That price is very good, considering how low internal resistance Intl-Outdoor’s protection circuits have
To see what I mean, here’s for comparison, IOS vs Xtar, same cell:
Intl-outdoor are keeppower OEM too I think, so they should be the same as the ones at cnqg.
Who knows 
they both have great reputation, and price difference is negligible, so it’s a matter of button top (Keeppower) vs raised top (Intl-Outdoor Store) I guess.
They did that when they hosted the Olympics too IIRC.
Got a few from cnq shipped yesterday hopefully they'll make it through.
Hi!
I had done a lot of research on “button top” vs “raised top” and even got in touch with HKJ to see what he recommended. His answer was clear and unequivocal. It appears that some high-end flashlights cannot be used with the broader “raised top” and the “button tops” are not only compact but they do make good contact with any good spring as long as there is the normal amount of pressure.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Bob
Raised tops are more mechanically robust though.
Very true.
I also like them, especially in series where the cells are end to top.
Surely button top are better for that?
Do these fit into the Skyray King or any Nitecore Tiny Monster? Experience anyone?
Just for the record, confirmed by my experience:
DO NOT FIT IN ZEBRALIGHT SC600
DO FIT IN SKYRAY KING MIMIC
DO FIT IN ULTRAFIRE SH98 (SIPIK 98 CLONE)
DO FIT IN TN31
Fit fine in the TM26 and should fit easily in the SRK considering my longer Panasonic’s fit
How would these cells (Panasonic NCR18650B in general) handle 10A drain?
Very bad. They will get hot and well, you dont want hot LiIon cells.
So whats the point of having the protection as high as 11,5A?
Most cells can do 2C right? (??) So 6,8A should be ok, and pushing the limits a bit higher would probably not be that bad (despite decreasing battery life)? Or am I off now? (I know 1C is what is really recommended).
I know mountain electronics have protected PF (Orbtronic), but protection kicks in around 6,5A...
A couple of years ago the extra current was necessary due to incan bulbs (They require a high starting current).
Today you get slightly higher voltage at high current. You can usual expect about 0.1 volt drop over the protection, before it trips.
I.e. a 12A protection will have 0.1 volt drop at 12A or 0.05 volt drop at 6A
A 6A protection will have 0.1 volt drop at 6A, i.e. it will have 0.05 volt lower output voltage.
For most people this difference does not really matter, but there are some people around here that want everything they can get from the batteries.
Thanks for the explanation HKJ.
What are your thoughts on 8A continuous drain from one of these cells?
I prefer to keep them well under 2C and use high current cells for 8A (I.e. NCR18650PF).
My intl-outdoor 2900mAh (PD) Protected cells probably have around 11,5A trip current, but those cells are not available anymore. (And they were pretty expensive). I am not aware of any of the newer PF cells with protection at 8A++.