Some of my old AW IMR 18650's are seeming a bit weak. Which way shall I go?

[Big Hitter]

Here is my take on that.....

From reports they are both very comparable. So for me it comes down to the companies.

Panasonic a behemoth company that doesn't care about vaping in the least .... just their bottom line and stock prices.

OR

AW a smaller mfg who understand that the vaping community is a huge part of their business. With Andrew often providing tech info and details to us. A brand much more willing to produce the battery of the future we might need for future mods.

I'm stick AW all the way even if they cost more its an investment in the future of vaping.

[bjannr]

who has panasonic 14500s ?

I would also like to now. I have some 14500 batts that need replacing.

[Honkey Kong]

No clue who makes Panny 14500s, but Sanyo has a 14500 out that Orbtronics carries.

[Geoscouter]

I'm very happy with the Aw 2000mAh 18650. More vaping time than 1600 for not much extra $.

[canoeist]

I like the AW 2000mah also.

[TennDave]

The Sanyo 14500's are "protected" batteries so they are not IMR....

[Honkey Kong]

Good catch Dave.

Not sure if Protected Batteries make much of a difference? I know my Wife has been using Black AWs in her VMod2.0, they are protected.

[TennDave]

Good catch Dave.

Not sure if Protected Batteries make much of a difference? I know my Wife has been using Black AWs in her VMod2.0, they are protected.

Actually those are the best of the protected type....What's unique about the IMR batteries is that they supply whatever voltage is demanded by the atty's resistance until voltage gets to the point that they don't work anymore (then you recharge them)... many of the "protected" type at the 14500 size just can't push the LR attys very well and it's actually demanding more out of the battery than they are really capable. After awhile, the battery can't recharge fully or last any time at all. The AW Black label IMHO is not one of these- I do like their performance and they do fairly well although still fall short compared to the AW IMR's.

[ChrisEU]

My take for mechanical mods:
On 14500s, stick with AW (Secondary: use the Sony US14500)
On 18650s, use the Panasonics in their original flat top version (Secondary: AW IMR 1600)

[MarcK73]

Super T did an exhaustive comparison between the Panasonic and AW batteries and it actually depends on the device, but for a manual REO the AW fared better while the Panasonic would be better in the VV Reo's:

Load Testing of Panasonic IMR 18650 2250mAh CGR18650CH In Stock!

He also did a test of the AW 1600 vs the AW 2000 and again for some reason the 1600 came out better on manual devices, but I can't find that one...