Fasttech has them at $4.69 but you have to buy 4. So, no, not cheaper than the PF. The HE2 is a better battery than the PF for high drain applications.
So, the PFs at NKON is probably not a bad buy…
In my eyes the age of the cell is important too, new cells seem to give higher amps…
I've done quite a bit of testing over several DD lights, all single cell, some single LED, some multiple LED's. The ony choice in my mind, not factoring price, is the HG2 or 30Q, and the 30Q did slightly more consistently better than the HG2 - not much more. I would consider them (now) equals since the differences have to be within the margin of error. Earlier I really thought the 30Q was superior. Funny because both are Korean cells, so wonder if they share technology or components, etc. They do seem to release cells in the same range of capabilities and capacities. Final manufacturing may have some variations, but maybe not much.
You have to go with a higher capacity cell- these 30Q's and HG2's do seem to hold high amps longer. Same here - I was begging HKJ to test these, but, he had his priorities and queues.
shrick - I've bought a lot of cells from FT over the years and never got fakes.
brown turds or pinky rosey... Great choice 
Thanks for your input Tom…
For every day use though, you can't beat the 10A cells. I've started with the PD's, then PF's, BD's (I think), and the LG 3200 mAh cells, now I got a few of the SANYO GA's and ordered some of the LG MJ1's. The high amps cells are great for quoting instantaneous output at 0 secs fully charged (pretty useless really), but for real usage, you'll find GA's in my lights - much more consistent, not insane droppage and insane heat - they work great with spring bypass's and all the tweaks - more output with some decent consistency.
My Post #4998 in https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/31076 re-printed here:
Was curious how these cells compare in an A6, so, I did a shoot-out compare of the Samsung 30Q vs. the LG HG2 cells in a BLF Manker A6 with the 3D XP-L, and what the effect is of adding the bypass's on the springs:
Operation in Order |
Sam Q30 #1 |
Sam Q30 #2 |
LG HG2 #1 |
LG HG2 #2 |
Volts measured |
4.21v |
4.22v |
4.22v |
4.22v |
Amps measured |
4.39A |
4.35A |
4.38A |
4.27A |
0 – 10 secs (lumens) |
1190-1122 |
1241-1176 |
1275-1193 |
1268-1193 |
Volts measured |
4.18v |
4.19v |
4.20v |
4.19v |
--- Tail spring bypass added --- |
||||
0 – 10 secs (lumens) |
1411-1340 |
1428-1343 |
1401-1333 |
1401-1333 |
Volts measured |
4.16v |
4.17v |
4.18v |
4.18v |
--- Driver spring bypass added, Nyogel applied on threads --- |
||||
0 – 10 secs (lumens) |
1506-1411 |
1503-1408 |
1503-1397 |
1523-1408 |
Volts measured |
4.14v |
4.15v |
4.16v |
4.16v |
--- Cells Re-charged --- |
||||
Volts measured |
4.22v |
4.22v |
4.22v |
4.22v |
Amps measured |
5.47A |
5.45A |
5.38A |
5.36A |
0 – 10 secs (lumens) |
1564-1425 |
1554-1421 |
1530-1411 |
1537-1414 |
@30 secs (lumens) |
1360 |
1353 |
1343 |
1350 |
I let the light cool down between battery tests, at least cool to the touch of the head, and little more. It may not have been long enough - I'm not sure.
Seems to be a pattern the HG2 cells did slightly better before bypass's, while the 30Q's did better afterwards. Differences though are slight, probably within the margins of error.
Certainly for all, the output droppage is pretty high, but for such a small light, not unexpected. Maybe better bonding of the MCPCB to the pill top may help, or even thicker wires.
I’m surprised that no one mentioned the purple Efest IMR 18650 2500mAh. Usually rated near the top in high drain 18650s.
Mike
I suspect the EFEST's are a simple re-brand/relabel maybe packaged better. I've tested my EFEST 35A's against 25R's, HE2's, HE4's, VTC5's and they do well, but do not consistently beat the others. Could be because my EFEST's are dated, not sure. Also my VTC5's don't fair well against the other 2500 high amps cells, but again, could be because of age and use. I also have AWR 2500 high amp cells (yellow wrapper) that do well - right there with HE2's, etc., but suspect they are a re-label also.
Any recommendations for protected cells for multi-cell flashlights?
Did you also notice:
“NOT protected! Don’t buy this unless you know what you are doing!
This battery is NOT for flashlights!
Yes, I know these batteries can be dangerous (tick-Box)”
Shame, I was going to buy some for my “LED Hosts”! 
I assume you mean in series, not parallel. I have no hesitation using unprotected cells in parallel (soup can or COURUI D01), as long as I know I have quality cells and got some sort of working LVP. The protected 10A cells are pretty nice - ones MtnE has I'd highly recommend -- I will basically only buy protected cells from Richard now because he ensures the protection circuits are a good design. The MH1's, MJ1's, and GA's are all good for me.
KeepPower's are decent but KP has cheapened out some I've bought, and swap cells under the wrapper, had a history of mis-labeling, etc. - I don't trust them as much as I used to.
Older cells can have higher internal resistance, but it depends on the cell. I’ve had some Samsung 2800 and 3000mAh (4.3 and 4.35v) cells that had a very bad increase in internal resistance after just 1-2 years on the shelf.
On the flip side, I just cracked open a new old stock laptop battery pack with Sanyo 2400’s. The cell were made over 11 years ago and still perform like new. Resistance is maybe a tad higher (~52 mili ohms @ 1Khz AC), I imagine when new they were in the 45-50 mili ohm range. Capacity was 2380mAh on average from these 11 year old cells. Simply amazing!
Interesting to know that it can be good after 10 years,
Maybe NCR18650PF as someone suggested is cheapest, safest and longest lasting among them... Up to 10A is more than enough for flashlights. We should not underestimate that cell
sorry for my ignorance, what brand is HG2? is it different from LG HE2?
Thank you.
LG makes the HG2's - they are 3000 mAh while the HE2 and HE4 cells are 2500 mAh. See: http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=541
Tom E… it would be great to hear your initial comments on the MJ1s you’ve ordered.
thank you.
They are on the slow boat unfortunately. I wasn't in a rush to get them, so at qty 4 for under $6 each, I went with the BangGood deal on them (Discount code: BLF), qty 4 for $23.40 shipped with tracking. Otherwise, I would have probably ordered them from Richard.
I got qty 4 of the 30Q's on order from BangGood - ordered Aug 7th, shipped Aug. 19th and still not in the country.
Just to follow up a little more on protected cells, there are many brand name cells out there that can sell for a lot of money. The KeepPower Pana 18650B's (3400) used to be the best all-around with an efficient good design protection circuit. The no-name protected version of the Pana 3400's proved to have problem - high resistance and/or the protection circuitry not even working properly.
Today, things are different, but the same. I'll use BG as an example since they have a large selection.
risky no-name protected Pana 3400: http://www.banggood.com/4PCS-NCR-18650B-3_7V-3400mAh-Protected-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery-p-90989.html
KP 3400 good protected: http://www.banggood.com/KeepPower-NCR18650B-3400mAh-Li-ion-Rechargeable-Battery-For-Panasonic-p-936245.html
Excellent protected:
Pana B 2400: http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=55
MJ1 10A 3500: http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=561
GA 10A 3500: http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=289
Richard does his homework in researching the protection circuitry and tests them before offering them to sell on his site. Plus on these cells his prices are very competitive. I think these are the best known good protected cells around.
The MJ1 protected is all-around the best deal - 10A ratd cell w/quality protection circuitry. If you don't care for the LG brand, then the SANYO GA protected is there for a little more money. The Pana B is a lower performing cell with slightly lower capacity - not the leader anymore.
Is there any data available in testing the “excellent” golden-bottom protection circuits and the “risky no-name” silver-bottom protection circuits?
Sorry, for the risky ones, I'm going by memory of the BLF posts on them. I bought some to save a few bucks way back, and regretted it after reading the dismal details on their effectiveness. For Richard's, just read the description under the Pana B protected cell listing. You won't find those details like that anywhere else I know of. I'm not saying Olight brand and NiteCore brands aren't as good, but I know what Richard has gone through in researching these from posts he had done way back. On BLF since I joined, it was always a challenge to get quality cells at resonable prices - many attempt were made to resell good ones both privately known and publicly known, but I think Richard finally got it pretty much right.