It always boils down to heat in lipo longevity. Andrew didn't need to say anything about heat, it's a given. When I said "lower current draw equates to lower heat", I should have explained a bit further. I will give you that the heat build up may or may not be attributed to current draw during the flight (although I still do believe there will be less heat buildup during the flight with 12's, but I'm not going there).

The real issue is "how hard are you pushing your packs"? We can all agree that if you are landing with 10% capacity remaining in a battery it's going to suffer more than a battery with 40% capacity left. Again it's all about heat buildup in the battery. In the battery we pushed hard, heat has increased, which raises the internal resistance of the cells. The next time we fly it, due to high internal resistance, more heat is generated which further harms the pack by raising the internal resistance even more....on and on.

When AC and Andrew say they are killing packs in one flight at the NATS and Worlds, again it all comes down to heat that ultimately killed the pack. Due to having a more efficient system with 12's, they can fly an eight minute unknown and land with a reasonable reserve in their batteries and not harm them (hopefully).

So yes, a 12's system may give longer flight times (based on battery selection), but again, that's not the issue for most of us. For the few guys that fly eight minute Unknowns at the NATS and Worlds, yes a 12's system may give them longer flight times, but for us mortals, that don't need longer flight times, the advantage of 12's is longer battery life (due to less heat).