Basically the difference between that and say a R/C LiPo battery is discharge current. The batteries on SFE are high capacity but can only dump 2C in current (2x capacity - 12A in this case) vs a r/c lipo able to do up to 50C (300A for a 6Ah pack).
If you want to run a motor or servos, get a R/C lipo. If you want to run electronics, get a lithium-ion.
Servos can stall out at 2-3A, and a motor will run 5-200A depending on the motor. Therefore, if you want to run servos and motors stick with the R/C LiPos.
Also, the sparkfun battery cannot be balanced - so once your cells start getting slight voltage differences you can start putting too much voltage into one cell and end up with it going critical. (ie: burn down your house). R/C batteries on the other hand have balance leads on them and R/C chargers have balancers in them to charge your lipo’s (or any other cell) safely.
Either way, i’d recommend you get an R/C charger for charging your lipos. You can get them for the same price, they are far smarter, you can charge lead acid, nimh, nicd, LiFe, LiPo, Li-ion, LiMn on them. You can also discharge, recharge, and cycle any of your batteries (great for bringing NiMH’s back to life).
I’d recommend one of these if you’re on a budget:
[url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11668&Product_Name=HobbyKing_Variable_6S_50W_5A_Balancer/Charger_w/_accessories&aff=19701[/url]
If you want something a little fancier (by $3), i’d highly recommend this charger:
[url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028&Product_Name=Turnigy_Accucel-6_50W_6A_Balancer/Charger_w/_accessories&aff=19701[/url]
For batteries, if you want insane amounts of capacity:
[url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11939&aff=19701[/url]
Or, slightly less capacity but much cheaper:
[url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10286&aff=19701[/url]
Or something cheap ($25) for less capacity (4000mAh)
[url]http://hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9185&aff=19701[/url]
I highly recommend HobbyKing for batteries and lipos. I have one of their quad chargers mounted to the cargo barrier in my 4WD, and 2 chargers inside. I have dozens of their batteries, and friends have dozens and dozens more.
If you’re worried about them, get one of these: [url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=14285&aff=19701[/url]
$2 for peace of mind.
If you were looking for lipo’s for your r/c car:
4000mAh 2s: [url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8357&aff=19701[/url]
5000mAh 2s: [url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10277&aff=19701[/url]
5200mAh 2s: [url]http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=13398&aff=19701[/url]
All under $27 each.
