Hi guys,
Uk lightaholic here, ive brought multiple 18650s but the site i usually get them from doesn’t sell 26650, Just treated myself to an Astrolux EA04 and realised i’m not sure of a reputable site ot buy them from!
I’ve found these links below anyone have any better or these good to go?
Thanks in advanced!
HLY 26650
Astrolux 26650
I would be wary of buying batteries in places like Banggood, the chance is high you’d get fakes or inferior rewraps.
Have you tried NKON? They have a good reputation, and I know UK is not in EU anymore, but at least they’re nearer, and seem to have a good variety of these 26650 batteries: Rechargeable batteries: 26650 | NKON
Not a lot of 26650 around lately. Convoy, vapcell. Sofirn has 26650s too that are probably on par with the ones convoy sells. People in Europe use nkon alot too I hear. They’re supposed to be good. I got some vapcell 26650s direct from vapcell and they’re fine.
Nothing really stands out that much from the rest except maybe the >6000mah vapcells, but mostly just for the capacity. Not a lot of options.
Don’t buy a protected one.
Ecoluxshop might be a solution, they have their own site and also sell through eBay.
I haven’t bought from them for years though so don’t know what their operating state is now, but they seemed ok when i bought from them.
That said, i’ve just seen they do quite obscure batteries such as 10180s, and LiFePO4 14500s that i’m curious to try, so i might be placing an order myself!
And… i just placed an order. (Where’s the head in hands emoji when i need it.)
That got expensive quickly 
If you can find a Golisi S43 26650 they’re really good. That’s all I could find here in Australia recently.
This battery should have been discontinued for many years
Vapcell’s 26650 4200mah is also out of stock this year
I have Vapcell G53 and it is very good cell.
The Golisi? It’s working fine for me in a high drain Emisar flashlight.
only 20A CDR，but it is good cell 
I use it in my Sofirn SP 33S and it is better than Liitokala 5500 which I get with flashlight.
After having a 26650 5000 mAh failure i opened the battery up and found inside an 18650 2600 mah battery with the label on it.
I got these off amazon
I suspect this is more common than people think
Tbh this green-black wrap looks very fakey to me. (Font, incomplete type or P/N of this cell, “26650A” sounds very generic, normally there would be something like INR26650-xxE or something similar)
Also the weight is a good indicator, but sometimes the fake-cell manufacturers fill the empty space with sand or something to cover this up…
Welcome to BLF! You’ve got lucky in some respects, opening up a real cell like that could have some nasty consequences (fire).
26650 is a bit of a dying breed, there are still some options though. What is the light/gadget you’re trying to power? Knowing the intended use case will help suggestions based on current draw, physical size, buttontop format, etc.
Just for starters, last 26650s I bought were in Octoberish 2023, from the AliExpress Vapcell store, delivered to UK without issues.
It’s nice of you to join us, Squint!
