the occasional frustrated attitude aside, this is actually a surprisingly informative thread!
1. Nothing can do anything outside its true nature, also, there is no randomness in universe. You mean the laws of physics we know today, the laws we knew fifty years ago or the laws we will know in fifty years?
2. Then don't buy Trustfires, there also are AW, XTAR, Solarforce, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony e.t.c. e.t.c.
Yup, waste of my time too...
There is some good info in this thread, and I own some cr123s and rcr123s and generally like them. That said, I would never fault anyone for not liking what I like. In my experience, every choice is a compromise of sorts. Ease of availability, form factor, price......the list goes on. I personally like a single cr123 for an edc, but I wear cargo khakis to work and have other tools and stuff that I need for my job in my pocket, so it's no big deal. If I wore a suit, I'd probably want something slimmer. If I wore a duty belt like a cop I'd probably carry a bigger light since it is naturally gonna fit better in your hand than a light designed to be small.
Cr123 is a good battery and I like it, but I like rechargeable D-cells and 18650's and I even like alkaline for regular use, since they are dirt cheap and available everywhere. Variety is the spice of life!
I totally agree...I was being very generous with my numbers. I thought about mentioning AA lithium primary's but I was pointing out where I thought the 16340 was being confused with the CR123a in comparing with 14500.
None the less I would much rather have rechargeable than primary's except for some backup primary's for emergency.
We also need to think about 3.7 volt current draw versus 3 volt or 1.5 volt. At higher voltages our torches draw less current(or should) so maybe just maybe in some torches a battery with a lower capacity but higher voltage just might run a bit longer than a higher capacity lower voltage battery....Just food for thought because I have never measured this but it would be interesting to see if someone does some test.
I agree. CR-123 lights are great.
I have had some single cell emergency lights on various places and the main reason has been the shelf life of a CR123A primary.
In my car, I have a Cheap SacredFire NF007 (1*CR123A/1*AA/1*AAA) with a CR123A inside.
I am much of a EDC guy where size and reliability matters more than Lumens.
My next EDC might be a Nitecore EX11.2, Olight I1, Fenix PD20 or similar.
But a real resire is the HDS systems EDC clicky. Those lights are a fantastic example of what you can do with a single CR123 light
Whether the current is higher with a higher voltage source is entirely dependent on the driver and we can’t really make a generalization. Some draw more, some draw less, and some draw the same.
It is certainly more efficient to have your battery voltage closer to the forward voltage of the LED. That's why I said that this is one situation where the CR123 beats the 1.5v lithium.
But, you can get 3v lithium AAs. :)
I'm enjoying the heck out of this conversation. :)
if i was starting from scratch, i probably wouldn't buy any 14500/AA lights and buy 16340 lights instead. i got 14500 lights for the versatility of being able to use AA's in them, but i almost never use AA's in my 14500 lights, so advantage gone. now i just have lights that are the same diameter as 16340 lights, but are longer and heavier.
My issue is that most of the RCR123a are 3.7V where all the primaries are 3.0V and many of the lights that take 123s specifically warn against using RCRs as they are not designed for that extra 1.4V. The few true 16340s that run on 3.0v that are safe to use in those lights are woefully under powered when compared to an 18650 or even a decent 17670. The last pair I bought were rated at 800 mAh but barely managed to do 550 in reality.
Main reason (only reason?) I like the AAA and AA format is pure availability. I can loan batteries for my flashlights from almost every place I'm at (peoples remotes, toys etc). And I can buy cheap alkies almost anywhere in the world. I like to have that feeling. But of course, I load up all my lights with Energizer Ultimate Lithiums. I do like the CR123 format though, it packs a punch!
Youre right. The availability of cheap CR123 is limited in Sweden.
AA Lithium primaries are sold almost everywhere
Here's my take as a newbie & non-flashaholic:
LiIon whatever the size is packs more punch due to its higher voltage but compromize on capacity. What I like about CR123/16340 is the size. Primaries are expensive, over here they retail for more than $3 each, rechargeable makes a lot more sense.
CR123/16340 also belong in a special category as there's no Alkaline or NiMh option available.
NiMh on the other hand packs more capacity but offer lower voltage and gives better run time. There's much to love in this category as they are widely available especially the AA form factor.
To make your decision making even more complicated on selection, most flashlight are driver/voltage dependent plus also always the question of either you choose the batteries or the light as purchase criteria.
At the moment I'm heading the LiIon direction, I do have AA lights and I run them with 14500. I like the option where I can run these lights with either Alkaline, Lithium Primary and LiIon but size factor ranks second to CR123 lights 
With 2 AAs or more most light packs good lumens & run time, perfect for backup light when run with Lithium Primary.
People that don’t like them don’t like them for various reasons.
They are expensive if you buy them locally for many people. It doesn’t matter that there are other ways to get them cheaper. It’s still a reason.
They are smaller and fatter than the longer and slimmer AA format. That’s a reason for some people.
It’s just another battery type to have to keep track of. That is a reason…like it or not 
There just may be enough flashlight models out there to satisfies someones flashlight needs and therefore they may choose not to consider CR123.
The CR123 flashlights I’ve had didn’t seem to last that long on one battery. They weren’t my favorite lights in the first place for other reasons and other than getting one pair of 16340 for a Surefire 6P that someone gave me I don’t use them either.
There’s no great need that they fill for me. The battery chemistry is fine…no doubt…but so what
The other factor can be that not everyone buys an unlimited number of flashlight (hard to believe I know).
I have AAA key chain type lights, Zebralight AA headlamps, 18650 throwers and general purpose lights along with a couple of single AA compact pocket lights…I don’t need anything else.
I’ve had an Akoray K-109 programmable. It was an OK light but I gave it away. It was a little small (and cheaply made). I’ve had a Trustfire Z1 (I think that’s the model for the small angle light). It’s too small and is too focused to be useful and has strobe.
I’m sure there are great CR123 lights but I don’t have any big gaps now that they would fill.
The OP’s main issue with them is that he sells CR123 Nitecore’s and people on here aren’t buying enough of them
I like to have (a couple) of old skool retro 2 D incan lights If I started to sell them on here and no one wanted to buy them I could post a thread like this as well wondering what is wrong with everyone since I like them
As I’m sure a famous philosopher somewhere must have said (or should have) it is what it is
LOL!
So I had a $10 gift card for my local hardware store, and I went shopping this evening, planning to spend it on some CR123a batteries and stuff, but this store had single and double packs that start at $10.50! It's insane.
Needless to say, I didn't buy any. I have a rechargeables on the way from Hong Kong though :).
It's only insane if you buy them ...
they are about a buck online .....two maximum
I have about 40 ..2017 duracells i paid 21 cents for ..... cheapest i've ever heard of is about 12cents
lets change the topic to what's the least you've ever paid .or at least what's the most you've ever paid ,,Instead of what the price is at the walgreens ..:P
battery junction / battery station /CPF marketplace /Ebay /
+1 Exactly the same as me.
This is an interesting thread, as has already been said. Until I started reading I didn't actually realise that I had been avoiding CR123 lights, but I guess I have. There are many exciting models to choose from, which in fact is probably part of my reason; I just don't want to open another Aladdin's cave of temptation.
But mainly it's because so far I have enough choice with AA and 18650 lights and I just want to keep things simple. If I buy an AA torch I make sure it also runs on 14500's; those for output, AA for emergencies/cost/convenience. If I had to stick to just one system, this would be it. But I'm also getting into 18650 sized lights for (usually) greater output and longer runtime. Paradoxically, I only buy such a torch if I can also run it on CR123 primaries; I don't expect to ever do it, but at least these can be bought over the counter if needs be.
Bottom line: I'd see buying a CR123 size torch as buying into a whole new system, and right now I don't need or want to do it, nor can I really afford to. I'm spending enough as it is
..
I like AA/14500 lights as much as the next guy but I also like 16340 lights. My support of the OP is that many steer clear of 16340 lights because of some big investment into another type of battery which I never understood. They need no special charger and if you already own an 18650 or universal Li-Ion charger you already have everything else you need. I recently bought a 4-pack of 16340 cells for just $5.50 and while they might not have the greatest capacity in their class I don't need that much run time. I use my pocket/EDC lights for only a few minutes a day and swapping a battery every week is simple.
I've been into collecting AA lights for emergency use and have several for EDC but I find I carry my 16340 lights more often. Most of my more powerful 14500 lights aren't all that much smaller than my smaller 18650 lights but some of my 16340 lights are tiny and super impressive in output for their size. Until you own a tiny 16340 pocket rocket or the tiny Apex GT01 in your hand you might not understand how fun the smaller size difference can be.
The arguing back and forth about 16340 vs 14500 is silly. It's not about one being better than another, it's about people's aversion to the cr123/rcr123/16340 lights as if they are some exotic battery requiring a huge investment to get involved with. Reading this thread I see most of the people against the 16340 format don't even own any. Those that like the 16340 also use 14500 and like both. What does that tell you??
I gave a flashlight to my gfs mom for Christmas (Fenix E21.)
Very first thing she asked was "Does it need special batteries??????"
I said just AA, and she was like, "Wow, excellent thats great!"
There is no argument when it comes to li-ons. The 16340 just doesn’t have the capacity/power of the 14500. I’ve tested this and repeated it until my face turns blue. If you EDC something with a primary then I guess a CR123 light is for you.
I've owned many 123 lights and I think the "feel" argument is something people tell themselves. Any light that doesn't have a grip as long as the width of your palm isn't going to have any real difference in feel with a 2mm difference.
Hey, whatever floats your boat, but Boaz asked "Why?" and this is why.