XTAR MC1 Plus 1-Bay USB Lithium Battery Charger for 10440-26650 Cells

Key Features

The MC1 Plus earns its "Plus" over a basic single bay charger with one real feature: it reads the length of the cell you drop in and switches between 0.5A and 1A automatically, so a small 16340 charges gently while a larger 21700 gets the faster rate, no dial or button to set correctly. That matters more than it sounds: charging a small cell at too high a current shortens its usable life over time, while charging a large cell too slowly just wastes an evening waiting. The automatic switch means neither happens by accident.

The cutoff itself is precise too, 4.20V ± 0.05V with a tail current under 150mA, which is what actually protects a lithium cell's long-term capacity rather than just topping it up fast and stopping wherever the charger happens to land. In practical terms, a fully depleted 21700 at 1A takes roughly four to five hours to reach that cutoff, a smaller 16340 at 0.5A closer to two, though real times vary with the specific cell's rated capacity and how depleted it actually was.

Compatible cell sizes

• 10440, 14500, 16340, 17500, 17670, 18350, 18490
• 18650, 20700, 21700, 22650, 26650

That covers essentially every common cylindrical lithium size used in flashlights, vape mods, wireless microphones and camera battery packs. It will not charge a regular AA or AAA battery from a supermarket shelf, this is a 3.6V/3.7V lithium-ion charger only, a completely different chemistry and voltage to the 1.2V NiMH or 1.5V alkaline cells most household electronics expect. Anyone who also needs to charge NiMH AA/AAA cells alongside lithium cylindrical batteries will need a second, dual-chemistry charger for those.

The body measures 92 x 27 x 26mm and weighs about 27g, small enough for a jacket pocket or a laptop bag side pocket without noticing the extra weight. It runs off any USB-C source, a phone charger, a laptop port or a power bank, which means it works during a power cut off a charged power bank just as easily as it does plugged into the wall, and the cable is included, though the battery itself is sold separately since most buyers already have specific cells they prefer. Overcharge, short-circuit and reverse-polarity protection are all built into the circuit rather than left to the user to manage carefully, and the unit carries CE, FCC and RoHS certification, the standard marks confirming it meets recognised electrical safety and environmental standards.