Which should i get? SMC vs CNHL vs Zeee

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I honestly first don't have the money to spend on batteries. I have tried my Zeee packs and my Outcast has more punch than I could ever ask for. It wheelies so damn easily. It flips easily. They are just fine for a normal basher like me. Also spending 100+ on just a single 3s pack is kind of insane. I know I will crash and my bat will get ejected. It has happened once and I don't want 200 down the drain. They work just fine. Now if I really had a choice I would go CNHL. Now there really is no need because I own too many batteries
 
I honestly first don't have the money to spend on batteries. I have tried my Zeee packs and my Outcast has more punch than I could ever ask for. It wheelies so damn easily. It flips easily. They are just fine for a normal basher like me. Also spending 100+ on just a single 3s pack is kind of insane. I know I will crash and my bat will get ejected. It has happened once and I don't want 200 down the drain. They work just fine. Now if I really had a choice I would go CNHL. Now there really is no need because I own too many batteries
100$ for 1x 3s battery sounds bonkers. That made me curious, so I went to amazon to check out prices.

2x Zee 3s 120c 6200mah 82$
vs
2x Yowoo graphene 100c 3s 5000mah 90$

The zeee have a slight mah advantage but performance wise (punch) there is literally no comparison. Thats crazy for a 8$ difference.


Obviously, I'm not trying to step on anyone toes or pick on people who buy Zee. I just find this extremely interesting as someone who has both.
 
100$ for 1x 3s battery sounds bonkers. That made me curious, so I went to amazon to check out prices.

2x Zee 3s 120c 6200mah 82$
vs
2x Yowoo graphene 100c 3s 5000mah 90$

The zeee have a slight mah advantage but performance wise (punch) there is literally no comparison. Thats crazy for a 8$ difference.


Obviously, I'm not trying to step on anyone toes or pick on people who buy Zee. I just find this extremely interesting as someone who has both.
Trust me, there is a WORLD of a difference between yoowoo(or youme) and zeee.
First, yoowoo inflates their specs ALOT whereas Zeee has been consistent for me(according to chargers).
 
Trust me, there is a WORLD of a difference between yoowoo(or youme) and zeee.
First, yoowoo inflates their specs ALOT whereas Zeee has been consistent for me(according to chargers).
Sorry bro but I think you're wrong. Every single one of these manufactures upsell their C rating. My zee 7000 mah packs claim 120c and they are worse than my 60c sockin and both are worse than my yowoo graphene 100c.

I think you've never actually used a yowoo as there is literally no comparison between the punch of those batteries and the Zee claims a higher C rating. That would point to Zee lying a helluva lot more lol.

Tbh I didn't even expect the sockin to be better than the Zee. I thought they would be similar but I was wrong. Difference was night and day even between those 2 brands.
 
Don't have a great selection of batteries readily available up here, so I have only compared Zeee to HRB, Gèns Ace and Spektrum, and they're all in the same ballpark. Zeee 5200mAh 100C 6S pack actually had the lowest average IR reading and an accurate discharge capacity despite being the cheapest per Wh, although the tests were far from controlled, and in a blind test in a vehicle I doubt I'd be able to distinguish between any of them.

I don't doubt that SMC, CNHL, Turnigy etc. packs are noticeably better, but much more of a pain to get. CNHL looks like the only one that is straightforward, and still have to order from overseas.
 
I rock spektrums and cnhl's.. I really like the smart features paired with my rugged, I actually just realized today that if I'm using 2x 3s lipos, it shows all their data independently, and I'm still learning what all the data means, its pretty dope.. i get lipo temp, esc temp, motor temp, fet temp, bec temp (bec amperage and voltage).. anyone know what fet temp is?? It even shows battery imbalance in milli volts and consumed mah 🤣 also how many cycles are on each battery and how much mah is left, there is so much sheet!! Oh.. I also still have my spektrum 5000mah 3s 50c from 2 years ago!! 😎
 
I rock spektrums and cnhl's.. I really like the smart features paired with my rugged, I actually just realized today that if I'm using 2x 3s lipos, it shows all their data independently, and I'm still learning what all the data means, its pretty dope.. i get lipo temp, esc temp, motor temp, fet temp, bec temp (bec amperage and voltage).. anyone know what fet temp is?? It even shows battery imbalance in milli volts and consumed mah 🤣 also how many cycles are on each battery and how much mah is left, there is so much sheet!! Oh.. I also still have my spektrum 5000mah 3s 50c from 2 years ago!! 😎
You're such a spektrum fanboy, I love it :ROFLMAO: :love:
 
You're such a spektrum fanboy, I love it :ROFLMAO: :love:
I am, and thats not even half of the telemetry data 😍
I genuinely believe that they are a good brand, they just put there sheet in so many rtr brands and platforms that its easy to see so many fails!! Kinda not fair when u basically just have true hobbyist using HW or castle!! 🤔
Temperature of the FETs (transistors) inside the ESC.
Damn really, LOVE IT!! 🖤
 
Last edited:
I'm surprised so many people in here likes Zee tbh lol. I mean they "work" but holy poop they're cheap as balls and the performance matches. My 100c 7000mah Zees are garbage compared to everything else I've used. Have people just not compared them to anything else? Even Sockin is a lot better than Zee and they are like similar prices.
I actually just returned those exact batteries to Amazon. I think they are still around $140 for the pair. They didn't have the punch like the Socokin have, like you said. I can buy a pair of Socokin 6500mah 100c for $99. I just soldered on some iC5 plugs to them and they work great in my Xmaxx. I did try out the Yowoo Graphene 5000mah 100c and they were good as well.

I'm temped to spend some money on the CNHL or SMC batteries but I just don't know how much more performance I will get out of them. 5%? 10%? Is it worth spending more to get that much of increase. I could see how this would be huge in speed runs.

I also bought some budget rchackers lipo batteries a couple of months ago and they are actually pretty good. I'm temped to get one of there new 6s lipos for the Talion.
 
Last edited:
I actually just returned those exact batteries to Amazon. I think they are still around $140 for the pair. They didn't have the punch like the Socokin have, like you said. I can buy a pair of Socokin 6500mah 100c for $99. I just soldered on some iC5 plugs to them and they work great in my Xmaxx. I did try out the Yowoo Graphene 5000mah 100c and they were good as well.

I'm temped to spend some money on the CNHL or SMC batteries but I just don't know how much more performance I will get out of them. 5%? 10%? Is it worth spending more to get that much of increase.

I also bought some budget rchackers lipo batteries a couple of months ago and they are actually pretty good. I'm temped to get one of there new 6s lipos for the Talion.
I wish I could have returned them. They were the first batts I bought so I didn't know any better. By the time I tried other brands it was too late lol. I've yet to try the CNHL G+ but I do have some of the CNHL 120c racing packs and the yowoo definitely better. I also just bought 2 of the SMC DV extreme 6s packs from the sale going on. I'm a bit worried after seeing so many people in here having problems with SMC packs though.
 
Lots of talk about Zeee, CNHL, SMC etc...I'd like to throw a couple of other brands that I've tried.

I'm really liking the Ovonic 6500mah 100c 6s for just general bashing. Has very good punch and the run time is better than expected. They may not be high enough quality for speed running but to just throw a rig around they're great. Pretty cheap too.

I've also had a good experience with the PowerHobby Si-Graphene Pro Series in both 4S and 6S. They're rated to 135c and 150c (at least that's what they say). I've been using the 6000mah for both. They perform well for street speed bashing or quick impromptu drag racing. Very consistent power and they are smaller and lighter than other batteries with the same or close mah (5000 to 6500). I've been impressed with them.

On the high end I've NOT had a good experience with MaxAmps. Very overpriced and I had to warranty one when a cell went bad after only a few uses. They do have a lifetime warranty so I guess I shouldn't complain much but I was expecting a lot more for the price I paid. They've become my battery of last choice...I'll throw a Zeee in before one of these. I like Zeee but over time they do lose some performance but for the price and the good deals you get on Amazon they fit the bill for how I use them.

SMC has a summer sale going on right now in case any of you might be missing it. I picked up a 6S 135c DV Extreme for 99 bucks (regularly 179). Can't wait to try it out.
 
Lots of talk about Zeee, CNHL, SMC etc...I'd like to throw a couple of other brands that I've tried.

I'm really liking the Ovonic 6500mah 100c 6s for just general bashing. Has very good punch and the run time is better than expected. They may not be high enough quality for speed running but to just throw a rig around they're great. Pretty cheap too.

I've also had a good experience with the PowerHobby Si-Graphene Pro Series in both 4S and 6S. They're rated to 135c and 150c (at least that's what they say). I've been using the 6000mah for both. They perform well for street speed bashing or quick impromptu drag racing. Very consistent power and they are smaller and lighter than other batteries with the same or close mah (5000 to 6500). I've been impressed with them.

On the high end I've NOT had a good experience with MaxAmps. Very overpriced and I had to warranty one when a cell went bad after only a few uses. They do have a lifetime warranty so I guess I shouldn't complain much but I was expecting a lot more for the price I paid. They've become my battery of last choice...I'll throw a Zeee in before one of these. I like Zeee but over time they do lose some performance but for the price and the good deals you get on Amazon they fit the bill for how I use them.

SMC has a summer sale going on right now in case any of you might be missing it. I picked up a 6S 135c DV Extreme for 99 bucks (regularly 179). Can't wait to try it out.
From everything I've read, MaxAmps makes the worst performing batteries at the highest prices on the market. They have an effective 10C rating (check out @LibertyMKiii's chart that he posted on page 1 for reference) and are routinely at the bottom of the lot. That SMC should be good. I have a pair of 3S SRDs and they've been stellar.
 
SMC is top tier for sure, but many of us here on the forum have had experiences where they drop a cell. The Speed run series have zero warranty which really sucks given their premium price point.

Oddly enough my CNHL G+ LiPos have never had issues and my last run I pulled over 600 amps out of them!!!! For their performance level and price point you just cannot beat them! Zero experience with their other lines of LiPos as the G+ is their top performer at a great price.

For bashers its Zeee all day. That is what I run in my Son's Slash 2wd monster truck. Some are 4+ years old now and still balance out great.
 
I don't think Zeee batteries are the best batteries. Even their premium series batteries weren't that impressive. I wouldn't buy anymore of their higher priced batteries because the value isn't there. And I do feel like they raised prices slightly over the past year or so.

BUT, they are still good for some good value. If you're going 4s in a 3s truck or 8s in a 6s truck get zeee batteries. They'll work just fine, and in a rig that is already overpowered, you won't notice that big of a difference in punch. If you are trying it 3s for the first time on an arrma, get a decent 3s zeee battery. It'll get you reasonably close to the rated capacity and lots more power and won't break the bank (usually like $30 for a 50c 5200mah 3s).

Yeah based on my last 4 SMC batteries having 2 drop cells and the last two have a cell that are double IR from the other, I probably wont buy anymore SMCs for a bit.

What has surprised me are the Hoovo 5500mah 3s pair I picked up for like $50 a while back. Punch is somewhere between the zee and SMC. Get pretty close to rated capacity. Only downside is they are huge packs for 5500mah.
 
Last edited:
Sorry bro but I think you're wrong. Every single one of these manufactures upsell their C rating. My zee 7000 mah packs claim 120c and they are worse than my 60c sockin and both are worse than my yowoo graphene 100c.

I think you've never actually used a yowoo as there is literally no comparison between the punch of those batteries and the Zee claims a higher C rating. That would point to Zee lying a helluva lot more lol.

Tbh I didn't even expect the sockin to be better than the Zee. I thought they would be similar but I was wrong. Difference was night and day even between those 2 brands.
I have used yoowoo under another name. My pair of Youme's came in a YooWoo box. And can state they were aweful.
Honestly though? I think pretty much all of the Amazon cheapie batteries are made by the same company, just rebranded. Possibly even sold off in lots depending on quality and just a sticker slapped on differentiates it as another brand.
Since I no longer own those crappy batteries, here's proof from a year and half ago:
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/project-100mph-notorious.31988/post-474590
Just to clarify, me saying Zeee has been consistent isn't me saying they came as advertised. Yes they were under stated MaHs, yet not enough for me to scream about it. The Youme's were WAAAY under the stated specs. And crap to boot. I'm not sure how long they lasted until they started swelling, but for sure no where near as long as my HRBs or Zeee.
 
SMC is top tier for sure, but many of us here on the forum have had experiences where they drop a cell. The Speed run series have zero warranty which really sucks given their premium price point.

Oddly enough my CNHL G+ LiPos have never had issues and my last run I pulled over 600 amps out of them!!!! For their performance level and price point you just cannot beat them! Zero experience with their other lines of LiPos as the G+ is their top performer at a great price.

For bashers its Zeee all day. That is what I run in my Son's Slash 2wd monster truck. Some are 4+ years old now and still balance out great.
I was just about the pull the trigger on some SMC too. I think I will hold out.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top