Every genuine battery beat its counterfeit and knockoff rivals in
essentially every test that matters: the genuine DeWalt (1.3 average
finish) posted the longest blower run and triple the grinder endurance of
its imitators, while the genuine Makita and Milwaukee finished first in
every category on their platforms. The teardown evidence removes any
mystery — real Samsung 2,500mAh cells versus 1,500–2,050mAh no-names —
and the capacity chart quantifies the fraud: counterfeits deliver 47 to
70% of the energy printed on their labels.
The distinction worth understanding is counterfeit versus knockoff. The
counterfeits — convincing packaging, fake serial numbers, hundreds of
sales per listing — are the outright scam: worst capacity, worst tool
performance, and smoke in the safety test. The honest knockoffs are more
complicated: they beat the counterfeits in nearly every test at a third
of the genuine price, and the knockoff DeWalt even out-measured the
genuine packs on raw watt-hours. But the safety test settles the
argument — that same knockoff DeWalt went into thermal runaway on a dead
short, popping cells and leaking electrolyte with no protective shutdown
at all. A battery that stores 90 watt-hours without working protection
circuitry isn't a bargain; it's a hazard sitting in a toolbox.
The buying guidance is blunt: pay for genuine packs from authorized
sellers, and treat a "5Ah for half price" listing as the red flag it is.
Weight is the quickest field check — every fake here weighed 10 to 95
grams less than the real battery it imitated — and a seller photo showing
the cell wrappers beats any packaging claim. If the budget genuinely
doesn't stretch, an honestly-labeled compatible from a brand that
publishes its real cell specs is the least-bad alternative; the one
category to never buy on price is the battery that lives on a charger in
an attached garage.