I don't use all my builds so much that I have to worry about draining them down to the point of damage, and all ways check them with kinda a OCD stress:can: So I don't buy the protected cells. Doing your artwork though is different, but i'm sure you get to know each of your laser's draw over time. When I did a laptop battery pull I was initialy not sure if my lower LG 18650's at 5A would work but they seem to be fine with a M140 build. So tell me about this trip??