Final round of 10W testing.
These were all charged on the NiteCore D4, but then topped off on the XTAR VP2 right before testing, like I did with the LingsFires. This may make a difference and I'm probably going to top off the NiteCores the same way and run them all again to see if their capacity improves compared to the previous testing, where they were charged on the D4 alone. This may lead to more testing to see if there's a difference in capacity based on the chargers and charge current settings.
EagleTac34 $38/pair 3400mAh 47g
Test Result: Cell #1 - 2.74Ah Cell #2 - 2.90Ah 83% stated capacity $6.74/Ah
Another disappointment from this brand. Like the 3500mAh version, there's not much consistency between these cells discharge curves. Both the Olight and Nitecore cells are much more consistent, have nearly the same capacity, and are cheaper. Unless these are discounted as part of a bundled deal, I wouldn't get them.
Simon $35/pair 3400mAh 47g
Test Result: Cell #1 - 2.99Ah Cell #2 - 3.01Ah 88% stated capacity $5.83/Ah
This is the top performer! And they're not the most expensive, or the heaviest. These cells look identical to the Orbtronics (but 1g heavier and a few bucks more), or at least they did until last night, when the Amazon picture changed on the cells coming into stock on Jan. 11. I hope the change in the shrink-wrap doesn't correspond with a decrease in performance, because this is a great product.
Orbtronic $63 per 4 cells 3400mAh 46g
Test Result: Cell #1 - 2.98Ah Cell #2 - 2.91Ah Cell #3 - 2.93Ah Cell #4 - 2.96Ah 87% stated capacity $5.35/Ah
This was a very close race, but the Orbs lose to the higher priced Simons and the lower priced Eastshines. The discharge curves are not quite as consistent as the more expensive Simons, Olights, or NiteCores. For those wanting to maximize performance to weight, the Orbtronic is the cell to get, as it performs at the top of the heap and only the LingsFire and UltraFires weigh less.
My Interpretation and Recommendations:
If you're looking for the absolute longest run times, the top three are Simon, Eastshine, and Orbtronic, which are all capable of getting really close to 3Ah (equivalent to 1 hour) of run-time at 10W. All three cost less than the other premium cells and only the ThruNites are cheaper than Eastshine. However, the Eastshine is the heaviest and slightly bulkier than all but the FoxNovos.
Olight, FoxNovo, and NiteCore are solid performers, but they're not the best or the least expensive of the premiums cells and probably not worth getting unless discounted when bundled with another product.
I wouldn't waste much time looking at the EagTacs, the most expensive of the premiums, or the ThruNites, the least expensive. Both performed inconsistently and there are better performers for less money.
Definitely stay away from UltraFire, at any price. There's something really wrong with them and they have no business being considered alongside any of the other cells. LingsFire turned out to be better than I initially thought, but not nearly as good as the ThorFires, and both are probably a reasonable value buy.
The big unknown, to my mind, is what the expected lifespan and durability of these cells is. This might be reason enough to spend a bit more on one of the brands that has a longer reputation, but who knows?
I do know that there is good consensus on higher charge currents being detrimental to the life of cells, but I don't know what the optimum current is. It takes about 8-9 hours to charge the top performers in this group on the D4 at 375mA, so you definitely need to plan ahead, like the day before, if you want to avoid hitting the button for 500 or 1000mA currents. Biggest bottle neck for this testing scheme was the charging, believe it or not, and that's with using a combination of three chargers for a total of 10 slots. Kind of thinking an 8 slot charger could come in handy for some situations.
