Amazon Basics AA rechargeable. Eneloop 2018 help picking

Hi all I’ve been looking for more decent NiMH cells but can’t afford the price of the Eneloops. I’ve read a lot on YouTube and Google people saying the Amazon basics are Eneloop rewraps or close to it for much cheaper. I need a lot of cells for a party and would rather buy rechargeables so I can use them again instead of just trashing them.
Amazon Questions and answers were saying that Amazon changed the color of the wrapper and I don’t know which ones are “made in Japan” and NOT the made in China ones.

Could someone help me out please?

Would greatly appreciate it!

These are the ones I buy and are made in Japan.

I purchased these in AA and AAA —- They seem to work fine—the ones I tested on my Opus charger showed above rated capacity— Output in lights is really close to Eneloops—as far as cycles only time will tell —I have some Eneloops 5 + yrs old that still reach rated capacity

Thanks guys. I’m guessing the black ones are like the Eneloop pro and the grey are like the white Eneloop?

I have 2 lights I will be using that are powered by 6 AAs. A 700 claimed lumen Husky flashlight and another Coleman Illumilast 750 lumen. Q8 for me but the kiddos want some “powerful fun” lights too

Can’t find anything on the Illumilast. It’s just a light from Meijer. My EBL cells are too fat for it. It’s a tough fit

This thread should be of your interest Alkaline Battery Lights

Also there are two forum categories for 1xAA and multiple AAs lights.

The other way around.

Thanks Pete!! Do you know if they are reliable? I read lots of reviews on Amazon and lots of people were saying great and lots were saying fat/don’t fit. So I’m wanting the black cells for more cycles.

In my experience, the newer “Made in Japan” ones are great. I’ve been using them for a while and I keep buying more from time to time.

To put things in perspective, even the grey ones are rated for something like 500 cycles. If you recharge them once per week, on average, they will last you almost 10 years. Now, if you’re going to be recharging them every single day, then by all means, go for the black ones.

Never thought about it that way Pete. Thanks again for clearing that up for me. Looks like I’m going with them grey ones. Save me some money compared to them Eneloops. Slow charge them with my Maha Powerex charger? Or use the Panasonic BQCC55 (got the BQCC17 also). C4-12.

Oh I also have the Liitokala Engineer Lii-500 charger.

Shouldn’t matter which one of these chargers you use.
Any charge rate up to about 0.5C should be safe and not stress the cells at all.

Ok definitely soft or slow whatever for the Maha. Rapid charge finishes AAs crazy quick. Thanks. Should I do the whole break in thing first when I get them? Does it really matter. Break in with charger or just from normal use. Kinda same ish I’m thinking.

I would just start using them.

I usually run one test cycle on them—If you’re using them in pairs etc—you can kind of half match the sets—also if they don’t test out close Amazon will make it right

I’m going to mostly be using them in my 4 and 6 cell powered lights. So I’m going to have to buy 16. Maha powerex has a “condition” mode on it. Is that the same as test cycle?

Charge, discharge then charge again. Or on the Engineer it has that Nor test mode and shows all the mAh voltage and stuff. Maha just blinks. Bought Maha mainly for my C and D batteries

Huh? Apologies if I ruffled feathers. Not worth the contention.

I may have overreacted. Sorry Flyboy. Having a really rough week. I am using the AA to D adaptors I already have in them cheap Eveready flashlights. That way I will have more AA cells. My EBL cells are really old and don’t hold much charge anymore. I use rechargeables in everything. My TV remote don’t work with the EBL except a few of them.
So I guess I really didn’t need to include the party thing. I just don’t want the price of Eneloop if the Amazon are similar for less $.

My powerex charger has a refresh/analyze mode—you can set the charge discharge rates—with the rest periods in between cycles it takes forever— I usually charge up the cells on other chargers to speed it up a bit—- the opus and litokala are lots faster

Do you have the MH-C808M? I can’t adjust anything on mine other than doing a soft charge or condition mode.

I have the Engineer Lii-500. Is that the one you use?