What is your RC LiPo of choice in 2021

[WoodiE]

RC LiPo companies come and go (rip SPC) and RC LiPo batteries are constantly changing and improving.

So to stay current, we are doing an annual thread and what to know what you thank are the best RC LiPo batteries. Tell us which LiPo batteries have offered you the best performance, lifespan and price.

If you see a LiPo battery already mentioned, be sure to up vote that reply!

If you're looking for suggestions on a lipo charger, be sure to read Recommend me a battery charger. If you're unsure about how to store a LiPo battery, then check out How to store a LiPo battery.

Get previous years recommendations in the original What's your "budget" LiPo of choice? thread.

That said, what are the best RC LiPo batteries for 2021?

 

[slick2500]

wow it does it again. I cant type (will try trick system). g.e.n.s / a.c.e with out being changed to gensacearespammers when i save!

Long story short they had bots on here spamming the forum and would not stop.

So far what I have noticed is that how long a battery lasts is a crap shoot across all brands. I have some eBay cheapo lipos I have had since 2017 that are now ready for retirement, I've had some that only lasted a few weeks and I've had some that were junk out of the box.

 

[jkflow]

Just got reminded again that humidity is the biggest factor on longevity, if everything else is how it should be.
I had a leaking box, keeping them in Tupperware, 2 SMC and a Zeee turned to poop.
I had 2 containers with same lipo brand/type bought on same day. The open container returned 3 bad lipos, the other container still has all good stuff.
I keep them with dry bags (food storage) and checked them after ~ 4 month in Florida weather. Been doing this for years, the bad batch had a cracked lid.
Above 80% humidity for several weeks/month seems to be too much.

 

[slick2500]

Just got reminded again that humidity is the biggest factor on longevity, if everything else is how it should be.
I had a leaking box, keeping them in Tupperware, 2 SMC and a Zeee turned to poop.
I had 2 containers with same lipo brand/type bought on same day. The open container returned 3 bad lipos, the other container still has all good stuff.
I keep them with dry bags (food storage) and checked them after ~ 4 month in Florida weather. Been doing this for years, the bad batch had a cracked lid.
Above 80% humidity for several weeks/month seems to be too much.

What is humidity

 

[screaminyz]

I’m not sure if I’m way off on this idea and wanted to hear others opinions. I was thinking of grabbing some of the SMC Truespec Extreme V2 40C-7700mah Flight packs in 4s for my Outcast 8S-EXB. They are a perfect size and don’t weigh a ton @688 grams. All of the 40c flight packs from SMC are at the top of the charts on that RCgroups page basically beating every 60-120c lipo from all the other brands. My other choice would be the CNHL 70c 6000s but they are a really weird size and I’m trying to get a battery I can also use in my Maxx running 4s.

 

[Greengaunja]

I use HRB and Zee brands. I do notice a difference between the two. The specs are slightly different tho. HRB 5000mah 50c vs Zee 5200mah 60c. It feels like the Zee batteries have more power in the first half of use vs the HRB then for the last half they feel similar. Hope that makes sense.

Maybe I'm feeling the extra discharge power of the 60c? Idk.

I feel the same. I get an "even" performance from full charge to LVC from my HRBs. My YouMe's and Zee's seemed to have best performance in first 50% from full charge. Zee barely noticeable but YouMe's downright sluggish once they hit 11.6-11.8 or so volts(all batteries 3S). But high burst HRBs are harder to find.

 

[Boggs3010]

Hoovo were pretty good I have 1 pair ran my cars yesterday. Let them cool down took off my top (V2 infraction ) and bam. Apparently this exact type isn't sold on Amazon anymore 80c instead of 60c. I checked no mfg website. Batteries are 6 months old and used 25x. Funny sort of thing I just ordered 2 hours before I went bashing the 80c version. They are arriving today. Do I wait and try to send in the old ones as these? Or is that wrong??

 

[Harriot10]

Hoovo were pretty good I have 1 pair ran my cars yesterday. Let them cool down took off my top (V2 infraction ) and bam. Apparently this exact type isn't sold on Amazon anymore 80c instead of 60c. I checked no mfg website. Batteries are 6 months old and used 25x. Funny sort of thing I just ordered 2 hours before I went bashing the 80c version. They are arriving today. Do I wait and try to send in the old ones as these? Or is that wrong??

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I’ve got several of those packs for bashing. Haven’t had issues Stay safe!

 

[L3phturn]

Hoovo were pretty good I have 1 pair ran my cars yesterday. Let them cool down took off my top (V2 infraction ) and bam. Apparently this exact type isn't sold on Amazon anymore 80c instead of 60c. I checked no mfg website. Batteries are 6 months old and used 25x. Funny sort of thing I just ordered 2 hours before I went bashing the 80c version. They are arriving today. Do I wait and try to send in the old ones as these? Or is that wrong??

View attachment 177377

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I would not recommend sending those things anywhere. Too dangerous. Totally discharge and dispose of safely.

 

[highrisedrifter]

I feel the same. I get an "even" performance from full charge to LVC from my HRBs. My YouMe's and Zee's seemed to have best performance in first 50% from full charge. Zee barely noticeable but YouMe's downright sluggish once they hit 11.6-11.8 or so volts(all batteries 3S). But high burst HRBs are harder to find.

Do you mean send back the old ones pretending they are the new ones, and trying to cancel the order based on that?

 

[Jessi]

No issue with zeee and absima hardcase packs. Usual dispose them after 2 seasons in use.

Would stay a couple miles away from goldbat. Maybe I'm unlucky but the balancer cable came out of the lipo. If it isn't properly soldered I wonder what else is half hearted done inside. Can't trust it.

 

[jkflow]

I 2nd the Goldbat advice, stay far away. I got maybe 50% of the advertised capacity on mine. Utter junk.
HRB has taken a turn for the worse, I'd avoid.
Zeee is still my favorite low cost but they are not top performers, up to par with CNHL (black/white) though.

2-3 seasons is realistic due to abuse. I prefer soft case.

 

[3x9rtse]

Well , I used to have good luck with Powerhobby , but had a 4s hardpack puff so hard it split the case , and a new 4s soft pack after 3 charges start puffing . So now trying Hoovo and Zeee , ran the Hoovo the other day , worked great , good run time , all cells very close to each other . Gonna try out the Zeee today in my K8S .

 

[L3phturn]

So far I am happiest with Zeee. I have several other cheap brands from Amazon including HRB (decent but not great), DXF (cheap but not as much power as rated, heats easier, and puffs easier), G ens A c e (decent batteries but I only have 1 2S so I haven't beaten it up in my Notorious and KEXB), and Zeee. The Zee batteries have high quality balance leads and connectors, come well packaged with very clear and well written instructions, have the best balance and IR of any packs I have, run the longest, and provide great power. Not the cheapest but still a great value. I'm sticking with Zeee.

 

[Jessi]

DFModels Pro Racing 5200 2S 45C turning out to be great budget options. After 4 months and about 20 cycles, all good. Capacity advertised 5200. Full charge test 5150.

 

[Adiabatic]

I have accumulated a large pile of Zeee 3s hard case packs and they're reasonably good packs overall, very good for the money so far.

I had 6s soft case packs for my Kraton initially but replaced them with hard case packs after crushing and nearly puncturing one during my first run at a bike track. Too many rocks, sticks and other hard debris at my bash spots to trust a thin PVC wrap and polymer cell casing as the only barrier between electrodes and the elements.

 

[Hoss81]

I'm with you Woody, long time SMC battery user. I do have some old Turnigy 2S packs that still work really well, and my X-maxx came with a pair of HRB packs which seem ok. Outside of that, I'm almost entirely SMC. I did order some China Hobby Line packs because SMC was out of the 3S packs I wanted for my Felony. They seem good, but cost about the same as the SMC's do.

 

[arrmedndangerous]

I 2nd the Goldbat advice, stay far away. I got maybe 50% of the advertised capacity on mine. Utter junk.
HRB has taken a turn for the worse, I'd avoid.
Zeee is still my favorite low cost but they are not top performers, up to par with CNHL (black/white) though.

2-3 seasons is realistic due to abuse. I prefer soft case.

I've not had issues with the couple of Goldbats I've got, but they're not great. They're fine for casual bashing. My favorite so far are the Liperiors. Soft case, the Pro models have a thick shrink wrap and I added my own thicker shrink wrap to the standard ones. Great prices when on sale. They've got 3s 5000mah 25c for $15 ea and the 75c Pros for $30 and some other C ratings in between. They seem to be accurate with capacity and C rating, as opposed to a lot of the cheaper brands. They have great punch and capacity, but are quite a bit longer than the normal 5000 mah hard packs. The LWB chassis needs the spacers removed and the SWB needs an adapter to raise one end of the battery. I'd pick up some more this month with all the sales but I've got more packs than I can run regularly right now.

 

[jkflow]

Shamelessly copied from here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1767093-Battery-Load-Test-Comparisons/page831

Best summary on reality I've seen.
Grab those SMC 55C while they are still available. I already have mine on order therefore ok to post

Snip:
"My viewpoint is directed at abusive relationships between EDF's and 6S packs which support 3000W-3500W performance. Some of my 12S EDF's actually do require a 7000W burn to make me smile

However I've done my best to prepare these assessments somewhat objectively but I deny neither my bias nor the intent of my testing. As always take what you can use and ignore the rest understanding the trade offs.

If you're a bottom line kind of guy I personally would spend my money this way: #1 SMC 6200, #2 Admiral Pro 6000, #3 Hyperion 6000 at 4.35v and #4 Liperior 6200 based on the balance between their performance, flight times and weight. Obviously if cost were more of a driver for me I'd be looking at the Liperior 6200 first and the SMC 5000 second.

Be aware suppliers produce Lipo packs in batches which are typically turned by distribution on 4-6 month intervals. Weight can vary +/-20g and rating by 5C. Also bear in mind it's virtually impossible to discern a LPB voltage difference in flight less then 6-8 seconds when comparing performance numbers.

1. SMC 6200 40C (810g/35C Real/$140)
After using these all season I've got to say this is my all time favorite pack. Any ~800 gram unit that can post a 3.7v 25C LPB with over a 60 second duration and still deliver a$$ kicking 35C service is very special. Especially when one considers the performance matching alternatives weigh ~50g more and deliver ~1000mAh less usable energy. What's not to like??

For one thing the infant mortality rate. There's no free lunch, money for nothing and tricks for free is only found in song lyrics

The chemistry and construction which enables the SMC Extreme Series to provide this level of power to weight ratio can eat it's young. Once that's sorted they're hard to hurt and harder to beat.

2. Hyperion 6000 LiHV 45C (770g/25C Real/$160)
Charged to 4.35v it performs as well as the 6200 at 4.20v and offers a ~40g lighter weight, but without the Real C headroom. I'd say they were obscenely over priced were it not for such good voltage numbers and low weight. However it has difficulty shedding temperature at 30C and faults out badly at 35C. It's my 3rd choice for an Avanti jet pack. Covering wise they're very poorly made, I always have to patch mine with black gorilla tape but I know from personal experience they can provide lots and lots of high performance cycles.

3. CNHL G+ 5000 70C (835g/45C Real/$80)
Over the years this relatively economical pack has matched the performance of the more costly Admiral Carbon and Hobby King Panther products. I'm fairly certain all 3 come out of the same factory but I have some doubts it's the same grade as the Panther. To offer a wild a$$ guess I'd speculate it's a 125-150 cycle pack to the Panthers ~200. That might be my prejudice talking because CNHL has not demonstrated the quality and performance consistency of the others (especially with the lower C rated G+ labels) but that doesn't take away from the fact it's a heck of a good value that performs stellar.

************************************************** ******************************************
Performance differences between packs #4-#12 are statistically insignificant.
(“Real C” rating can be a reasonable indication of relative life cycle potential)
************************************************** ******************************************​

4. Admiral Pro 6000 50C (840g/25C Real/$130)
My take is this is a darn fine unit, especially considering it's #2 standing in mAh delivery under load. It starts taking on heat at 30C but that's more a product of it's sustained output ability then any product deficiency. I really like this pack, it's definitely my 2nd choice for an Avanti Jet pack

5. Admiral Carbon 5100 70C (860g/45C Real/$119)
You really can't go wrong here. It tends to run a little heavier then it's CNHL and Panther siblings but that's more because the Panther is trending lighter and CNHL doesn't control the weight of it's products very well in general.

6. Tattu R-Line 5100 95C (870g/45C Real/$140)
Grepow's (gens-ace-r-spam) "me too" answer to the higher performance heavy's provided by Hobbyking, Admiral and CNHL. This factory proliferates by private labeling a host of over priced brands using the same 15C-20C cells (gens-ace-r-spam, Pulse, Jeti, Etc.). It's logical they would label a stack of actual 45C cells as a 95C pack. It performs great but suffers from being overweight and over priced.

7. Panther 5000 75C (835g/45C Real/$117)
The Panther is one of the few heavies I've tried testing to death but I gave up first. I've been able to kill CNHL G+, Admiral Carbon and most others but not the Panthers or HK Graphenes. I honestly can't say why they're so resilient but I can say with knowledge they are. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean 250A death marches but I do mean initial 175A full discharge cycles to ~3.6v. Obviously you need to apply best practices to get 200 performance cycles but this is the one I'd take my chances on doing it with. The industry's Alpha Pack IMHO.

8. Hadron HE 5000 120C (830g/45C Real/$136)
Nothing to knock but the price. It's a solid top 10 pack even if a 600 Amp load rating claim is a crock worthy of a hard pass on integrity issues alone. I doubt they'll still be around next season. My bet is it's the same pack as GetFPV's sells under the Lumenier N20 label.

9. Bolt 5400 LiHV 65C (825g/35C Real/$118)
This is like the Ford truck of packs. It doesn't get much respect except from the people who use it. Probably because not many have adopted the 4.35v chargers necessary to make it worthy of it's cost and weight. It may be there's not enough differentiation on the HK site. It's the same price and similar weight as the Panther which delivers essentially the same performance from 4.20v. The Bolt made more sense a couple years back when the Graphenes were running ~50g heavier but not so much now. But I've used a few and they're decent LiHV's but dog awful 4.20v's.

10. ManiaX 5100 70C (865g/40C Real/$135)
I remember this brand having a pleasant perfume like aroma to it, probably to capture the hearts of the Heli guys they appear to target

It's an excellent pack the only small critique is based on it's power to weight ratio. It should have earned a little higher C rating accompanied by an increase in it's LPB output.

11. NanoTech 5000 70C (830g/40C Real/$110)
Hobby King needs to differentiate their performance products a little more distinctly IMO. You can save $10 over their Panther with this unit and given an extreme high amp death match the Panther will likely give you more cycles but who does that? (except me

) Otherwise this seasons models weigh the same and statistically perform the same.

12. Dinogy Ultra 80C (860g/45C Real/$145)
My go to brand for years, you could count on Dinogy's reliability and Mark's superior care and support. In a lipo world where pack survive-ability was not a given it was well worth the higher price and many will argue it still is. However packs today generally survive abuse pretty well and the performance gains have been nothing short of remarkable in some cases. When I see this (very excellent performing) pack stacked up along side others half it's price it makes me want to kick Dinogy in the balls for not giving Mark more to work with.

************************************************** ******************************************
Performance differences between packs #13-#23 are statistically insignificant.
(“Real C” rating can be a reasonable indication of relative life cycle potential)
************************************************** ******************************************​

13. SMC 5000 55C (775g/35C Real/$55)
Unquestionably the best bang for the buck, it's the trifecta: weight, cost and performance. You can thank Liperior this pack is priced so low. It's for the bragging rights of being the premier economy product, not because it shouldn't have been priced higher IMO. Don't expect to see these again at this price, SMC ponied up with a 500 piece order to make this happen and I doubt locking that kind of money up in the future for no margin is in the cards again. I'd be surprised if there's more then a 60 day window left on these. Also there's no bump in the infant mortality rate with this formulation.

14. Liperior 6200 40C (875g/35C Real/$69)
This pack's Real C rating benefits from the ~5000/weight standard I apply to the testing process. Looked at as a 6200mAh it's really an extremely good 25C pack and just gets by at higher loads. Considering the price along with the mAh delivered under load it's a very good buy. AeroPlayin gives it a well deserved #1 consumer rating. If it was put on a diet and still able to achieve those numbers it would go from good to great and maybe become a worthy successor to SMC's 6200 top slot.

15. SMC 5300 40C (690g/35C Real/$109)
The previous batch at ~715g kept pace with the 1/4lb heavier Panther. The lighter 690g unit is still a remarkable pack however it's ranking suffered a bit from being so light. While it still supports 35C use I really had to extend more benefit of the doubt on the temperature rise then I think wise in retrospect to support that rating. Aggressive use in a 130A-140A Avanti coupled with pushing the flight times creates excessive temperature accumulation but it's the ideal pack for the stock setup. This extreme formulation also kicks out an infant mortality rate similar to the 6200's.

16. CNHL Black 5000 65C (785g/40C Real/$67)
A very remarkable batch from a company with a long standing history of selling 25C units under the same label. The only reason I haven't banned them from the testing like RoaringTop is CNHL does an excellent good job managing Quality Control, just not so much their weight and Real C variations. Unlike RT it's unlikely you'll ever get a total crap unit, just maybe a weak batch then a strong batch, etc. If you get a good one order 2 or 3 more while the same batch is in stock because they can be an exceptional value.

17. FullyMax 5600 80C (785g/35C Real/$160)
This is probably what TP's Rampage might perform like if they didn't insist on maintaining a very flawed process of bonding a couple 3S packs together. Solid performance, excellent weight, a little weak in the highest amp range and sharing the obscene price tag with it's step child.

18. RCLipo 6000 100C (890g/35C Real/$85)
This pack started life on the Amazon channel as a 5200mAh for $55 but I assume they figured they'd get more money by putting it under a 6000mAh label. I'll bet anybody $100 it's a Rhino in orange livery with a little higher price tag and a less label integrity.

19. Turnigy HD 5000 60C (780g/35C Real/$75)
This has been the HobbyKing sleeper pack for a while now. Solid performance, super price, well made. The 780g was a batch anomaly, expect about 810g-820g weights. Any lighter is a bonus because it sure didn't hurt the performance any. It's been my suspicion for a couple years it's a Graphene 45C pack in a blue dress because HK had a spot to maintain. I've got no evidence except the batch to batch similarity in weight and performance going back a few years. If the balance wires matched in color I'd be more confident in that assertion

20. Graphene 5000 45C (785g/35C Real/$100)
Before 2021 this was an 820g pack. I assume it's back to it's normal weight by now. Regardless until SMC introduced their Extreme line this was my go to unit. I could run it down to 6%-8% time after time without over heating or apparent damage to performance. Doing that starting with a 4.35v overcharge was like having an ubber light 6000 until the performance bottom dropped out at around 50 cycles. Still worth it at a couple bucks a flight, I may have to go back to that if the 6200 goes away.

21. Rhino 5000 75C (890g/35C Real/$70)
Great pack in the heavy, mid performance range but you get the same thing with better service from Liperior at $14 less so the Rhino has been eclipsed by this relative new comer.

22. Liperior 5000 75C (850g/35C Real/$71)
This offers a bit better high amp service then the majority of those in it's weight and price class. It's a solid value unit backed by excellent support.

23. Liperior 5000 65C (880g/35C Real/$56)
The price and matching performance kills the Rhino. It's generally just a tad heavier then the Liperior 75C so it's really a toss up between the two. If you're on a tight budget it's the clear choice. In it's defense against the similar priced SMC 5000 (the 2 least expensive 6S/5000 packs worth owning on the market), for all practical purposes the performance is also a toss up. And what you get for carrying the extra weight of the Liperior is better temperature management. I have no hard numbers and it's subject to user practices, better temperature management typically translates to improved cycle life.

 

[Boggs3010]

Hoovo were pretty good I have 1 pair ran my cars yesterday. Let them cool down took off my top (V2 infraction ) and bam. Apparently this exact type isn't sold on Amazon anymore 80c instead of 60c. I checked no mfg website. Batteries are 6 months old and used 25x. Funny sort of thing I just ordered 2 hours before I went bashing the 80c version. They are arriving today. Do I wait and try to send in the old ones as these? Or is that wrong??

View attachment 177377

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I jumped to the conclusion Hoovo would stand behind their 1 year warranty and I was right. Sending not 1 battery but 2 replacements. I was thrilled upon hearing this and ordered some more Hoovo's.

 

[Tigershark1956]

So I'm pretty much sticking with the SMCs I have unless this company goes sideways. They are highly rated, don't weigh a ton, and appear to hold up well. I have bought Powerhobby and have a Zee 6s pack that so far not really impressed with. I bought some CNHL to try because they seem to get spoken of highly but the ones I bought came and were way bigger than my other batteries. Don't know if I'm even going to use them. They weigh a lot and don't fit any of my trucks like my other batteries. The cost was similar to other batteries and I was a little disappointed when I opened the boxes when I received them. Maybe I should have checked the description better. So I may end up just selling them.