I just got my first 5-inch FPV racing quad and I need to buy LiPo batteries. There are so many options and I don't understand 4S vs 6S, what C-rating I need, or which brands are reliable. Can someone help me understand what to buy?
For most 5-inch FPV quads, start with 4S 1300-1500mAh LiPo batteries. Here's what the numbers mean:
Best brands: Tattu R-Line V5 (premium, ~$28/pack), CNHL Black Series (best value, ~$20/pack), GNB/Gaoneng (good budget option). Expect 4-5 minutes flight time on a 4S 1500mAh pack. Buy 6-8 packs minimum for a proper flying session -- charging between every single pack kills all momentum.
Shop 4S LiPo Batteries on Amazon
The C-rating system is mostly marketing at this point. What actually matters is internal resistance (IR) of each cell -- lower IR means less voltage sag under load and more consistent power delivery.
Tattu R-Line and CNHL Black typically measure 3-5 milliohms per cell when new, which is genuinely good. No-name packs from random Amazon listings often measure 8-15 milliohms -- that sag makes your quad feel gutless even at full throttle. You can measure IR with a battery tester like the ISDT BG-8S ($25). Do it on new packs to establish a baseline, then check again at 50 and 100 cycles to track degradation.
LiPo safety is not optional. Three rules:
A puffed battery should be fully discharged, punctured, placed in salt water for 24 hours, and disposed of at a battery recycling facility -- never in household trash. LiPo fires are intense and move fast. One incident can become a house fire faster than you can react. The charging bag is a $10-15 investment that could prevent a catastrophe.
4S vs 6S for beginners: stick with 4S. Most beginner-oriented 5-inch quads have 2207 motors wound for 4S, typically 1700-2450KV. 6S motors are different -- typically 1200-1400KV. Running a 4S motor on 6S will destroy it. Running 6S packs on a 4S quad also risks destroying your ESC.
Match the battery voltage to what your quad is designed for. Check the product listing or manufacturer spec sheet -- most quads clearly state 4S or 6S in the title or description. When in doubt, go to the iFlight or BetaFPV product page for your specific model and look for the battery recommendation.
You'll also need a quality charger -- this is not where to cut corners. The ISDT Q6 Plus ($45) or Hota D6 Pro ($75) are the go-to recommendations at this price point.
Never charge LiPos with a balance charger that came included with a toy drone -- they're too slow and often inaccurate. A proper charger balances each cell individually, displays cell IR, and has a storage charge mode. The charger protects your $20-28 per pack battery investment. A $45 charger protecting $200 worth of batteries is not a place to save $15.
Flight time expectations for a 5-inch racing quad: 4-5 minutes casual flying, 3-4 minutes moderate racing, 2-3 minutes full-throttle racing. Don't land below 3.5V per cell under load -- use your OSD voltage display and set a Betaflight voltage alarm at 3.5V per cell.
Landing at 3.5V per cell instead of running it down to 3.2V extends battery lifespan dramatically. My CNHL packs are on 200+ cycles and still performing well using this discipline. To understand how flight time fits into your broader battery and equipment cost picture, see our guide on how much it really costs to get into FPV -- the battery section covers the full budget shock in detail.