Best rechargeable AA/AAA batteries?

[weez82]

Eneloops are always the safe bet. Ive used GP Recyko. Those no longer work. And I've been using the Amazon Basics for a few months now. So far so good but only time will tell. As for the Eneloops I have. All still work and 4 of them are over 10 years old. Just read all the threads on this site and the conclusion is, Eneloops are king.

 

[neutralwhite]

[h=3]from darksucks;

WHY DON'T I CARRY ENELOOP?![/h]GP ReCyko+ compares very (very) favorably to everyone's favorite Panasonic eneloop...in practice you'll never know the difference. I wouldn't bother to sell ReCyko+ if I wasn't 100% confident they were awesome.
I actually tried to get a deal with Panasonic for a couple of years and they were awful to deal with at every step. It took me more than a year just to get a response from them, which finally involved calling in a favor from someone I knew at Panasonic.
I got fed up with their attitude and contacted GP. Negotiating a deal still took a long time, but they have been amazingly responsive and helpful every step of the way. I've actually been buying LR44 batteries from GP for years. When I enquired about AA/AAA rechargeables the next email came from their US VP of sales within 24 hours.
When I'm dealing with any company, it matters what kind of company they are, and I'm proud to be representing GP. You may have never heard of GP here in the US, but they are a major player in the rest of the world and manufacture a huge percentage of the world's batteries.
https://darksucks.com/collections/batteries/products/nimh-rechargeable-aa-aaa

 

[Enderman]

"GP ReCyko+ compares very (very) favorably to everyone's favorite Panasonic eneloop...in practice you'll never know the difference. "

Half the charge cycles and more self-discharge is definitely not "very favourable"
This just sounds like someone is salty they didn't get a cheap deal on eneloops.
A company as large as Panasonic is not going to give some random small retailer a discount on a battery that already sells thousands of times more than anything else.

 

[Norman]

Personally, as a fellow Canadian, my only Eneloops were purchased when Radio Shack was selling off their inventory. That should give you an idea of how old they are. Their performance haven't really impressed me, but I suspect they may have been old stock at the time, and I haven't bothered to check if their performance has improved.

As you know, Eneloops are hard to find here. In fact. other than Radio Shack, the only place I've ever seen them is in Canada Computers (ok, and in a local Japanese grocery store). They're currently $30 for an 8-pack of the 2000mAH BK3MCCA8BA (@CC). My suggestion would be to keep an eye out for Duracell sales at Shoppers Drug Mart or WalMart, or whoever sells them online in Canada. Recently, I've only seen the high-capacity 2500mAH Duracell Rechargeables on sale at $12-$15/4-pk. Never the regular pre-charged.

I'm not a Costco member, so I don't know if they sell Eneloops here, nor have I had the chance to visit Ikea to check out the Laddas. I suppose you could purchase them on the web, with the 50% exchange rate, plus the $30 sea shipping charge (most Americans seem to think Canada is located somewhere just north of Siberia).

I think somebody suggested Aliexpress. I made a purchase at the end of November. I paid extra for the 14-21 day ePacket delivery. It showed up over 50 days later, so don't be in a rush if you make a purchase there.

 

[aab]

I know it's been a while since I made this thread but I still haven't bought new batteries and the ones I've had for almost 10 years now last very few days per charge when they used to last several months per charge. I'm going crazy literally recharging every device's batteries more than once a week so I need to buy new ones yesterday.

When I asked about buying them in Canada, I didn't mean a local store, I simply meant an online store (anywhere on the planet) that ships to Canada.

What would be a good website to get Eneloops at a good price shipped to Canada? I will likely need a large amount of both AAs and AAAs, probably several hundred dollars worth, so any place that offers quantity discounts would help.

Thanks

 

[apagogeas]

If you can't get eneloops (either the regular or Pro) at a reasonable price, consider IKEA Ladda. They seem to be in par with eneloops at the most favorable price compared to any other battery out there for the quality they offer, so even in the unlikely case they are not re-branded eneloops they'll work admirably anyway. They offer all the major capacities, 1000 (brown)/2450 (white) mAh for AA, 500 (brown)/900 (white) mAh for AAA so if lower capacity suits you in some of your applications (like remotes), you can save some more money. The king of robustness is still the regular eneloop though at 1900mAh minimum for AA size and I would prefer that battery if maximum capacity is not crucial. For AAA you can easily pick IKEA for the price as AAA is not durable anyway, even eneloops are not that robust in that size. If you go for eneloops, make sure you get the Japan version, Panasonic also makes eneloops in China and these are not so good compared to Japan's version.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

When I asked about buying them in Canada, I didn't mean a local store, I simply meant an online store (anywhere on the planet) that ships to Canada.

What would be a good website to get Eneloops at a good price shipped to Canada? I will likely need a large amount of both AAs and AAAs, probably several hundred dollars worth, so any place that offers quantity discounts would help.

Order Eneloops on-line from costco.ca. It's the Canadian Costco web-site. You can also find them in-store sometimes, although not very often. They go on sale on-line about once a year, but even the regular price is about the best you'll find them in Canada.

 

[Norman]

Duracell AA 2450s & AAA 4-Packs are on sale at Staples for 50% off ($9.94) until 24 Apr 2018. Both in-store and online. Check item 712617 (AA) & 712740 (AAA) at Staples.ca.

Ikea Ladda are not on sale. There appears to be two different types of AA & AAA 4-packs.
White AA 2450 is $8.99 https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70303876/
White AAA 900 is $7.99 https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90303880/
The brown ones are about half the capacity.

You can use these as a comparison point for the Eneloops.

 

[MrAl]

Hello,

I only use Low Self Discharge NiMH these days because i got tired of the fast self discharge of the standard type cells.

I use mostly Eneloops, AA size, but i've also used Kodac and Rayovac low self dicharge too.
The Kodac's work well, and since i cant get them anymore i went with Eneloop now only.
The Eneloops test around 2000mAHr.

I also have Eneloop AAA, but did not test any of them yet. I would say they are round 800mAHr offhand.

Of course i also use Li-ion but that's a different category.

 

[bdoon51]

My current sets of rechargeable AA/AAA batteries are 7-8 years old (some Duracell PreCharhed and some Turnigys) and not surprisingly not holding their full capacity anymore so it's time for new ones.

What are good ones and a good place to get them keeping in mind I'm in Canada?

Thanks

7 to 8 years is very good. I have more issues with the chargers (Not LA Chargers) than batteries. Nevertheless, I am finding out that batteries over time do not hold the initial charge or voltage? The voltage is 1.5 volts so it must be the decrease in charge that occurs in the electrolyte? (Are these the same type of electrolytes in our bodies?)

Whatever ...the charge decreases over time though they still light up the voltage meter. You still get more for your money than with primary batteries.

So what makwes one brand or make of re-chargeable batteries better (last longer with needed charge) than others?:thinking: