Ah so you're a flashlight guy. Liion wholesale gave me a freebie LED 18650 like flashlight with an order. Do I need to use protected batteries in it? Your post has me thinking yes. Better check before I use it.
After I rec'd that flashlight I started looking around at some of the flashlight sites. Yikes! Talk about a very expensive rabbit hole.
I got one of those flashlights too. The same 18650s I bought from them for my mods fit it and work fine. It’s a nice little light, especially for free. I popped it in my truck’s console. You never know when you’ll need a flashlight and I know I’ll have a battery in my mod to use with it.