Hi OutDoors Fanatic,
I have personally been amazed at the performance variations that can be measured and seen by simply changing from slightly older li-ion cells to newer cells, or from LiMn to LiCo or vice versa depending on load.
I have found that my Emoli cells, while good at driving bulbs like the MN21, (there is some obvious over-drive), are not as impressive as a pair of brand spanking new 18500s or 18650s when compared at lower loads. You have to realize though, that the Emoli cells I am using, while LiMn chemistry cells like the IMR cells from AW, are probably 5+ years old since their date of manufacture. So they do not have the capacity or voltage maintenance of those newer cells. In doing the tests, I wanted to try to stick to the same cell size/chemistry of the same age (brand new basically, less than 2 months from purchase date), for as many of the tests as possible to generate the most useful comparative data. I don't doubt that a pair of brand new IMR18650s from AW will drive any bulb brighter than a pair of 2 year old 18500s...
My experience with both the IMR-9L and IMR-M3T is that, they probably *need* a pair of modern IMR18650/18500s in order to perform as intended. I do not believe that it will run any brighter than the 1111, since the 1111 on a pair of 18650s actually draws more current and runs closer to insta-flash territory, suggesting more output if all other things are semi-equal.
Does that help any?
-Eric