Eagletac batteries: Who makes them, whats your opinion?

[HighlanderNorth]

I just read the thread showing many charts comparing the performance of many different brands of Li-ion batts. But on another thread I started, when asking which brands were best, someone mentioned Eagletac batteries, but did so in a kind of "so-so' manner, by saying that "some of them are good."

So I went to a bunch of different sources and stores that carry all the top brands that people had listed here, most of which use Panasonic or Sanyo parts(which parts I dont know, but I assume its the case and then some). The brands listed were AW, Callies Customs, Redilast, 'some' Eagletacs, etc. But another person pointed out there are other makers who use the exact same Panasonic parts for their batteries, such as Orbtronics, and International Outdoor who both sell protected 3100mah Panasonic based batteries for $12.99 and $13.99 respectively.

Unfortunately, those other brands weren't listed on the comparison charts that I read here today, so who knows if they compare as well. But they should if using the same parts.

Anyway, I went ahead and bought the Zebralight SC600, and since I needed 18650 batteries and a good charger as well, I bought an Eagletac protected 18650 with 3100mah, and the Nightcore Intellicharge I4 charger, which safely charges 4 batteries of many different types at the same time. I also found out about that charger based on a long, and good review here.

I found a 10% off coupon code online for goinggear.com, where I bought all that stuff and it saved me $14 on the order, so I basically got the $13.99 Eagletac battery for free.....

So what do you think of Eagletac batteries, or any of the other cheaper batteries like the Orbtronics and Int Outdoor batteries? At Goinggear, the Eagletac 3100mah 18650 cost almost 50% less than the AW 3100mah battery($13.99 vs $26.00), and the other batteries are similarly priced...

 

[chewy78]

a lot of those 3100 mah 18650s such as the eagletacs, aw, redilast, callies customs, share the same basic cell made by panasonic. They provide their own brand of pcbs (protection circuit boards).

 

[madecov]

I've had good luck with the batteries and the button tops work with any light. They are also priced right.

 

[tandem]

Google is your friend:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/EagleTac 18650 3100mAh (Black) UK.html

HJK is a regular poster here and a prolific reviewer.

There is nothing wrong with the 3100 mAh cell EagleTac. The most important take away from his review on the EagleTac 3100 mAh 18650 cell is that they've placed lower the over-current safety limit in the protection circuit; lower than a number of other makers.

In practical terms, for a SC600 flashlight, the lower limit won't impact light performance one bit. The lower high-current trip will help protect the cell in the case of an accidental short or some other abuse.

The cell is known - check
The cell is protected - check
The cell behaves/performs as it should for the type of underlying cell it is supposed to contain - check

All that adds up to a safe cell worth considering. That it is priced lower than some makes it also appealing.

Some other EagleTac products are made with cells that are unknown. Many cell marketers have cell products in their inventory where this is true. Many of use prefer to see known brands forming protected cells because there's more info out there on the internet and longer/better track records. Many if not all of the xxxxFire cells suffer from batch to batch quality variation and some are just consistently bad. The better names like Sanyo, LG, Panasonic are reliably consistent and thus preferred.

Back to the cells you bought, other than minor performance differences all the Panasonic 2900 and 3100 mAh cells being packaged into protected cells should be worth considering. Some have different physical characteristics (button or flat tops, width perhaps) which might make one or more be a better choice for specific lights.

Without unwrapping each cell to inspect the PCB and physical assembly of a protected cell there isn't much more analysis that can be done. For now the best news is the excellent track record of good quality cells being integrated into protected cell products.

 

[HotWire]

I just bought new Eagletac batteries. I find that I cannot use them in some lights because their diameter varies. Some Eagletac 3100 cells slide right in, and other will not fit. I've tried dropping cells in other slots--same thing. I measured the battery holders in 2 lights. Both were machined accurately. All were the same, except different brands of lights. Out of the four Eagletac cells I have, two would not fit in either light. I can, of course use them in other light. I found both Redilast and Callies's Kustom batteries fit and work fine in both lights. I had no AW cells to test at this time.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

When I got my SC-600 a few months back, I had to jump into Li-Ions, but needed to keep my expenses down, so the Pila was out and the WP2 II was in.

For batteries, I was able to get two EagleTac 3100s from an Ebay guy (as with the Xtar charger) when he dropped them down to $10 and change per cell, shipped, so while I wanted AWs, CalliesKustom and/or Redilast, 2 for 1 was too good to pass up.

I also picked up some unprotected Pannie NCR18650As for $9 a cell, from Orbtronics and can't complain.

I pretty much hate to be a wet blanket, but these past two months have seen the ETs, the Orbtronics, the Keeppowers, the Xtars and whoever else is new to the market, so it's not just the Big Three any longer and for me it'll come down to price and vendor trust.

They'll all pretty much do the same thing, so why pay 25%, or more, if you don't have to?

Chris

 

[RedForest UK]

The 'keeppower' brand is technically not 'new to market', as they have been the OEM maker of a few of the more well known brands on CPF for a while now.

I won't say who/go into details as I have been rapped on the knuckles a couple of times for that before, but suffice to say that the keeppower name is a trustworthy one and I would have no worries buying from them if you can guarantee a reliable retailer.

 

[HooNz]

OT> RedForest , are you near Whittier Road Sneinton ?

 

[biglights]

I have both the eagletac and inter. outdoor 3100s and they work great. I check them with a digital multimter coming off the charger and in use and all is good!! By looking at some of the battery reviews here these two actually out perform some of the big names that get pushed all over here. Save yourself some hard earned money and take a look at these brands.

 

[RedForest UK]

OT> RedForest , are you near Whittier Road Sneinton ?

I can't seem to PM you.. It depends on what counts as near I'm actually in Keyworth, a large village/small town about 8 miles south of Nottingham, I don't get into Sneinton or anywhere east of the NIC/Meadow Lane much to be honest. Most of my travel is between Keyworth, the city centre, Nottingham uni campus/Wollaton, Ilkeston or Long Eaton/Beeston/Chilwell area.

 

[HooNz]

I can't seem to PM you.. It depends on what counts as near I'm actually in Keyworth, a large village/small town about 8 miles south of Nottingham, I don't get into Sneinton or anywhere east of the NIC/Meadow Lane much to be honest. Most of my travel is between Keyworth, the city centre, Nottingham uni campus/Wollaton, Ilkeston or Long Eaton/Beeston/Chilwell area.

Ok i'll keep it short , pm might be turned off at this end? , i'll look later .
I was born in Notts , Whittier was where i lived back in 57-67 , that was all , thanks for the reply , and from what i read in the DM bypassing it might be a good idea :thinking:

 

[loquutis79]

Eagletac's are fine. They use the same pannie battery as do most of the other top names. I also find that they charge up better than some others, and of course they are priced right.
As for the smaller size of Eagletac's, I don't think we know what is used. I am looking at getting some RCR123's from Eagletac for the Jetbeam RRT-0 I want and if I do buy that I'll let you know how they work out.

 

[kaabob]

The 'keeppower' brand is technically not 'new to market', as they have been the OEM maker of a few of the more well known brands on CPF for a while now.

I won't say who/go into details as I have been rapped on the knuckles a couple of times for that before, but suffice to say that the keeppower name is a trustworthy one and I would have no worries buying from them if you can guarantee a reliable retailer.

ive looked far and wide and have no seen anyone sell 'keeppower' as oem name itself. if u could point us in the right direction thad be great

 

[HKJ]

ive looked far and wide and have no seen anyone sell 'keeppower' as oem name itself. if u could point us in the right direction thad be great

OEM's does not user their own brands, but whatever brand the customer wish. It is up to the customer (i.e. the dealer we buy from) if they want to say where they get their batteries manufactured. In my battery test, none has specified that they get their batteries from Keeppower, but if you use my comparator many has a performance very close to the Keeppower batteries (This is not the same as saying they are from Keeppower).
It is possible to get the Keeppower brand at a ebay dealer.