New 900 Lumens SureFire Handheld Flashlight

[Steamforger]

We got an interesting PDF today from the FBI concerning Chinese made Lithium batteries. The basic idea is counterfeit batteries have a tendency to over heat and explode, turning the flashlight into a gun barrel with the battery being the projectile. The warnings were not to mix old and new batteries and to use only genuine US made items. Things to look for on counterfeits are mispellings, missing date stamps, and the wrapper seam is in wrong location. Likely locations to encounter these counterfeits were flea markets, swap meets and gun shows. The pics of people hit with the flying battery show significant damage requiring a visit to the ER.

[Termite]

We got an interesting PDF today from the FBI concerning Chinese made Lithium batteries.

FYI: a lot of the CR123 lithium batteries are made in China, including, IIRC, Surefires. That does not mean they are bad. Titanium brand are China made, and pretty good.

The counterfit batteries are fakes of name brands. If you buy CR123 lithium batteries from a reputable source, such as Battery Junction, it's not an issue, although do stay away from the light blue "no-name" CR123s. They don't explode, they just are iffy quality and don't give good life or load performance.
And NEVER EVER EVER replace just one CR123 battery in a device that uses 2 of them. The newer one can over-drive the older one into thermal run-away.

[Greg]

We got an interesting PDF today from the FBI concerning Chinese made Lithium batteries. The basic idea is counterfeit batteries have a tendency to over heat and explode, turning the flashlight into a gun barrel with the battery being the projectile. The warnings were not to mix old and new batteries and to use only genuine US made items. Things to look for on counterfeits are mispellings, missing date stamps, and the wrapper seam is in wrong location. Likely locations to encounter these counterfeits were flea markets, swap meets and gun shows. The pics of people hit with the flying battery show significant damage requiring a visit to the ER.

This has been a known problem in the flashlight world for a number of years. You never want to use cheap, shoddy (which pretty much means the lower quality Chinese) batteries as they could be dangerous. You also never physically abuse lithium batteries, or get them wet, or mix batteries of different charge levels in a multi-battery device...

They tend to "vent with flame", as in pour out large quantities of corrosive, toxic and explosive vapors that could then burn and/or explode (if they're confined or not). On flashlight enthusiast message boards you periodically see pictures of exploded flashlights- one picture I remember was a light that blew up with enough force for a chunk of the light to go through a kitchen cabinet door. The aftermath was impressive.

Lithium-based rechargeables can be dangerous too, which is why you only use quality cells from reputable makers and don't abuse them. And you really want to use protected cells, which have circuitry added that protects them from things like overcharging and overdraw.

I personally am willing to use lithium primaries but only in a single-celled light - I really don't want to have to test cells with a voltmeter to match them up for safety reasons. And I only use batteries from reputable sources, and I don't physically abuse them.

[Termite]

I personally am willing to use lithium primaries but only in a single-celled light - I really don't want to have to test cells with a voltmeter to match them up for safety reasons.

That's one of the neat features of the Titanium brand CR123s. They sell matched double and triple sets.

Every Titanium CR123A battery incorporates PTC protection and the PTC threshold is set at 5AMPS. The protected Titanium CR123A batteries prevent excessive discharge that can damage lithium cells and may lead to catastrophic incidents.

Titanium CR123A batteries are also available in double and triple shrink wrapped sets. The double and triple sets of CR123A batteries are produced in the same production lot and the internal resistance of the batteries is matched. The double and triple Titanium CR123A battery sets will prevent new and old batteries from being mixed up and used in the same device...

LINK

[rightisright]

+1 on the Titanium batteries. Good stuff at a decent price.

[Rooster]

Botach Tacticial has a sale on the Streamlight 88040 ProTac HL 600 Lumen Flashlight. It is not the 900 lumen monster you linked to but still a pretty ,decent output. It uses 2 CR123A lithium batteries (included), all for 69.95, plus free shipping. I ordered one to try it out. I need a really bright, long distance light for coyote hunting and wanted to give this one a try.

http://www.botachtactical.com/st88prhl600l.html

[JustinR]

I'm surprised the flashlight doesn't come with gloves for that price, 'cause I'm sure it will get hot enough to burn the hand that's holding it.

[Combat Controller]

My main beef with Surefire is that they are not "made in USA" as they claim but are 95% Chinese with a US made reflector. They are loopholing the law by doing "final assembly" in the US with this part and so are now legally "Made in USA". For this, they are charging a 400% premium over the exact same light from China.

Get a Fenix, a Trust Fire or similar and save yourself the money and heartache.

[blackeagle603]

At some point it becomes a spotlight -- not a flashlight. Could be useful...