The hottest new batteries on the market
Written: May 06 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The next step in rechargable batteries. Lasts a long time and can be stored.
Cons: More expensive. Lower theoretical maximum capacity.
The Bottom Line: Although a little more expensive, their storage capacity makes them useful anywhere you can use alkaline batteries as well.
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| kleung21's Full Review: Sanyo eneloop AA 4-Pack Ready-to-Use Rechargable B... |
Every decade or two, there comes an evolution in battery technology. Remember the old nicads, then we got nimh with higher capacities. There was a bit of a plateau until the companies started marketing faster chargers and charge times.
THIS really is the next step in rechargable batteries.
If you read about rechargable batteries on the internet, ENELOOPs come up consistently. They are more expensive; but the big thing about them is that they HOLD THEIR CHARGE in storage.
In Canada, they are starting to be sold at the Source for about $29 for a 4 pack and $15 for a 2 pack which is pretty steep in price. In Japan, the MSRP is 1/2 that which is much more reasonable.
You can also buy them with an optional quick/travel charger but these batteries can be charged using any standard NIMH battery charger. The superfast 15 min chargers are NOT recommended though since there is no special chip inside these batteries.
The new thing with the batteries is that they use a "superlattice" technology from Sanyo. The practical application of this is that once charged up, they will hold 80% or more of their charge within 12 months.
This means you can charge and store them. OR, if you use them in a low discharge device like remote controls, they won't die on you every 2 months.
In comparison, standard NIMH batteries lose about 1-2% of their charge per day.
The second difference is that although they have a lower charge capacity than some of the older NIMH batteries, they actually provide a higher voltage for the life of their charge; thus, for high drain applications like your digital camera, they may actually last longer.
Because of their storage/low discharge capability, you can basically use these batteries as a replacement for almost all alkaline uses.
Oh, another slight benefit; the batteries come charged and can be used right away after buying it from the store. I didn't think this was a big deal; but when I bought these on a trip, it was nice to be able to use them right away since I had not brought a charger.
I look back over the last 3 decades of rechargable battery technology and it is amazing to me how SLOW progress in battery technology is.
Rechargable lead-acid batteries -> NiCad -> NIMH -> slow-discharge NIMH like ENELOOP will actually be a real step forward.
I would recommend these batteries for anyone and almost any purpose.
THE ONLY caveat is that the competition for slow-discharge batteries isn't really there in North America yet.
Rayovac has the hybrids available at Walmart in the states. In Japan, panasonic, sony and others have competitors (probably licensed from Sanyo) to the Eneloops. Not so here.
The price on these will probably drop in the next 1-2 years as the competitors make it onto the market, but if you don't want to wait, you cannot go wrong in getting these now.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kleung21
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Location: Toronto, Ont., Canada
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Computerphile based in Canada. Various tech interests
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