Hello all,
All my 18650 cell are almost dead and i decide to switch to nimh. Edit : (ok i won’t “switch” but i still need Nimh)
Eneloop still be the best bang for buck today?
Where do you buy yours?
Looks like a good deal at costco : AA and AAA
Is there better deal somewhere online?
Your prices seem pretty good, and beat Amazon Canada. Amazon U.S. is where I have always found my best prices, they have some good prices right now. Newegg sometimes has sales.
I too am appreciating the worth of NiMH over the Li-ions, their (Li-ions) short life is OK for a few wow lights, and people who need the advantages in their work, like search and rescue, military, cops, etc., but I think for my normal flashlight needs, the car, and prepping/blackouts, that I will make sure that most of my lighting is from normal batteries.
I have no intention of giving up 18650 lights, but I want to make sure that I am fully prepared with NiMH batteries and lights, in all niches, from flashlights, to lanterns, to search lights and headlamps.
You realize you can buy 10 genuine 18650s for the price of the AAs.
Where?
Contour AA, new Fujitsu 2000mah, Duracell ‘staycharged’ and even Amazon basics have an ‘eneloop’ cell inside (from FDK Japan factory).
I don’t know about in Canada but sometimes you can find one of these re-badged eneloops quite a bit cheaper than eneloop branded ones.
many chinese stores sell genuine cells, intl outdoor, fasttech, are two i know of, (buy nothing with fire in the name, stick with panasonic, sanyo, LG and so forth). Also there are other stores such as mountain electronics and illumination supply that are in the US (a bit pricier).
Perhaps someone who has bought cells in the last 2 years can give more info.
I buy eneloop at 4 for $10, the ones i own came from costco.ca
Dell.ca sometimes has eneloop deals but the AA one you linked is quite good
I believe the Duracell ones have not been available for a long time.
Dell.ca seems to always have some special on eneloops:
http://pilot.search.dell.com/eneloop
Same for NCIX:
http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=eneloop
At NCIX you can get an 8xAA pack for free if you have enough NCIX reward points.
I have 2 packs of 8xAA eneloops forest tones for 50$ both
I purchase my eneloop’s when on sale @ AU$14.98 for a 8 pack.
http://www.dicksmith.com.au/batteries/eneloop-aa-chocolat-8pk-web-dsau-s4493
Hes from Canada, not Australia…
and dick smith in Australia sells Chinese chocolat eneloops!
(If you care about Japanese vs Chinese eneloops)
Depending on what market you are in, you should aim to avoid the Chinese Eneloops. There are some threads either here or CPF showing the capacity drops off well short of the claimed 2100 cycles. In as little as 400 cycles they are showing significant performance loss.
Of course, that may not matter to some, but it is important to know in the context of "are eneloops still the best..."
@Mrwolf - DSE are selling the Chinese versions at that price. If you are OK with that it is a good price, but they aren't the "Sanyo Eneloops" of a few years ago. (EDIT - beaten to it by ChibiM who is the master of all things Eneloop!)
Ikea Laddas are another brand that have apparently tested well. http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/00240585/
18650 and NiMh are two entirely different beasts for a whole raft of reasons. I like my Eneloops but they are a lot more difficult to charge properly from small solar panels than Li-Ions when I'm camping.
Thanks guys, I did not know that Eneloops were Chinese made also. RIP Eneloop.
Cheers
You can still get the Japanese versions but they are much more expensive here in Oz. ChibiM sadly no longer sells us the good stuff but he has lots of info on which versions are out there and how to identify them. DSE no longer discount the Japanese ones AFAIK.
As for Dick Smith Electronics..... I got ripped off by them about 18 months ago to the tune of $200 for an order delivered god-knows-where and signed for by someone else. Didn't process my PayPal claim soon enough so no help there. DSE are incompetent liars who kept promising they would look into it and call back but I could never get any action or the goods re-delivered. They will never get my business again in any form.
Thanks for the tips, I have 6250 points. i don’t see them in the reward center but i guess you mean we can get a 25$ gift card and grab a kit of AA
How can we see if they are chinese or japan made?
I see they are not listed in the reward center anymore. They were listed about 6 weeks ago, ~4200 points iirc.
I took one 8AA package.
I have only ever received Japan-made Eneloops from both Dell.ca and NCIX.
NCIX clearly specifies ‘made in Japan’ in the product description.
I got mine on ebay, £5.75 for 4, panasonics not sanyos so latest ones. Work great in mine and my mums tank007
Could you give me the link please?