What is the best 18650 battery available?

[JoeyForte]

I just got my Kanger Subox Mini and now i need some batteries. 

What is the BEST 18650 battery to compliment my Subox mini? 

Ive seen batteries with higher mAh cost less than batteries with lower mAh and im confused as to why. Could someone explain?

This is my first box mod, so im a newbie. Thanks for all and any replies!

 

TheThe 

 

The price isn't an issue either. I just want the best battery available so that it doesn't die it the middle of the day and it keeps consistent performance throughout the battery life.  

[Bebop]

Right now the general consensus top three are

 

sony vtc 4 or 5

samsung 25r

LG HE2 or HG2

 

you want a high drain, high amp battery protected. IMR

 

thats the short answer.  It may be overkill for your usage but better to be safe.  Don't fall for "deals" "specials" etc. spend the money.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bebop

[cany]

What ever ones you get get a couple and keep them with you dont rely one just having one battery to last you the day. Sub Ohming in my subox mini I can easily go thru 2 batts in a 15hr day

[jasonculp]

 

TheThe 

 

The price isn't an issue either. I just want the best battery available so that it doesn't die it the middle of the day and it keeps consistent performance throughout the battery life.  

Right now the general consensus top three are

 

sony vtc 4 or 5

samsung 25r

LG HE2 or HG2

 

you want a high drain, high amp battery protected. IMR

 

thats the short answer.  It may be overkill for your usage but better to be safe.  Don't fall for "deals" "specials" etc. spend the money.

Bebop pretty much nailed it.  Any of those would work great.

I would like to add, be extremely careful where you buy them.  There has been a rash of counterfeit batteries put on the market.  The VTC4 and VTC5 are the most counterfeited but the samsung 25r's are both being faked now (25R2-blue and 25R5-green).

Normally when a battery can handle high a high amp load, it suffers in capacity.  High Amps = Low Mah.  One of the safest batteries out there is a LG HG6 it is a true 30A continuous battery, but it will not last long because it is only 1500 mah.  On the other end of the scale is the Panasonic NCR18650B.  It is only a 10 amp battery that has 3800 mah.

Most people find the 25r, HE2, and HG2 to be the best value.  They will all handle 20A continuous and have a decent mah  (2500-3000).  These can be bought from $5.00 - $7.00.

 

[Tug]

Samsung 25r all the way

[Squid]

I am currently running nothing but Efest Batts. They have had quite a bit of negative reviews, I think due to counterfeiting, but I have never had a problem with them. I buy from the local B&m, Battery Junction and from sellers on Amazon with good reviews. I have run them in a DPV65 by Smowell, an IPV4s, a subox kit and a VTR. The IPV4s mostly in temp control mode. Never had an issue. Most of them are the 2500MaH 20/35A. I currently have a pair in the IPV4s set at 60J 515F, they don't get anywhere near warm and I have a tendency to chain vape. I have 3 pair in rotation for the IPV, and 4 singles for the VTR and subox. The DPV is mostly ignored at this time, and the subox has been loaned to a friend who needs a bit of help, with 1 of the 4 batts from the rotation.

Not saying I am right, but I have had no issues. I think getting them from a reputable seller is the key.

[Earthling789]

Jason's info was very good, regarding the relationship of mAh to discharge-amps. 

I've been using Sony VTC4 originally, but have switched to Samsung 25r (blue) and lately have been buying LG HE2 (red), as they seem to provide the best power/life for the lowest cost.... between $5 and $7 per cell depending on where you buy them from.

Counterfeiting has been going on for years, and Efest/Sony have always been the targets of counterfeiters because they are popular... but any battery is subject to counterfeiting these days... so be cautious on where you buy from... especially places like eBay, and if the price is "too good to be true".

[Gaucho]

I picked up a AWT IMR 18650 3000MAH battery from my local shop for my Kangerbox subox mini.

What do you guys think of this battery? Ive been using is over the weekend and it seems not to go down. 

[jasonculp]

I picked up a AWT IMR 18650 3000MAH battery from my local shop for my Kangerbox subox mini.

What do you guys think of this battery? Ive been using is over the weekend and it seems not to go down. 

I have not seen any independent tests on this one.  The 40A 2600 mah (purple) was tested to be only good for about 20A.  The 3000 mah is rated for 35A.  I personally feel that this is very optimistic.  I don't know the battery, so I don't know which number is closer to correct.  If it is actually 3000 mah then the Amp rating would actually be from 15A to 20A max.  I have not seen any safe chemistry 18650 cell that was tested by multiple independent testers that exceeded 35 watts without damage. (if you find such tests please let me know!)  The highest Continuous Discharge Rate numbers are around 30A and they have a mah rating of 1500 or so.

Please be careful with this battery.  There are just too many unknowns.  If it feels like it is getting hot, or the life starts getting short, get rid of it.

[FXRich]

A subox mini won't fire below .3 ohms, that means at 50 watts it will only draw about 13 amps. No need for a battery above 20 amp rating anyway. Kid I know got a 150 watt box mod, he said when he turned it up to 150 watts with a .5 coil he burned his lips and mouth, he thought the more watts the bigger the cloud, I guess he found out different. I only have one battery rated above 20 amps, and that is a Aspire 40 amp 1800mah, don't know if the rating is accurate or not, but it doesn't matter because I don't need anything over 20 amps.

 

A protected 18650 is longer than a unprotected battery and is too long for a Kanger Subox mini

Edited August 31, 2015 by FXRich

[Adversarious1]

A subox mini won't fire below .3 ohms, that means at 50 watts it will only draw about 13 amps. No need for a battery above 20 amp rating anyway. Kid I know got a 150 watt box mod, he said when he turned it up to 150 watts with a .5 coil he burned his lips and mouth, he thought the more watts the bigger the cloud, I guess he found out different. I only have one battery rated above 20 amps, and that is a Aspire 40 amp 1800mah, don't know if the rating is accurate or not, but it doesn't matter because I don't need anything over 20 amps.

 

A protected 18650 is longer than a unprotected battery and is too long for a Kanger Subox mini

The kid is a classic example of why a peeso should educate themselves before stupidity takes over.

[jasonculp]

A subox mini won't fire below .3 ohms, that means at 50 watts it will only draw about 13 amps. No need for a battery above 20 amp rating anyway. Kid I know got a 150 watt box mod, he said when he turned it up to 150 watts with a .5 coil he burned his lips and mouth, he thought the more watts the bigger the cloud, I guess he found out different. I only have one battery rated above 20 amps, and that is a Aspire 40 amp 1800mah, don't know if the rating is accurate or not, but it doesn't matter because I don't need anything over 20 amps.

 

A protected 18650 is longer than a unprotected battery and is too long for a Kanger Subox mini

I totally agree with you.  I do the same.  I really don't need over a 20 watt battery anymore.  I still have some VTC3 which are the only true 30A that I own.

I tend to err on the side of being overcautious.  Good batteries are cheap and readily available. VTC4's are going for $6.00 each, HE2/HE4's are going for $5.00, 25R's are also $5.00.

If you need more power, you can get a true 25A battery in a LG ICR18650HD2 for $5.00 or a 30A 18650 LGDAHB6 for $4.50.

There are some less than honest people out there.  If you look around you will see that there has been cells rated at less than 5 amps with wraps on them that said 20 watts. There have also been a few reported unprotected ICR cells (unsafe chemistry) sold as vaping batteries.

[iQuit]

I totally agree with you.  I do the same.  I really don't need over a 20 watt battery anymore.  I still have some VTC3 which are the only true 30A that I own.

I tend to err on the side of being overcautious.  Good batteries are cheap and readily available. VTC4's are going for $6.00 each, HE2/HE4's are going for $5.00, 25R's are also $5.00.

If you need more power, you can get a true 25A battery in a LG ICR18650HD2 for $5.00 or a 30A 18650 LGDAHB6 for $4.50.

There are some less than honest people out there.  If you look around you will see that there has been cells rated at less than 5 amps with wraps on them that said 20 watts. There have also been a few reported unprotected ICR cells (unsafe chemistry) sold as vaping batteries.

 

It is reassuring that some are held responsible for their dishonesty. I would like to see more of it though.  

[HubeMorin]

Can you please share your hardware details about which you are asking about the battery?
 Can you please post its full specifications here? Also what are your battery requirements?

For what range of the voltage and the current you are looking for?

[FrancisKelch]

@jasonculp Sammy, LG and Sony are all good.

What about VRK http://m.vaporsolo.com/VRK-18650-High-Drain-Battery-3000mAh-Pack-of-2-p10674.html?

Mooch tested it, I would give it a shot.

 

[jasonculp]

@FrancisKelch My question would be why? 

From Mooch's review of the battery:

Quote

This VRK cell is accurately rated at 20A and 3000mAh. It has a useless 30A "pulse" rating in large lettering on the wrap but does list both the continuous and pulse ratings, a very good thing to see. This cell looks identical to the LG HG2 but performs just a touch worse than my "reference" HG2 from a few months ago. It performs a bit better than the HG2's I've tested recently though.

If it works just like a HG2, why not stick with a proven brand such as LG, and not a manufacturer that puts a dangerously misleading rating on a battery?  From the link you posted they are $18.95/pair and at the bottom of the page you can get LG2s for 15.95/pair.

They do have a nice looking wrapper though.  I personally will stick to the major manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, and LG personally.

If you are going to spend over $9.00 a battery, I would suggest the new VTC6.  It seems to edge all of the 3000mAh batteries out at this time.

[FrancisKelch]

4 hours ago, jasonculp said:

@FrancisKelch My question would be why? 

From Mooch's review of the battery:

If it works just like a HG2, why not stick with a proven brand such as LG, and not a manufacturer that puts a dangerously misleading rating on a battery?  From the link you posted they are $18.95/pair and at the bottom of the page you can get LG2s for 15.95/pair.

They do have a nice looking wrapper though.  I personally will stick to the major manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, and LG personally.

If you are going to spend over $9.00 a battery, I would suggest the new VTC6.  It seems to edge all of the 3000mAh batteries out at this time.

Then HG2, thank you!☺️