i did a few forum searches… turns out there are about 1,000,000 different types of 16430 batteries, each with varying capacities, rated discharges, and prices (spiderfire, trustfire, ultrafire, turdfire, anusfire, etc.)
i have owned a few eagle tac 16340s … never really had an issue with them, however they were mostly used for an xre r2 ez900 dereelight running at about 1.5amps
i need to get myself 1 or 2 16340 for an olight s10 baton (which will draw a decent amount of current) i ordered from fastech thats on the way… idealy i would like the battery to be protected and still be able to fit
what are my options? i was thinking about getting some trustfire flames for the price (approx $5 from mf or dx)
solarforce cells look ok, but a little bit long and might not fit?
Well, I just got my S10 yesterday and none of my protected TF Flames 16340 fit it. All too long to complete the ground at the cap. VERY discouraging. I heard that some have just barely gotten Xtar 16340 protected to fit in it but they have to really crank down on the tailcap. An unprotected IMR cell should work fine. I had to do some digging to find some unprotected Flames. Tmart and Fasttech only sell protected versions so I had to go to DX where you can still get them. Who knows how long it will take for them to arrive? Could be 2 weeks...could be 4 or 5 weeks. :(
Oddly enough, the S20 is the opposite of the S10. It takes all cell sizes, even my Xtar 18700 cells fit and work without crushing the cap (but just barely).
What’s the deal with Yezl 16340 batteries? I’ve seen plenty of good reviews about them, but I’ve not been able to locate any vendors with them in stock. Are they discontinued?
Solarforce seems to be the best and can be had for $3.50 each + $2 at Solarforce-Sales.com. Their shipping is fairly quick too. Usually about 5-7 business days in the 3 times I have ordered from them.
Thanks for this info, oRAirwolf. SolarForce has certainly built up a respectable reputation for good quality budget P60 style lights. Batteries are another thing… I have to expect they’re just repackaging a different brand. But if they are well received then I’ll give ’em a shot.
No worries! To be honest, I was told by a friend in the industry that no well known companies (Panasonic, Sanyo, Samsung etc) make 16340’s. The ones that are available, regardless of price or seller rep, are all kind of a crap shoot in terms of actual mAh and build quality.
Well, I wouldn’t go by the word of just one person, even if a friend in the industry. I have seen some brands exhibit very mixed quality while others are lauded to be more reliable. All of the [name]fire brands (Ultrafire, Trustfire, Uniquefire, Spiderfire, Underfire, Blazingfire, Pantsonfire, etc) are probably all sourced from the same Chinese manufacturer, just cloaked in different skins and names that partially mimic the legendary trusted Surefire. I’ve seen enough bad reports from people to just stay away from those (a few bucks saved is not worth the risk of fire or explosion).
Nitecore is now selling a 16340 that looks decent, but is rated at only 650mAh. I’d rather spend a little less and get an 880mAh cell from a reputable brand.
I did a quick test of the protected Nitecore 16340’s and the Trust fire flame 16340’s, wasn’t a very scientific test, but it gave me an idea which one has more mah…. I took both straight from the charger and put them in my two BLF mini’s. I then turned them both on medium and waited for them to die, I then recharged the batteries and redid the test with the cells in the opposite lights, just to eliminate efficiency issues between the two lights. and to my surprize in both my test the Trust Fire lasted about 40% longer!
like I said not real scientific and gives no indication of actual mAh, but the Nitcores are rated at 650mAh and the TF’s at 880Mah. and going by Nitecore’s reputation of accurately rating their products one may assume that the rated mAh may be close to correctly labeled….
Another factor to consider is the number of charge cycles and the capacity drop-off. I’ve read about tests done over on CPF where Trustfire and Ultrafire cells were terrible for longevity, often dying in less than half the number of cycles compared to brand name cells. And a rapid reduction of maximum capacity. So, you may find that the 40% advantage dissipates after several dozen charge cycles.
yes that very well may be the case as both batteries were brand new. seems though if you can get genuine TF’s they seem pretty good. I wish Panasonic would step upto the plate and start making 16340’s
