I got a Coast headlamp a couple years back that has a rechargeable battery pack, but can also take regular AAA’s, which is a handy feature if I happen to need an immediate recharge.
For outdoor survival stuff (like my avalanche beacon) they say you should only use the disposable ones. It’s probably got to do with cold tolerance or lifetime.
For Avalanche beacons you’re supposed to replace the battery after it gets below 95% charge.
I’d say it depends. For safety-critical stuff maybe, but for a headlamp or something I prefer rechargeable as I can easily recharge it from a power bank or a portable solar panel if needed. If you run out of a disposable battery for whatever reason, you’re screwed.
My flashlights use replaceable chargeables. I want to say “16550” but I’m not sure of the numbers. They’re larger than AAs, longer than Cs but not quite as thick.
Close, it’s 18650 cells which are super common. Even stuff like laptop and EV batteries may be composed of them.
Fun fact, the numbers indicate the physical size - 18mm diameter 65.0mm length. The same applies to those button cell batteries - CR2032 is 20mm diameter by 3.2mm thickness.
You can almost always replace the battery, even when the manufacturer doesn’t want you to. As for flashlights, they typically come with easily user-replaceable ones, often even sold separately. Worst-case, you can get a AA or AAA flashlight and use rechargeable AA/AAAs.
I use rechargeable flashlights. Hell, I use rechargeable everything. I’m not sure when I last bought AA or AAA batteries for anything.
AAA’s seem really common in my neck of the woods.
I got a Coast headlamp a couple years back that has a rechargeable battery pack, but can also take regular AAA’s, which is a handy feature if I happen to need an immediate recharge.
For outdoor survival stuff (like my avalanche beacon) they say you should only use the disposable ones. It’s probably got to do with cold tolerance or lifetime.
For Avalanche beacons you’re supposed to replace the battery after it gets below 95% charge.
I’d say it depends. For safety-critical stuff maybe, but for a headlamp or something I prefer rechargeable as I can easily recharge it from a power bank or a portable solar panel if needed. If you run out of a disposable battery for whatever reason, you’re screwed.
I read this entire thread thinking we were talking about fleshlights and not flashlights.
Do you have to replace things with broken, End of Life or dying cells often?
I notices a lot of things falling into planned obsolesence because “it’s rechargable” and you can’t replace the battery.
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My flashlights use replaceable chargeables. I want to say “16550” but I’m not sure of the numbers. They’re larger than AAs, longer than Cs but not quite as thick.
Close, it’s 18650 cells which are super common. Even stuff like laptop and EV batteries may be composed of them.
Fun fact, the numbers indicate the physical size - 18mm diameter 65.0mm length. The same applies to those button cell batteries - CR2032 is 20mm diameter by 3.2mm thickness.
Right. 18650! Thanks!
And TIL what the numbers mean. Cool!
You can almost always replace the battery, even when the manufacturer doesn’t want you to. As for flashlights, they typically come with easily user-replaceable ones, often even sold separately. Worst-case, you can get a AA or AAA flashlight and use rechargeable AA/AAAs.