AmazonBasics AA Rechargeable Batteries Yea or Nay?

I've been using Eneloops and my battery needs are growing. I've seen a few thread here on AmazonBasics rechargeable batteries, however I'm looking for a simple consensus; buy 'em or not.

They are usually good. I've heard some claims that people received made in China batteries instead of made in Japan. But if you get Basics that are from Japan then they were made in the same factory as Eneloops. Though possibly not to the same standard.

There is 3 types of amazon basics, the lowest cost option is made in China, the other two are made in Japan (standard and high capacity). The Japanese made ones are rebranded Eneloops - get the ones made in Japan.

I have been using the Basics Low Self Discharge AA and AAA cells for several years without any problems. They don't have quite the capacity that the regular basics do, but retain more their charge for a longer charge for a longer period of time. If you needs are for a use rapidly and recharge type of cell, there probably wouldn't be any advantage to the LSD cells, but if your uses are like mine with occasional to light/medium duty, they are worth it.

Hi,

I have read that the black colored ones are better than the white colored ones, but now i also see a grey colored Amazon Basics that are quote "high capacity". I dont know the difference, but compare the price to Eneloops.

Hey thanks everyone...I'll give 'em a shot...

MrAl said:

Hi,

I have read that the black colored ones are better than the white colored ones, but now i also see a grey colored Amazon Basics that are quote "high capacity". I dont know the difference, but compare the price to Eneloops.

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The black or the white ones should be the same, or at least very similar to the regular Eneloops.

The grey high capacity version should be the same or very similar to the Eneloop Pro.

xxo said:

There is 3 types of amazon basics, the lowest cost option is made in China, the other two are made in Japan (standard and high capacity). The Japanese made ones are rebranded Eneloops - get the ones made in Japan.

Click to expand...

Can I assume they say made in Japan?

iamlucky13 said:

The black or the white ones should be the same, or at least very similar to the regular Eneloops.

The grey high capacity version should be the same or very similar to the Eneloop Pro.

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Thanks for the clarification.

iamlucky13 said:

The black or the white ones should be the same, or at least very similar to the regular Eneloops.

The grey high capacity version should be the same or very similar to the Eneloop Pro.

Click to expand...

Hi,

Well what i read was that the black ones were a higher number generation and the white ones were lower. That would turn out to mean that the most recent generation (black) would recharge more times than the previous (white) generation.
There may be little difference in actual capacity though.

kilogulf59 said:

Can I assume they say made in Japan?

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It will say this in the description:

• Pre-Charged using Solar Energy
• Made in Japan

MrAl said:

Hi,

Well what i read was that the black ones were a higher number generation and the white ones were lower. That would turn out to mean that the most recent generation (black) would recharge more times than the previous (white) generation.
There may be little difference in actual capacity though.

Click to expand...

Thanks for bringing that up. I believe that is correct, and I think the older one's were reported to be labeled as Made in China, but at some point Amazon switched to Made in Japan. What's less clear is if Amazon orders batches from both suppliers, or if they're sticking with the Made in Japan cells.

OK, just checked at Amazon to make sure...

White: Made in China

Black & Gray: Japan

Thanks again folks :twothumbs

kilogulf59 said:

OK, just checked at Amazon to make sure...

White: Made in China

Black & Gray: Japan

Thanks again folks :twothumbs

Click to expand...

Hi,

Nice of you to look that up. So i guess we want the black or gray ones then.
What you might also check is the price comparison to the Eneloops of the same rating.

Eneloop Pro AA 2550mAh8-pack - $31.95
AmazonBasics AA 2400mAhHigh-Cap (gray) 8-pack - $18.99

Eneloop AA 2000mAh8-pack - $18.99
AmazonBasics AA 1900mAh(black) 8-pack - $14.99

Remember, YMMV...

In the uk you can get 4 eneloop pro for £10.

Good prince. I just grabbed those prices off Amazon to get an idea. The Pro's seemed to me to be a bit high priced.

When I bought White was Japan (I have them right in front of me), but that was a couple of years ago.

In Canada:

Black with green strip = 2000 maH (Japan) ($19.99/8pk)
Gray with green strip = 2400 maH (Japan) ($26.99/8pk)
White with green strip = 2000maH (Amazon comments section say they are China) ($23.45/12pk)

I would just verify before purchase to make sure what you are getting as they do state that the color schemes vary.

:twothumbsI picked up some of the Hi-cap 2400mah nimh AA batteries and did a full charge/discharge/charge cycle. I used a La Crosse BC1000 charger dedicated to AA/AAA
nimh batteries only, and got a reading in the 2500+ mah capacity range on all 4 channels. The ones I have are the newer ones with the gray wrap and green tops. As far as life cycles, I can't tell because they're still pretty new but it looks like they're off to a good start so far.
I'll give them 2 thumbs up right now!

Quick Answer: Buy 'em

My experience... I've been regularly using a 12 pack of AAA white label (2017 vintage) Amazon Basics rechargeables (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B9NXAC/?tag=cpf0b6-20) purchased in January 2017 for $12.99.

I use mine to power headlamps and flashlights that I use when doing car and house fix-it projects, primarily a Coast FL 60 Headlamp. Having 12 on hand lets me replace the 3 AAAs in the headlamp 4 times in the course of a project, or to use other lights as well.

Pretty pedestrian usge, but for this purpose, they have worked perfectly and continue to serve me well. For me, they serve as a much cheaper Eneloop alternative for non-critical usage.

I recharge them in Eneloop chargers.

Reading the comments in this thread and checking out the current labeling on Amazon has been interesting. It seems that labeling and things have changed, and this has happened before. When I bought mine, product images with different labels were being shown in different places for the same cells and it was very confusing. I found info about them here on the forums of course, and also found the comments by "NLee the Engineer" on Amazon in Customer Questions and Answers and, I believe, in the product reviews also, to be helpful when I bought mine, however it appears these may be outdated. Check them out anyway, for reference if nothing else, I guess. Not sure if he's posted recently or if someone else has put up info on the new ones/the latest re-labeling on Amazon's site.

Here's one of the Amazon Q/A posts that helped guide me, updated since my purchase:

Question:​

​

What is the difference between the AmazonBasics "black" label and "white" label?

Answer:​

They are both advertised as 'pre-charged' and have the same capacity ratings. However, the white version is made in Japan and appears to be rebranded 2nd-gen Sanyo eneloop. The black version is made in China by some unknown manufacturer, and its charge-retention rate is not as good as that of the Sanyo eneloop. Obviously the white version is a better product. The black version is only worth considering if you can get it for cheap.
[Update on June 12, 2017] CAUTION! Amazon has changed the color of the lower quality (Made in China) batteries to White, presumably just to confuse consumers. If you look at the product image for 'Batteries only' you'll see the new White wrappers. But if you click on 'Batteries with Charger' you'll see the old Black wrappers. see less
[COLOR=#767676 !important]By NLee the Engineer Top Contributor: Camping, Diving, Photography on February 5, 2014
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