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Not long ago, a friend asked me to do something like an inspection of four 18650 batteries he’d bought at our local market. They were being sold as genuine, but he had his doubts and decided to check. So I decided to put together a short article based on this, with some real-world examples.

As luck would have it—or, more precisely, thanks to my regular reader Alex—I got my hands on another battery made by Samsung. It may not boast a high capacity, but it’s still very interesting, primarily because it’s designed for high-power applications such as e-cigarettes and power tools.

Some time ago, while discussing another batch of “test subjects”—batteries—the topic of measuring internal resistance came up. Since the well-known YR1030 (and 1035) are relatively expensive, one commenter said there was a good, inexpensive little tester called the ZH-YU ZB206+. But a few caveats also came to light, so to set the record straight, I bought one of these testers to try out.

I happened to get my hands on these unknown batteries. A friend brought them over and asked me to check them, measure them, give them a sniff and a taste—which is exactly what I did.

The latest review in the “batteries from nkon” series. Today we’re looking at the Murata VTC6, which in my opinion are just as popular as the VTC5A. There’s also a bit of useful information at the end of the review; some of you may already know it, while others may not.

I've often come across comments along the lines of “Chinese batteries die quickly.” I generally agree, but the question caught my interest, so I decided to look into it more closely—in particular, by testing how many cycles the battery can handle. More details in the article.

Another pair of interesting batteries from nkon, and this time they’re Murata VTC5A cells. They don’t have particularly high capacity, but they can deliver a lot of current. Review, tests, and a few oddities.

This is the third battery from the nkon store, and it’s not the familiar 18650 but the newer 21700 form factor. The differences include a capacity of up to 5 Ah and a current of up to 10 A, so I’d classify this battery as a high-capacity cell.

This is the second pair of Samsung batteries from the NKON store. Today we'll be looking at so-called high-capacity batteries, designed to prioritize capacity over discharge current and internal resistance.

It's been a while since I reviewed branded batteries. Thanks to regular reader Vladimir, I now have a subject for this review—or, more precisely, for an entire series of reviews testing branded batteries. And now I also have proper equipment to test them.

After my review of a Chinese clone of the VTC6 battery, one of the readers asked me to test another battery. This time, though, it was sold under the Liitokala brand and listed as the HG2—a name and appearance similar to those of another very well-known battery, the LG HG2. In the end, he ordered a single battery and had it sent to my address as a sample (many thanks to him for that). I received it and ran a few tests, which I hope will help us figure out what kind of battery this is.

Following up on the discussion about counterfeit VTC6 batteries from AliExpress, I decided to show you another set from the same mold, but from a different seller. A look-over, a few tests, and some conclusions.

A friend spotted some Sony VTC6 batteries on AliExpress, so we decided to give them a try. Some were for my friend, and I ordered four for myself to test. The short version: it’s all pretty grim. More details in the review.

Another batch of holders for 18650 batteries arrived recently, so I decided to put together a short review in case it comes in handy for someone. I've reviewed similar holders several times before, so this one is more of a follow-up to the previous reviews.

Not long ago, I was asked to buy a number of batteries for some radios. It was a pretty straightforward job: I found a suitable listing on AliExpress, placed an order, and a while later picked them up at the post office. But is everything really as good as it seems? Today’s review is a “micro” one; I’ll try to keep it short and stick to the facts.

Some time ago, I posted a review of Soshine 14500-format LiFePO4 batteries. Today, I'm following up on that review with three more batteries from the same company. I'll also run a few tests on the 14500 battery you've already seen. This review includes all kinds of tests, as well as a check of how well the batteries withstand extreme currents.

I got my hands on another batch of batteries, so I decided to put together a quick review.

Not long ago, I wrote a review of TrustFire 14500 and 18350 batteries. At the time, I also mentioned that I’d ordered another size, but it had gotten stuck somewhere in transit. The batteries I ordered arrived recently, so I decided to put together a quick mini-review of them.