I’d say Molicel P45B. With all the relabeled cells it’s hard to tell what’s underneath the wrap, may be good or bad. The Molis are spendy but known to be excellent.
Thanks, I put some Samsung 40T in, as they’re true button tops. I nearly went with the Moli, as I know they’ll be genuine, but for a kind of occasional torch like the Q8 Plus they’re expensive.
If you look at that Fogstar link above, Ben who founded the company, got so fed up with fake cells he travelled to SE Asia and visited the factories that manufacture the genuine article and bought direct. It’s great to have a UK supplier so thoroughly trustworthy.
He also batch tests his batteries randomly. Here’s a bit of the company history.
Where it all started…
Our journey began back in 2016, and what an incredible journey it has been.
Having unknowingly purchased fake 18650 batteries on numerous occasions, the owner of Fogstar - Ben Facer - was struggling to find a genuine supply of batteries across the UK market. Ben went on quite the journey, purchasing and testing batteries as he received them, enabling him to really understand the qualities to look for in authentic cells.
It soon became apparent that many UK vendors were unknowingly selling fake batteries, unaware of the potential dangers and safety implications.
Ben set about sourcing manufacturers, and importing cells to the UK. Ben would test their legitimacy before selling them on to consumers – thus ensuring a safe supply of REAL batteries across the UK.
Not content with the high number of fake cells still flooding the market, Ben sought to revolutionise the battery retail sector, putting battery safety at the forefront of the Fogstar brand.
In 2018, the team met with the UK Government to discuss the ‘EU battery directive’ and explore ways in which Fogstar could become a legally compliant supplier of authentic batteries to the UK and EU markets. It soon became apparent that significant investment would be required to take Fogstar forward. This would involve the purchase of a special printing machine that shoots out ink and binds it to the battery surface using electricity. As a Fogstar customer, you’ll notice this print on ALL of the Li-ion cells we sell.
As part of the EU battery directive, the team also set about ensuring full in-house testing and traceability of all battery cells, implementing a new online testing platform called EXOCELL. This system gave all cells a unique 4-digit code which, upon entering online, provided full authentication of the batteries purchased. This was the first system of its kind in the world.