I haven't seen the "nail test" (puncture) done on the other Panasonic batteries, and since Panasonic won't say exactly what's in their batteries a puncture or short out test would have to be done to say for sure which ones vent (like IMR) and which explode. According to RTD which sells good batteries and genuine AW's, they call
all the Panasonic batteries "hybrid". I've been using NCR18650PD Panasonic in my mechanical mods for almost 2 months, but I don't get anywhere near the 10 amp max continuous current they are rated for. If I had a short I might find out if they explode or vent, I'm being as careful as I can so far. I haven't read about exploding Panasonic batteries yet, although I have heard of a grey CGR18650CH venting in some guy's backpack because he didn't store it in a case... it was loose.
Not really important info for this thread, unless you want to take the gamble on ordering batteries from FastTech. The CGR18650CH does still exist here is the US, but they're about 50% more $.
I still don't understand the battery shipment issues. If we can't get them, how are all the US vendors getting theirs?