I like the Maha C9000 and use it all of the time. I wish I would have bought a second one in lieu of my LaCrosse BC-700 that I purchased at the same time, for roughly the same amount of money.
I have these Xtar chargers in order of purchase, the Xtar WP2 II, MP1S, VP2, XP1, MC1+ and VC4.
For li-ion charging needs and not doing large batches, the VP2 is still a SOTA charger for charging all the chemistries, but it's not an analyzing charger and it doesn't do NiMH.
For charging up smaller 10440, 16340, 14500 and 18350 cells, I like the XP1. It takes a while on NiMH and doesn't do anything over AA/14500 in physical size, but I love the 250/500mA rates and this is always hooked up to my PC, topping things off for my lipstick.
For bolting out the front door and needing a USB charger, the MC1+ is very light and does a good job charging, but its 500mA low rate isn't ideal for my smaller cells, although I've charged up 16340 cells for years using a 500mA rate. Still...500mA isn't ideal.
The MP1S always charged at bit low, often times below 4.15v, which isn't bad per se, but I got a credit through Andrew & Amanda and ended up with my 2014 Nitecore i4 v.2 charger in a swap. It works and is light, but ehhh...pass on that one. The MC1+ ANT would be a better option for not a lot of cash.
The VC4--what can I say about this charger? It works pretty well and is slow, sometimes missing NiMH termination...well...more than "sometimes", but it works well for the most part on li-ion and it works with power banks and USB solar panels. I leave the VC4 at my GF's place, FWIW.
The WP2 II. My first li-ion charger and while I don't use it much any longer, it never let me down and for the first two-three years in my li-ion life, it was all I used. Slightly undercharges at 4.18v-4.19v, 'which is a good thing' as Martha would say.
Chris
I appreciate the detailed rundown. Thank you, brother.
My BC-700 saw several years of use, as my primary AA NiMh charger.
The C9000 always had its appeal, with its beautiful display, higher charging capacities, customize-able settings, and analyzing abilities; but, for whatever reason, I never got around to grabbing one - or any other analyzing charger, until the Dragon.
I had my pair of i4 V2s for a while, but they didn't tend to terminate well on my AA NiMhs, and ran fairly hot, to the touch, in spite of being fairly slow chargers.
Then Nitecore released their new flagship unit - the
D4, and I was immediately intrigued with getting my hands on one of these, in spite of the same slow charge rates. It was clear, to me, that they had made numerous improvements, otherwise; so I
had to grab one, then another lol.
What I
really liked (at the time), was the very nice, elaborate metering system, and the ability to charge LiFepO4s, which the V2s didn't have. Back then, I was still using some lights that ran only on CR123 primaries, and I wanted to phase out my use of primaries, by replacing those with RCR123 LiFePO4s (wherever possible), because I was utterly fed up of replacing CR123 batteries seemingly every week or two, for those lights. That got very expensive, very quickly, and unnecessarily, for me. This didn't work out too well, with some of my lights (the lower modes were all messed up, but worked perfectly, after replacing them with primaries again); so I traded out those lights for other items (knives, for instance).
The
VP2 was the very first investment in XTAR products, for me, and mine are still going strong. I loved the bright back lit Blue display (although, I must admit, they're not quite as bright as they were, when I first bought them, years ago), the fact that it was defeat-able with a button press, the slightly higher charge rate (than my D4s had), but also the ability to choose 250 mA rate, if so desired. They could also charge LiFePO4 batteries, as well as some of the new, longer batteries. I felt this was a charger I could grow into, and they've really performed well, and consistently, which has prompted me to look into XTAR's other charging products, as they're released, and as my charging needs have started to expand (seemingly exponentially), during these past several years.
I got spoiled for having digital read-outs, so I never again bought a charger that didn't have them, with the exception of those two MC1+ units.
I've never really seen charging smaller (14500, 16340) batteries at the 500 mA rate, as a negative (and those are the smallest lithium ion batteries I've ever charged); but then, (comparatively speaking), I have very few lights that run on these smaller batteries, and they're used fairly rarely; so it's hard to gauge whether or not there would have been much of a sacrifice in total overall charges (battery longevity) available on those batteries.
In most instances, I'm still using the original lithium ion batteries that I purchased several years ago, for those few lights; although I see that they terminate closer to 4.15 volts, as opposed to the 4.2 initial termination rates.
The D4s kind of became my go-to chargers for AA NiMh charging, but the VC2Plus units got used a lot, (for over spill) for those, as well. I never really found myself using the power bank feature of any of my chargers (other than to test them, once or twice, but always liked that the capability was there, if I ever came to need it.
I usually carry two Anker 13000 mAh batteries (one on-person, housed in a small zippered pouch, carried in a cargo pocket; and another in a larger nylon pouch that I carry, with multiple cables, adapters, etc.); so they tend to cover my smart phone and tablet needs.
Here is the smaller of the two pouches. The other is an Audio Technica padded, zippered microphone case, which has proven to be ideal for carrying the other, slightly bulkier battery (with a built-in flashlight that is just...well...sad), and the various adapters, cables, tiny dual USB smart port A/C charger, etc.
Had a few Maxpedition Volta cases, that I used, for carrying my CR123s, AAs, and others (when I still EDC lights that used those); but I always seemed to lose those. It was very aggravating.
The inserts were kind of handy, although not fully water proof. Protected 14500s were a tight fit, and wouldn't really allow the covers to fully close (Those cases just just weren't really designed for them).
Now, if I need, or want to carry backup batteries, I use Pelican 1010 cases, which I absolutely love.
Note, this picture is several years old. I never carry CR123 batteries around, any more. Also, the longer protected 18650 batteries are a snugger fit, so I can carry as many as ten, as opposed to twelve batteries, in them, and at a very slight angle, but still a very nice, safe fit, for those batteries.
They're air tight, waterproof, crush proof, and have a one way auto purge valve on them, and they carry a lifetime warranty - making these the perfect battery cases, for my use, when traveling, or otherwise.
My two MC1+ units are perfect for car carry (as tiny as they are), and are almost exclusively reserved for on-the-road charging (which is kind of a rare occurrence, but always a welcome capability to have). I power those with a little Anker dual USB smart port 12-volt charger hub, which works pretty well. Have two of them, and one is dedicated for phone and tablet charging, while the other, strictly for those MC1+ chargers.
The overlap in charging abilities of my various chargers has given me a lot of flexibility, in charging choices, and I'm big on having choices. Starting out with serious EDC lights, about five years back really allowed me to completely nerd out, but not feel like a fool, since they're such useful tools, in every day life, for me.
Having discovered venues like this, and others, with other true enthusiasts, has made me feel right home in my hobby/fascination/addiction.
