Gear- batteries

I had initially intended to discuss batteries in the same posts as chargers, but as it lengthened over a few days' composing, I decided to separate but post them at the same time.

I already mentioned I chose rechargeable nimh batteries instead of li-ion ones, for ecological, budgetary and availability reasons, and detailed as much as I could my 2 current chargers, with an emphasis on a maha c-9000 which I use far more frequently.

Now, I shall discuss batteries themselves, because you'll see many brands and capacities in stores and online, but they aren't all equal to one another.

Indeed, most stores, at least here in France, but also some brands online are very basic,  but many aren't transparent in their descriptions. "Amazon basics", on the other hand, have proven a good investment : they are LSD (see below), have a good capacity, and are affordable - even more so when you get the bigger packs. They have one additional advantage : if you have Amazon in your country, chances are they have these on their catalogue, which isn't guaranteed for the other brands I present further. 

I personally had started with very basic models, all the way back in the days of Ni-Cd, before I moved to more serious nimh batteries by the brand GP (along their charger), and to Sony. But those, and almost every other model I tried, suffered from average to fast low self-discharge, meaning that they lost capacity even when they weren't used, just lying on the shelf.

I had also bought supermarkets' own brands (Auchan & Carrefour, here in France), but they seem very basic. Not only their capacity isn't usually the nominal announced on the box, but also, they don't tend to be fully detected by my smart charger... Thus, I must remember to interrupt their charge at their '1c' rated capacity, as the charger doesn't stop them (this can become a hazard, as the charger can overheat).

The best batteries I found, once I learned of "low self-discharge" or LSD in short (nothing to do with the drug), all come ready-to-use (=pre-charged), so you don't have to use the "break-in" program on a smart charger as described with my Maha c9000 model. 

Here are the AA batteries I have been using :

Sanyo Eneloop, they retain 85% of charge after 1 year, 75% after 3 years. Minimal capacity 1900 but often at 2000 mAh, and up to 1500, or 1800 cycles (depending on the source... maybe they had 2 different pressings of it ? ) 

Tensai Plus RR-H6 with a rated 2500 and minimal 2400 mAh capacity, with reported higher performance in low-temperatures than any other brand, (according to reviews I had read but never got to test myself). The brand announced they'd function even at -20°C. & that they discharge only about 20% per year! In lab conditions, they have an announced <500 cycles  Unfortunately, this brand isn't easy to find anymore, only available at times on ebay as far as I can tell 

Powerex' Imedion AA batteries are also excellent with 2400 mAh capacity, retaining 85% of their capacity after 1 year and an announced 1000 cycles (in lab conditions).

Although the temptation to buy cheaper batteries, I do recommend to wait and invest in low self discharge ones instead, and a smart charger as explained in my previous entry. This combination will help conserving batteries in better conditions, charge them less often, keep them longer as a result, and lower your overall costs on the long term. 

I'll finish this entry by this link to a comparative study another blogger already run and came to similar conclusions. His article is even fuller than mine.