Where do "real" Eneloops come from?

[ChrisGarrett]

what's the latest rumor on the saga of eneloop "generations" and brandname variants that are thought to be the same only rebranded?

Gen. 4 and Gen. 5, both 2100 cycles have somewhat morphed and it's more a question of when they were produced vs. any bona fide improvement.

It seems that around June 2016, they went to 70% remaining after 10 years, on the packaging. Eneloops seem to be produced on production cycles, so you're getting batches of them, at least here in the states. June 2016 had a batch of 5ths and then I think August.

As some of us here have surmised, it's not really that the batteries are getting better, it's that they've had more time in existence, for the manufacturer to extrapolate testing out farther and farther.

It's similar to the LifeStraw water purification unit, or Mountain House freeze dried food. Those items are fairly new and the initial lifespans were based on estimates, but as time passes, they realize that those products actually can sit/work for greater periods of time.

That's how I see it, anyhow. No doubt, there's been some tweaking between the first Eneloop iteration and where we are at the end of 2016.

Chris

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I have ordered a new Maha C9000 i should have it some time next week, As i have said i have been buying the Fujitsu branded versions of Eneloop as they are 1/4 to 1/3 cheaper, and you know you are getting made in Japan cells.

I have my first Fujitsu 950mah min 900mah AAA cells, these are the first 500 cycles Pro Eneloops that i have bought, But the extra 30% runtime in my EDC AAA flashlight will be handy, and apart from the break-in using the C9000 i am just going to top up the cells and try to avoid deep discharges if possible.

John.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Congrats John, on the new Maha. While it's a dated design, I would definitely buy myself another one and wish I had gotten a second over my LC BC-700 at the time.

My last two battery purchases have been the Fujitsu power bank with 4 AA Hi Caps and a sealed 8 pack of Gen. 4s, which are still sealed.

I need to break them in, but I still have a 2012 5th Anniversary GLITTER pack of Eneloop Gen. 2s to break in!

Keep us posted on the Maha and hopefully you have no issues.

Happy New Year from Miami!

Chris