IIRC, the 70% after 10 years statement has been around for about a year. But I have 4th generation that uses the 70% after 5 years on the box. So, was gen 4 marketed with both 70% after 5 years AND 70% after 10 years? If so, the marketing remains the same for “5th” gen, which makes me wonder if there really is a 5th gen. For all the other generations, they raised the number of cycles.
ShopGL (and other handles on Ebay) out of Sandy/SLC, Utah is the US Distributor for the FDK Fujitsu cells and is very knowledgeable on the timelines.
What I think is happening, much like with Lifestraw and Mountain House products, is that these ‘newish’ products are starting to test out over a longer period of time and hence, the shelf life gets extended.
Anyhow, one way or the other, they’re labeling things at 70% capacity after 10 years. That’s a big jump from where I started with my Gen. 2, 1500 cycles Eneloops back in early 2012.
They were like 85% after a year and 70% after 3 years, IIRC.
My gen 1 Eneloops (bought in 2006) are labelled 85% for 6 months, 75% for 1 year. I don’t think I ever measured it to see what it really was, but I think that was close.
BTW, they’re still in somewhat regular use, and still performing great. I use them in 2amp discharge applications, and they still have about 90% of the capacity compared to gen 4 (or 5?). Not bad for cells that are over 10 years old.
Yesterday - May 22 2017 I bought the ten pack of AA Eneloops for $16.99 at the Waterbury Costco, the original price is $19.99.
An instant coupon for $3.00 brings the price down to $16.99
I have been watching for a price drop since December 2016.
The AAA’s twelve pack is also $16.99 with the instant coupon.
I saw them on sale at one of our local San Francisco Costco’s before Christmas for $19.99. But to be honest I think it’s a bad deal unless one needs both the charger and AAA batteries.
Saw them this past weekend. I passed on them after reading warnings on back. Especially water/air tight flashlights. I was going to get 2 packs of these. But then I read warnings and passed. Also, I have the Energizer charger and 4 pack x 2 of batteries I got at Walmart for $10. Regular retail was $20.
BTW, I like the AAA to C Cell AA to D cell converters. But this set FAILS.
AAA Converters to C on E bay use 2- 3 AAA cells to convert
AA Converters to D on E bay use 3 AA cells to convert.
I don’t think you’re going to find a safer battery than Eneloops. If they’re putting standard warnings on Eneloops, I can’t imagine the horrific warnings they must put on anything that uses lithium-ion batteries!
Edit: Found it on a pack I recently bought from Costco:
IMO, that is just a standard legal warning they put on to make sure they’re covered. I’m surprised they also don’t include a warning about “may contain peanuts” on it, too.