How much is enough? Primary batteries

We all know I talk about flashlights enough- and probably a bit too much. What I have only made minimal mention to however- is batteries. I have briefly discussed batteries before but I focused on a few rechargeable  options and left primary (non-rechargeable) cells completely out of the picture.

Probably most common among CR123 options is the Surefire 123A Lithium. These batteries are pretty good. They are consistent, and in the few boxes I have run they have all worked well. No duds, and no odd inconsistencies.  I do however, find the price to be a touch high. Cheaper options exist that offer comparable performance.

Also in this price range is the quality Streamlight CR123A Lithium . Running a few dollars less than the surefires, these batteries are solid performers that I see no difference in performance from when comparing to surefire 123a cells. As such, I don't keep any surefire batteries around.

For about the same money you can have what I think is a slightly better battery in the Duracell Procell 3-volt Lithium. These batteries are my favorites for all out performance. They are what I keep on hand in my lights that don't get battery changes often, and  have to work- like the lights in my car or first aid kit. If you are fixing a flat tire or bandaging up some cuts, that is not the time to find dead batteries.

Even further up the price chain is the Radioshack CR123 batteries (in the photo section). They are actually decent, but are extremely over priced. They run upwards of 3-4 dollars EACH. Never pay that much for a CR123 battery. It just is not worth that much money. They are not magical and in no way impress me.

For budget options I recommend two batteries- first, the cheapest decent battery you will find; the Tenergy Propel CR123A Lithium. Running under 10 dollars a pack, these batteries are very functional. I don't get as good of battery life out of them as I do the duracells, but frankly at less than half the price, that is totally okay with me.  They come in a number of different quantities, so you can buy either a few or a bunch and receive discounts accordingly.

The other budget option I recommend is the batteries from solarforce. Running right around a $1.50 each, these batteries split the baby for price, but really don't suffer in the performance category. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to order them by themselves, but whenever I order a light, I usually throw in a few of these on my order to stock up my primary battery backup bank.

How many should you keep on hand? well that is a tough question. I keep a large assortment of rechargeable batteries on hand as backups, and also in some of my lights. Other lights, with more serious applications (bedstand light, car light, first aid light, etc) get quality primaries that are the Duracells.  But for backup primaries? I keep a dozen tenergy or solarforce around and call it good. There is also the remainder of the box from my more expensive cells that haven't been completely used up. So I would say 15-20 quality batteries will back up just about any flashlight combination you could have without issues.

I'm from a region where power outages are not uncommon, and multi-day outages just happen. Flashlights are necessary to get through what is generally the longer half of the day when these events happen, as they seem to favor winter in my locale. The backups I have had on hand was always sufficient for my light and a few other lights around the house to be used at will and without fear of running out of light before power was restored.  You could probably get away with keeping less on hand, but I wouldn't buy the cells in less than packs of 12 as the smaller quantity prices are just too high per unit.

All said and done, most people will probably be okay with 1 good pack of backup cells, but really- when they are this cheap there is no reason to settle for a small cushion. Lithium cells keep 10 years anyhoo, and it is easy to squirrel a few away.