I am a surefire fan and so naturally mostly have lights using CR123 batteries. However, recently I find myself wondering if CR123s are still king of th hill with the competitive price of AA lithiums.

I have a surefire e2L, and saw they recently released a e2L-AA ... Which got me thinking ...

I know CR123s have more compact size and higher voltage (3v compared to AA 1.5v), but what else?  

For example:
- does the smaller size mean less energy capacity compare to AA?
- is the higher voltage a benefit and why?
- does one format have higher current discharge?

Note: I have two maratac extreme AA that I love.

Hmm, I dunno. You could cross post the question on the Brighflashlights board in the Industry section. I'm sure they'd be all over it.

The ARF of Flashlights (and batteries)...

From some testing over there...

CR123...test (1Amp drain).


Vs

Another thread with AA Ultimate Lithiums at:
...

But due to the voltage difference (and the size difference), you can still get a brighter & shorter flashlight with the 123s.

Good place to go over and browse and learn a lot...



Edited:

They even have a thread over there about Ultimates (AA) vs. CR123 batteries...

I think a problem exists with AA's  Most lights will be designed to accept regular AA's and not attempt to draw the extra amps (not to mention the volts just are not there).  FWIW the real king is some of the lithium rechargeable - but would be lying about the battery code number.  

Driving a 3+ watt LED to full brightness is a lot easier with 3 volts than with 1.5 volts - which is why most single-cell CR-123 LED flashlights are considerably brighter than their single-cell AA counterparts. Most LED flashlights convert the battery voltage to some higher value for the LED, but up-converting 1.5 volts is a lot less efficient than up-converting 3 volts - It draws roughly twice the current  - and there's only so much current an AA cell can supply.

The trend even holds with 2-cell lights: Most 6 volt lights are brighter than their 3 volt counterparts.

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