glove and allows the tailcap and bezel to tighten down completely with no binding or crunching unlike with the fandyfire. even more important, i don't have to find that "sweet spot" where it's just tight enough to not cause the light to not click on (unlike the fandyfire). i guess what i'm saying is a found a new love for this light since i have found that i don't have to mod it in any way to get it to do what it is supposed to do. my question for you guys is have any of you tried to use 26650's in this host? seems that it would fit in this host but i'm uncertain.
The l2i easily takes an 18650 without modification and with the head screwed on all the way. I know that I have written about it on at least three occasions. It's my favorite SF host.
I tried a DX protected 25500. No go. Just slightly too big in diameter. I'd really like to see SF come up with an L2 compatible body to fit 25-26mm cells. Sadly, the L2i is not it. It could probably be bored to take them but that would also remove the threads for the tailcap unless you bored from the head end and that would require some kind of removable sleeve to reestablish an electrical/thermal path to the drop-in. FWIW, I am pretty confident that a sub c would fit.
I think something like 22650 would be best for this body but all I could find is 22500 which isn't that much a change over a 18650. And 18650 that fits in this body is a Samsung 2200 unprotected battery. The protected Trustfire's I had were just too tall for this light.
I keep a 1.2-4.2V 3 Mode Solarforce R5 drop-in in it and use it as a NiMh or AAA backup for my Lithium guns. This drop in really punches a good amount of light with this battery combination and it lasts until the batteries are completely dead.
Yeah, its the tailcap that I see being the problem. Well, it was worth a shot. At least it takes those tenergy 18650 protected cells. Almost seems they were made for it! It’s a damn nice host. Too nice in fact to waste away in a junk drawer eating through aaa’s!
have u tried replacing the spring on the tailcap and/or dropin?
i use unprotected 18650 in this host. it fits without problem with the stock spring. but i am a bit picky so i replaced the tailcap spring with a shorter one to make it more comfortable.
Even though I prefer li-ion to standard batteries, I wanted to keep the light unmodified so that I have that option. I tried to make it a dedicated 18650 light by removing the forward spring but for some reason all it did was chew up battery wrappers. I'm one to like to have things function as they are instead of how they could if I just did this or that.
Well, I wouldn’t want to loose the AAA option either but modifying the drop-in sounds like the safest option. Maybe you can remove the spring from the drop in and add it to the battery pack.
Another option could be modifying the battery adapter into a parallel lion setup but it wouldn’t gain anything I guess.
Another thing I were planning to mention on a new thread is that I could use a 18650 in a NexTorch myTorch AAA with slight modifications on the battery, which makes the twice expensive myTorch 18650 somewhat redundant. I love the abilities of these 3xAAA lights.
The way I do it now is to loosen the head as far as it will go. Load battery from the back and make sure it clears to the driver. With the head loose it can drop in there. Now screw on the tailcap all the way. Tighten head. The battery fits easily. The problem is that it jams on the ridge inside. The problem is NOT that the battery is too long. If you clear the ridge inside the battery fits just fine. Even protected batteries.
I bought a cheap zoomie on ebay once that had a sleeve in it that fit an L2i perfectly. That is the way to go if you can find something the right size. I looked all over Home Depot and was never able to find anything else that fit perfectly.
what about a clear piece of plastic tubing if the battery doesn't go in you can slit it down the side ...As long as it covers 75% or more around it. It will still center the battery and stop rattle although i doubt rattle is an issue with this light since it's a tight fit head to tail
If you take the drop-in out and load the battery from the head end, you don't have to try and miss the ridge. Kind of a pain oif you have the drop-in tightly wrapped though.
I agree it's a nice host even if you just use the 3xAAA holder, though maybe not for XM-L drop-ins.
You gotta mess with it but if you load from the head, an 18650 works great in an L2i. I actually load unprotected Panasonics (the Reverend's) from the bottom. If I use a wrapped battery with the spring, the spring catches under the wrap and will eventually tear it off at the top.
When I load from the bottom and don't have the battery centered just right, the light will come on when electrical contact is made and the light will not turn off.
So configured, with a good drop-in an L2i will feel and perform like a much more expensive flashlight. I'll take a $9 L2i over the best UltraFire 50xjunk made.
I must say that this was the first host I bought after reading your review. It really is like jewlery. Can't believe the quality for the price. I'm spoiled for all other brands now. Why can't they all make quality like this for the same price point?
I've always wondered the same thing. I think Langcjl has bought quite a few and gifts them. The recipient would think you spent a lot more than you did.
Just slightly too big in diameter. I'd really like to see SF come up with an L2 compatible body to fit 25-26mm cells. Sadly, the L2i is not it. It could probably be bored to take them but that would also remove the threads for the tailcap unless you bored from the head end and that would require some kind of removable sleeve to reestablish an electrical/thermal path to the drop-in. FWIW, I am pretty confident that a sub c would fit.