Fenix pd35 battery suggestion

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DDA2011

Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
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I just ordered my first "real" flashlight a fenix pd35 I need suggestions on which 18650 battery and charger I should use. Thanks
 
Cheap charger- nitecore i4 v2
Expensive charger- XTAR VP1

Batteries- Panasonic NCR18650B's (either bare/OE or AW's rebranded black labels or eagletac rebranded white/green label)

All of my 18650's are pannasonic OE except for two eagletac's, all of my 16340's are AW, also have a few eagletac 14500's and one nitecore 14500. I've had very good luck getting 2pk's of NCR18650B's off amazon, bought 6 pairs (the price is good too), only had so send one set back for not holding stated capacity.

Stick with a single 18650, you start trying to use 2xRCR123/16340's and it gets dangerous, always use a single cell if at all possible. And do lots of research on CPF/battery universe, Li-ion batteries are no joke, they can literally explode in your hand (termed "vent with flame" by the battery industry to try to down play the safety aspect, I guess they figure "venting" sounds less violent/dangerous than flat out saying "exploding").
 
I ended up going with a nitecore protected battery. As well as the nitecore i4 charger.. Why do you say the two cr123s can be dangerous? They actually came with the flashlight.. Should I not use them?
 
DDA2011 said:
I ended up going with a nitecore protected battery. As well as the nitecore i4 charger.. Why do you say the two cr123s can be dangerous? They actually came with the flashlight.. Should I not use them?
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Two cr123's are pretty safe (tho not totally), it's 2 rechargable batteries that I avoid.

The reason being if the capacity isn't perfectly matched one will die sooner than the other, that can lead to the empty one "reverse charging" off the other and reverse charging is THE thing that causes a "vent with flame" (along with shorting and overheating).

I have no issues using multiple CR123 primaries (as long as the pair are both new/the same brand), it's when using Li-ion's that it starts to become a game of Russian roulette, I absolutely never use multiple Li-ion rechargable's.
 
The nitecore 18650's are (I believe 2600mAh) upgrading to Panasonic NCR18650B's would increase your runtimes ~75% longer. (NCR18650B's are 3400mAh).
 
Cereal_killer said:
The nitecore 18650's are (I believe 2600mAh) upgrading to Panasonic NCR18650B's would increase your runtimes ~75% longer. (NCR18650B's are 3400mAh).
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I got the 3400 mAh battery. But I'm thinking of ordering the Panasonic so I can go all weekend hunting and recently this week our power went out for 3 days due to the ice storms and I was stuck using an old mag light and my headlamp
 
This is what I run in mine. I have had good luck with the xtar wp2 charger. The guys over at candle power forums seem to like it. I like the batteries. Rechargeables are so much better than primaries. If you aren't sure about your battery level, pull out the old, drop in the new, put the old on the charger.
I use mine in my pd32. I'd like to upgrade to larger capacity, but it honestly hasn't been an issue yet. I obsessed for a while, then just went with it and didn't worry so much. Now it's off having a sheath made for it and I'm carrying a Streamlight stylus pro, which is a nice little light for backup.

How are you liking the pd35? I want to upgrade, but I can't justify it yet.
 
medicevans said:
How are you liking the pd35? I want to upgrade, but I can't justify it yet.
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I absolutely love it! I literally use it everyday and get
Constant compliments. My dad like it so much he bought 2. For $75 you can't go wrong.. A lot of people complain about the side switch but I actually like it.
 
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