CR123A Batteries

[alamo5000]

I have several lights now that all use CR123A batteries. Honestly the hand held variety gets used quite a bit and hence I burn through batteries.
Up until now I have used solely SureFire branded batteries.

What I am wondering is if anyone has tried out or tested any of the various other options available on say Amazon? There are some that are substantially cheaper than the SF branded ones...as well as some that are much more expensive.

If you have ever tried out other brands, generally what has been your experience?

Edit:

Bonus points if you can give info on rechargeable 123A batteries. From what I hear they can be used, but they are not very good in that application.

[gatordev]

A couple of years ago I researched this a bit. If you do some googling, there's some resources/YT vids that have tested the various manufacturers (which is different than brands). I can't really recall exact details, but at the end of the day, I just ended up continuing to buy SF batteries when there were sales or if I'm ordering something else. The money I might save on a different manufacturer was off-set by having to spend the time to go find that particular manufacturer at a vendor and then buy it.

I have a G2x that lives on the back porch for dog duty. It's a dual mode light, so I'm not killing it at max power the majority of the time, although my wife will use the brighter function more. What I continue to be impressed with the SF batteries is how stable they stay even when it gets cold. All batteries are, of course, going to suffer when they get cold, and my cold isn't like other people's cold, but even so, the batteries don't get zapped like alkaline batteries do when the temp drops.

[alamo5000]

A couple of years ago I researched this a bit. If you do some googling, there's some resources/YT vids that have tested the various manufacturers (which is different than brands). I can't really recall exact details, but at the end of the day, I just ended up continuing to buy SF batteries when there were sales or if I'm ordering something else. The money I might save on a different manufacturer was off-set by having to spend the time to go find that particular manufacturer at a vendor and then buy it.

I have a G2x that lives on the back porch for dog duty. It's a dual mode light, so I'm not killing it at max power the majority of the time, although my wife will use the brighter function more. What I continue to be impressed with the SF batteries is how stable they stay even when it gets cold. All batteries are, of course, going to suffer when they get cold, and my cold isn't like other people's cold, but even so, the batteries don't get zapped like alkaline batteries do when the temp drops.

I still have a few boxes of SF batteries for sure. I guess a good game plan would be to buy a bunch more at one time if they are ever on sale.

That said, I was ordering other stuff from Amazon last night so I splurge ordered some small boxes of a couple of different brands from Amazon as a test. I am not 100% versed in how electric/electronic things work, but I got a couple with very good ratings and a bit higher mAh ratings to see if that helps them last longer.

I don't have any way to do a formal test, but other than just using them and seeing if I notice any difference is about the best thing I could do.

[Stone]

At the end of the day what matters with CR123 batteries is the mAh rating, mAh, short for milliampere-hour, is a unit of measurement used to indicate the capacity of a battery. In my research on high draw devices getting a cr123 battery with a rating of 1550-1600mAh is the best. Currently I am running the Panasonic CR123 CR123A 3V Lithium Battery which has a high rating of 1550mAh. I burn through at least 20 batteries a week in my headlamp at work so buying in bulk is the way to go. I run these in all my WML's and have not failed me. https://blog.ecoflow.com/us/understa...tery-capacity/ https://batteryjunction.com/50qty-panasonic-cr123 I used to use these as well: https://batteryjunction.com/brands/s...vations-cr123a

[Stone]

While there is nothing wrong with the SF batteries your just over paying a little bit for their branding but like Gator said, if your already placing and order and just add them to that order it more than likely offsets the cost of shipping if you have to go and place an order for the batteries alone. Buy in bulk... Battery junction has free shipping on orders over $50 and if you join the email list you get a CC for 5% off...

[alamo5000]

At the end of the day what matters with CR123 batteries is the mAh rating

These are the two that I bought to test out. The first one is rated at 1650mAh. The second one says 1700mAh.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the links. When I get a minute I will read up. I did read that a higher mAh rating was generally better, but that's about as far as I've gotten.

[BoilerUp]

At the end of the day what matters with CR123 batteries is the mAh rating, mAh, short for milliampere-hour, is a unit of measurement used to indicate the capacity of a battery. In my research on high draw devices getting a cr123 battery with a rating of 1550-1600mAh is the best. Currently I am running the Panasonic CR123 CR123A 3V Lithium Battery which has a high rating of 1550mAh. I burn through at least 20 batteries a week in my headlamp at work so buying in bulk is the way to go. I run these in all my WML's and have not failed me. https://blog.ecoflow.com/us/understa...tery-capacity/ https://batteryjunction.com/50qty-panasonic-cr123 I used to use these as well: https://batteryjunction.com/brands/s...vations-cr123a

Thanks for sharing this. It seems like SF batteries do go on sale with some regularity, esp at Primary Arms.

Thanks to Cloud Defensive, I'm venturing into the rechargeable world of 18650s, but between my StreamLights, SFs, and EOTechs, I keep a good stash of 123s.

[Stone]

These are the two that I bought to test out. The first one is rated at 1650mAh. The second one says 1700mAh. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Thanks for the links. When I get a minute I will read up. I did read that a higher mAh rating was generally better, but that's about as far as I've gotten.

Looks like you found some good options there with a pretty high Mah rating...

[Stone]

Thanks for sharing this. It seems like SF batteries do go on sale with some regularity, esp at Primary Arms. Thanks to Cloud Defensive, I'm venturing into the rechargeable world of 18650s, but between my StreamLights, SFs, and EOTechs, I keep a good stash of 123s.

Your welcome... I recently bought a bike mounted light that came with a rechargeble battery that actually has a usb port on the battery... Pretty handy when on the fly recharging plus you dont need a battery box. Here is the battery and light I bought: https://www.fenixlighting.com/produc...fcc7f5df&_ss=r https://www.fenixlighting.com/produc...ble-bike-light

[Stone]

I have also noticed that batteries in general seem to be moving into the Lithium world... I beleive they last longer and hold a better charge than the commodity that was used in standard batteries. Parts of a battery: Standard The answer to “what is inside a battery?” starts with a breakdown of what makes a battery a battery. Container Steel can that houses the cell’s ingredients to form the cathode, a part of the electrochemical reaction. Cathode A combo of manganese dioxide and carbon, cathodes are the electrodes reduced by the electrochemical reaction. Separator Non-woven, fibrous fabric that separates the electrodes. Anode Made of powered zinc metal, anodes are electrodes that are oxidized. Electrolyte Potassium hydroxide solution in water, the electrolyte is the medium for the movement of ions within the cell. It carries the iconic current inside the battery. Collector Brass pin in the middle of the cell that conducts electricity to the outside circuit. Looks like Zinc is the metal used, I imagine Lithium is alot better... Theres another rabbit hole for ya Alamo... Hehehehe

[alamo5000]

Speaking of rechargeable batteries, what's the general consensus on using rechargeable batteries in regular lights? Weapon lights, hand held SF lights, etc?

If I recall correctly people say it's not optimal but I don't know for sure. Plus that was a long time ago so maybe they have better options now.

[BoilerUp]

Speaking of rechargeable batteries, what's the general consensus on using rechargeable batteries in regular lights? Weapon lights, hand held SF lights, etc?

If I recall correctly people say it's not optimal but I don't know for sure. Plus that was a long time ago so maybe they have better options now.

From Cloud Defensive:

Power:
The Full size MCH uses 1 Lithium Ion, Rechargeable, Flat-top, Unprotected 18650 which is included. It is also compatible with most button-top unprotected cells and. The Full size MCH has very limited compatibility with Protected cells. Do not assume compatibility with those. We favor the Unprotected cells due to the substantial performance increases.

The MCH lights also now accept CR123 batteries. Use of CR123 batteries will absolutely result in lower output and shorter run-times. That is purely a function of CR123 cells being very inferior to our rechargeable cells. But this new CR123 capability is perfect for use in emergency situations.

Output (18650): 50,000 Candela at 1,800 Lumens

Run-Time (18650): 60 Minutes (High Power), 120 Minutes (Medium Power), Minimum 6 hours (Low Power)

Output (CR123): 20,000 Candela at 500 Lumens

Run-Time (Two CR123): 65 Minutes (High Power)

https://www.clouddefensive.com/product/mch-duty-ho-df/

[Former11B]

Got a good deal on a ton of Lithium energizer 123s a while back and am not looking forward to the day I run low. Interested in some alternatives