School me on batteries

U

uofaengr

Joined
Jan 9, 2014
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I'm not a flashlight nut exactly as the only "good" lights I own up until yesterday are the Surefire LX2 Lumamax (200/15) and Surefire P2X Fury (500/15). Yesterday I received a Maratac AAA in copper and am starting to see how this flashlight thing can be addictive since I've been doing a lot of research the past couple days on all these light brands. A plain Maratac AAA and new Surefire Titan-A will most likely be in my future. These small lights are so much more handy and more efficient than the Lumamax I used to carry which I thought at the time was small.

Being a flashlight newb, batteries are something I've never really thought about until now. I just keep a stash of Surefire CR123 batteries on hand and that's it. Before I got my Maratac I read that lithiums were much better to use so I bought a 4 pack of Energizer Ultimates that weren't exactly cheap. I've since learned about Eneloops and that they are what most everyone goes with for AA and AAA lights. I never really knew about them thinking that they were like the old rechargeable batteries that drained fast.

Do most of you here like the Eneloops? Do you feel like you get the same performance in brightness and longevity as a lithium cell? I've seen they have plain Eneloops and the Eneloop Pro which are higher capacity. I read to keep lithiums around for emergency perhaps in your EDC load out or a truck light. Would you ditch the Surefire CR123 for a different brand or rechargeable? Any preferences or tips you can pass along to a modern battery newb?
 
I stick with AA or AAA for the cheap battery cost and redundancy. That way even alkaline is an option if you're in need.
Lithium is usually better for runtime and output but for the money you can't beat the Eneloop.

Keep an emergency light filled with lithium cells and you should be good for 7-10 years but you might still be on the same set of eneloops in 10 years with regular use.
 
Ed Ricketts said:
Probably lots of info on candlepowerforums.com
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Yep that's where I got most of the info in my OP. Great source of info there. I just thought I'd get a little discussion going on over here as I'm not yet to the point of starting a membership over there. ;)
 
I think eneloops are great to start off.
Just got some AA and AAA rechargeable eneloops, got the AA on accident, might have to buy something to fill hehe
 
I've attempted to standardize my dedicated hurricane electronics and lighting to Eneloop AAs...I have not switched to the 18650 re chargeable (2x cr123 size) and use primary lithium 123's in the weapon's lights, and the hand held Surefire and Solarforce high intensity lights 6P size lights... my keychain EDC is a 2014 Fenix E05 on AAA Eneloop, and pocket light is a Fenix E12 on a AA Eneloop...I would suggest a multi input controller charger like my Fujicell SCH808F works with AA and AAA, and inputs from 120v, 12v, and 5v USB... additionally I have an early Goal Zero 7w panel....the Maha brand is highly recommended...so far I'm extremely happy with the Eneloop.. both early Sanyo and the new Panasonic labeled ones

 
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Eneloops are pretty good, I prefer lights with AA or AAA batteries, as it's much easier to get batteries in an emergency than tryign to find CR123s. Some stores still sell a CR123 for almost $10, that is crazy.
 
If you use alkalines, especially if you put them in an expensive light, check them very frequently. I've had a number of lights ruined by leaking batteries. Duracell batteries, despite their advertising, seem to be very much more prone to leak than other brands.
 
Eneloops are the jam. Basically the way those batteries work, you can get more power in them, but they self discharge faster, or don't last as many cycles (the eneloop pro or XX). Or you go less power, they are cheaper, and don't self-drain as much (lites). To be honest I never notice the run time on my eneloops since any time I use a light on a trip, or when I get bored, I shove the battery on the charger. I never have to worry if I'm at a half.

They don't have the same capacity as the lithiums, but for the price I don't mind, and they might not be quite as good for super cold weather, but still better than the old ones, or alkalines. To be honest, the most any of my lights are in storage without being checked is six months, and thats on the outside, if its not in use, the batteries are out. So for me the 5% or so that the batteries might loose in that time doesn't matter. Besides, once you can have eneloops in all your other AA and AAA stuff, life is better.
 
I use AA eneloops and fenix lights.

Lights and batteries is a confusing subject and I don't claim to be an expert. The thing to remember is to match your lights with your batteries since not all lights accept all batteries. If you do it wrong things can actually be dangerous. My way is to stock multiples of lights and batteries that play nice together.
 
Yeah I was watching a review on the Surefire Titan-A and saw that some popular batteries like the Panasonic Eneloop were such a tight fit that pliers had to be used to get it out, ruining the battery. Hopefully they will remedy that in a later revision.

Even with the Pro version at 500 cycles, if you recharged a battery once a week, it'd last 10 years. Still pretty good if you ask me. I definitely see a huge benefit in switching over to eneloops, and having a feeling I'm going to end up with more AAA lights and maybe some AAs, it'd be wise to make the switch. My loyalty to the CR123 lights is fading...
 
That's weird, since the first thing an alky does is swell. I'm thinking someone didn't do their math as well as they should have.
 
uofaengr said:
Do you feel like you get the same performance in brightness and longevity as a lithium cell?
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Not in my experience.

uofaengr said:
Yeah I was watching a review on the Surefire Titan-A and saw that some popular batteries like the Panasonic Eneloop were such a tight fit that pliers had to be used to get it out, ruining the battery. Hopefully they will remedy that in a later revision.
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It's already been revised, I was told that the bodies now have a larger interior diameter.
 
I only use Surefire CR123's in my SF lights, buy them for $4.30/pack at a local home improvement chain store.
 
MatthewSB said:
It's already been revised, I was told that the bodies now have a larger interior diameter.
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That's good to hear. You can't ignore SF quality, warranty, and customer service. I wish SF would get more into the AAA and AA game and maybe this is a good step in that direction.

I will likely end up with this light, and I'd really like to see a comparison in the high mode of the Maratac AAA (supposedly 138 limens) compared to the Titan-A (125 lumens) but haven't seen one anywhere.
 
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