How do these compare with the Duracell ion core batteries?
OK, then how do they compare with any battery? Surely someone here has used them???
Thanks,
Jerry
they are refered to as “duraloops”
eneloops rebadged.
Since no one has answered to date here is a bit of information:
I have three generations of duraloops - eneloops have never been easy to obtain where I live but for a long time I could get good prices on the duracell versions. The three I have are:
- duracell PreCharged - 2000 mah (aa) - lots of these and they still have good capacity after quite a lot of use.
- duracell StayCharged Duralock - 2000 mah (aa) - 4 of these and for all intents and purposes they seem to be very similar or the same as 1) above. They have a green band with “duralock” on it just above the half way point.
- duracell Ion Core perCharged - 2400 mah (aa) - haven’t used these much. They are somewhat heavier and a tiny bit bigger than 1 and 2) above and have a black positive end. I obtained them from Mec.ca and it appears that is all they sell now.
I have a few aaa’s the same as 1) above. One however is made in China and has a black positive end. I haven’t taken the time to discover if it performs similar to the white ended “made in Japan” aaa’s as they are only used in small flashlights.
It is my understanding 1,2 and 3 above are rebadged eneloops but I don’t know how to match the different generations…
A couple of links with further info:
Overview: All Eneloop batteries 2005-2023 - very detailed description of the various generations of eneloops.
A quick search should also find discussion of which generation of eneloop is the same as the duraloops.
John.
Many thanks, John. I bid on some Duracell Stay Charge and thought they were the new ion core. I did not look closely enough. I won the auction for 16 AAA and paid slightly over $16. At essentially one dollar per battery I don’t think I can get hurt too badly. They are made in Japan, and are 800 mAh.
I am glad to know they are rebranded Eneloops.
Jerry
Jerry:
I thought I was lucky to find them (some time ago) at about $8.00 cad per 4 - one of our drug store chains used to sell the aa’s and aaa’s for that about one week in 4. Now the best I can do is somewhere around $16 Cad. for 4 - not locally either. I haven’t looked too hard as I’ve got a decent stock of them.
The ion core aaa’s have a very similar capacity to the regular duraloops - somewhere around 800 mah so I’m not sure what the difference is.
John.
You did good at $1 cell.
enjoy your new duraloops!
Thanks, even though I did not pay enough attention to the item it came out OK.
Jerry
If you have the Duracells that have the white tops like these ones, then they are made by eneloop. Made in Japan cells.
Hi,
I am a fairly light user. However, I would like to invest in a charger and AA Rechargeable Batteries.
From what I can see the La Crosse charger seems to be recommended and Eneloops.
So what would anyone recommend bearing in mind I,m only a light user although I’m doing a wedding and need to use flash where a quick recharge(recycle time) would be a good thing. I am based in the U.K.
Many thanks.
I only use the top-quality chargers to get the most life out of my batteries.
I would recommend you to take a look at the Maha C-9000.
It goes on sale from time to time.
NikonF2:
Your batteries will last much longer with a good charger so you are wise to shop carefully.
I use the maha c-9000 - it’s a bit big if you plan to carry it around but it allows you to set the charge rate and thus the speed of charging your batteries. Also allows for analyzing the capacity of aa’s and aaa’s. Generally speaking however the faster you charge your batteries the shorter the lifespan so beware of the cheaper fast chargers.
I’d take a look through the “charger” area of this forum for some ideas as there are lots out there. If you plan to use Lion batteries in the future you may wish to get a charger that will deal with both chemistries.
In my area the “bricks and mortar” stores don’t carry any decent chargers (that I have seen anyway). You will likely have to order something online.
I would suggest eneloops and you can always carry a spare set in case one isn’t enough for your day of “flashing”. There are a number of makes of cells that appear to be eneloops (in a different wrapper) - some of the duracell staycharged, perhaps some of the amazon offerings and others. A search through this forum and candlepower forums should give you some ideas.
Good luck,
John.
Hi John,
Thanks very much for your advice. I have taken on board what you have said and it makes complete sense. A full set of 4 regular eneloops would fire how many flashes approximately? I use the Nikon SB600 Speedlite.
Thanks again.
NikonF2:
Sorry I can’t help you there. Eneloops are capable of delivering a lot of current (much better than alkalines) so you should get quite a bit better performance.
I did find this article that should help some:
A couple of other thoughts:
- if you are going to use them within a couple of days of charging them then a higher capacity nimh battery might work better - eg. the duracell ion core precharged - capacity is 2400 mah vs. about 1900 mah for the regular eneloop. I believe the regular eneloops will hold a charge better but in this case it won’t matter.
- if you are going to leave them charged for a few weeks before using them the regular eneloops will likely hold their charge better - although they do start out at a lower capacity than the ion core batteries.
- I have one set of 4 duracell ion core aa’s but haven’t had a chance to give them a good workout. I’ve got lots of duraloops (really eneloops in duracell wrappings) and they are very very good batteries. I’ve used them all regularly for several years and all still have good capacity and do their job well.
Good luck,
John.
NikonF2:
I actually found an article mentioning eneloop use in an sb600 flash:
They tested eneloops and two other rechargeable batteries and came to the conclusion that they could get about 350 flashes out of a set. That’s a quick summary so please take a look at the article before taking what I just mentioned as gospel.
John.
My 2400mah Duracell’s are starting to get pretty weak after about 3 years. Think will use only regular eneloops from now on.