Eneloop glitters!

Got these 4 AA eneloop glitters for my birthday present. These little things have been regarded by most forumers at Candlepowerforums as the best rechargable NiMH batteries in the market and it is hard not to see why.

 

Self Discharge

These little things have impressively low self discharge. Self discharge was a problem with rechargeable batteries in its early days because it gave rechargeable batteries a bad reputation of being dead every time you need it. Couple that with the slow overnight chargers of the yesteryear, users of rechargeable batteries needed to be extra thoughtful when planning to use their batteries for whatever purpose. Most batteries would be flat by the end of 2-3 weeks and needed to be charged again. Then came the infamous high capacity Sanyo 2500mAh I bought about a decade ago which had the ability to lose almost all its charge in less than half a week. That was a turning point in battery history where people started to doubt the usefulness of trading self-discharge for higher capacity. After that, Sanyo started making eneloops, the first low self discharge batteries with albeit lower capacity of 2000mAh.

The low self discharge feature, for the first time, made consumer rechargeable batteries reliable.

No. of Cycles

It turned out that the benefits of changing the battery internal structure for low self discharge also rewarded the battery with longer longevity. Unlike normal rechargeables, low self discharge batteries tend to be rated for a higher number of recharge cycles. My glitters are rated at 1500 recharges while the latest eneloops are rated at 1800 recharges. Even though mine are the older version, they will still last way beyond normal NiMH batteries that are often rated for 500 recharges.

Performance

Wait a minute, there should be a catch in here somewhere. Does it perform worse than normal rechargeables? It turns out that they don't. In fact, they are the most recommended batteries for high powered torchlights.

Price

With such features performing way beyond most batteries in the market, one would expect that these eneloops to be rather expensive, but surprise! They are not. In Singapore, 1 AA or AAA goes about $5 to $6, which is about the same price as other brands.

I normally don't go for consumables that come in a pretty package because that is like buying a more expensive a nice printer cartridge not for increased ink capacity, but rather for its looks. But for well designed products like these, I'm going to make an exception. I may just get more of it to complete the collection. Heh.