AA and AAA Batteries for Flashlights

Hi Fernando,

thanks for all your videos and blog. I would like to use AA or AAA

RECHARGEABLE batteries for flash lights. What are my options?

thanks for your info.

Keep the good work,

Sachin

Hi Sachin. I keep a bunch of them around, both AA and AAAs. The AAA I mostly use for headlamps which are extremely handy during prolonged blackouts when you have to keep doing chores in the dark. The headlamp allows you to use both hands and the light at the same time, so you can prepare food, clean up or work on projects. 

  

Energizer Trail Finder 7 LED Headlamp (3 AAA Batteries Included) 

$16.99

LEDs are so efficient, its not hard to put months worth of lighting aside for a rainy day with little money with ordinary alkaline batteries. Using for example the MTE 1xAA I recently reviewed, and using it in low mode at 30 lumens, you see all right and have nearly 24 hs worth of light per battery.

Then again, when blackouts become common and that may be a possibility as the economy gets worse, you’ll be using your flashlight a lot. In that case you want rechargeables. Until not that long ago the problem with rechargeable batteries was that they lost charge fast, but the good news is that today you have low self-discharge rate batteries that keep their charge for much longer time. After a year when fully charge it still has around 85% of its charge. The best ones are Eneloops and Sony Cycle Energy. Seems they are the exact same thing actually, but with a different brand wrapping. (Sony outsources its LSD batteries to Sanyo)

 

Sony Cycle Energy Power Charger with 4 Pre-Charged 2000 mAh AA Batteries 

$13.99
Just checked on Amazon and for another 4 bucks you might as well have the charger to go with the Sony ones. Eneloops or Cycle Energy, either one will serve you well. 


FerFAL