Gene
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have 18650's that I use on flashlights, my PL-880, and portable fans. I've actually upgraded the capacity of the 18650's in all of those devices, and I appreciate the run times and power of those cells. However, in my opinion, lithium-ion cells are not a good idea for use in emergency equipment for the average person. Cheap chargers are OK, but not a good idea for use with lithium-ion cells, in my opinion. The same is true for charging the cells inside the device. There is a risk of fire and explosion that should be minimized by using a good charger, good-quality cells, and a safe charging protocol that minimizes the risk of harm from fire. Most people aren't prepared to take those precautions all the time.
In addition, the cold weather performance of lithium-ion cells is severely compromised, compared to the performance of NiMH rechargeables and single-use lithium cells. This is a serious drawback of relying solely on lithium-ion cells in an emergency for most people in cold weather environments. AA and AAA cells are also more readily found at retail, which can be another advantage of those cells for use in emergency equipment. I think it would be a good idea in cold weather areas to have equipment available that can use AA and AAA NiMH cells, to complement equipment that uses lithium-ion cells.
I mostly agree MS but even good chargers are inexpensive nowadays and quality, hicap 18650 cells aren't too expensive if you shop around. We have two lights in each one of our two cars and all contain CR123 primary cells. We get temps here ranging from 10 to 100+ degrees and have experienced no problems and the cells have been in the lights for approximately four years and are still operating fine.
I can understand people's concerns using Li-Ion in lights in automobiles and the risks but we choose to do so.