I need to buy some rechargeable AA batteries for kids xmas presents, any suggestions as to the best place to get them? I have searched and as usual get bombarded with all sorts of prices for all sorts of power from all sorts of places.

Some suggestions as to where you would get them from would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I usually get from 7 day shop, either big name brands or own branded, depending on the deals and what I’m after at the time.

7 day shop here also.

The own brand ones are slim so fit in torches easily

Hi mate

Try here

http://www.7dayshop.com/chargers-power-batteries/rechargeable-batteries?brand=189&cat=536

I’ve used 7 Day Shop for a while now, good for batteries, printer cartridges and all manner of other electronic and PC spares.

I’ve found their own-brand batteries fine, go for the highest number of Amp-hours (2900mAh in the two sets near the bottom), this is a measure of how much charge (“juice”) the battery will store. Apols if this isn’t news to you, just trying to make sure that you get the best bang for your buck.

Happy Christmas!

7dayshop originally but now I use Battery Force.
http://www.battery-force.co.uk/

Brilliant customer service, I’ve ordered at 3pm and they’ve been on my desk next day.

The own brand ones are slim so fit in torches easily

Exactly the opposite – they’re slightly fatter than regular batteries and get stuck in torches. Very, very good batteries though. Some of mine must be five years old, used heavily and still going strong.

Vapex tech are excellent.

Had a couple of vapex batteries that went duff pretty quickly.

I’ve used them for years with no problems

7DayShop ‘good to go’.

The best ones I’ve used are Recyko – hold their charge waaay better that the 7dayshop good- to – go ones and they seem less prone to failure. A little bit pricier – but can be had for around £1.50 each on eBay.

Sanyo eneloop are the best rechargables and you can get them here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-x-SANYO-ENELOOP-2000-mAh-AA-RECHARGEABLE-BATTERIES-FREE-BLUE-BATTERY-CASE-/220983294262?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_Batteries_SM&hash=item3373a17936

Google them for reviews.

Best to get name brand ones, I got 7DayShops own brad and their capacity was shit, about 40% less than advertised, but you get what you pay for.
The latest Sanyo LSD are good.

Small Battery Company

One man band from what I can tell and always been super reliable at a good price.

Thanks for all the input so far, will have a look at these websites and see what i come up with 🙂

Just to give a bit of balance, I can get a whole day’s worth of heavy flash use at a winter wedding from one set of 7dayshop’s 2900mAh batteries…

Yes I (or any other supermarket), Amazon, 7Day Shop, Currys, Comet, The Range, etc

Tom KP

Recyko or envelop from eBay. Keep their charge in storage and deliver capacity they’re meant to. Charger below measures capacity – few of my old batteries were anywhere close to what they were meant to be

One of these chargers (crap chargers knacker batteries)
http://www.technoline.eu/details.php?id=1400&kat=15

I recently bought some Vapex Instant’s after reading the following:

http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12087

Best to get name brand ones, I got 7DayShops own brad and their capacity was shit, about 40% less than advertised, but you get what you pay for.
The latest Sanyo LSD are good.

I’ve had this from the branded ones occasionally, no less often than the 7DayShop ones.

Sanyo eneloop or Enloop XL’s are fantastic.
I’ve been using them for years and they still last very well.

+1 for the BC 700 smart charger

Brought some life back in to a bunch of ‘knackered’ old batteries that a combination of cheapo charger and infrequent use had almost killed.

I’ve had Vapex ones for years without any issue with them.

Sanyo eneloop or Enloop XL’s are fantastic.

This,

+1 for the BC 700 smart charger

And, that.

+whatever for the 7dayshop 2900mAh AA’s
+2 for the BC700 charger.

Sanyo Eneloops are way better than all other rechargeables I’ve tried including other low self discharge ready to use brands, IMO there’s no point buying anything else so search ebay, Amazon etc for best price.

Decent charger is just as important. I’ve got a Technoline BC900 which is similar to the BC700 but if I was buying again I’d get the Maha MH-C9000

Sanyo Eneloops are way better than all other rechargeables I’ve tried including other low self discharge ready to use brands, IMO there’s no point buying anything else so search ebay, Amazon etc for best price.

In what way? I’ve noticed no difference between the 7DayShop ones and the Eneloops I’ve got.

Allthepies’ link above is interesting reading. Might answer that question for you.

I always use Strikalite

In what way? I’ve noticed no difference between the 7DayShop ones and the Eneloops I’ve got.

I read a review years ago in a camera mag and the 7day ones matched the Eneloops ones almost perfectly in tests and marginally beat them in one, I only ever use 7day ones.

That’s not my experience Cougar, and I have the fancy charger that can measure capacity etc. some of the Eneloops I’ve got were well under claimed capacity.

I’d suggest the amount of claimed difference in that review is pretty negligible for most people in real world applications anyway. I’m also not convinced testing one set of each is giving you enough data to draw real conclusions, and the charger he uses is one where I’ve seen complaints about uneven charging.

Another 7day shop recommendation but bear in mind:

Exactly the opposite – they’re slightly fatter than regular batteries and get stuck in torches.

I’d suggest the amount of claimed difference in that review is pretty negligible for most people in real world applications anyway.

Oh, sure. One man’s ‘test’ doesn’t give us anything conclusive, and a capacity difference of a few percent is neither here nor there of course. I just thought it was interesting, really. Uneven charging or no, the reviewer seems to be of the opinion that the 7DS ones are universally poor; quite a few people here would seem to disagree.

Pay your money and take your chance, at the end of the day.

user-removed – Member

The own brand ones are slim so fit in torches easily

Exactly the opposite – they’re slightly fatter than regular batteries and get stuck in torches.

You are correct they are fatter than regular batteries. What I meant however was that out of various rechargeables that I have bought these are slim, especially under 2400 size. Duracells for example would not fit in my torches.

As a note Aldi ones are slim also.

My favourites are Eneloop and Ansmann (not their ultra-low self-discharge though).
The Ansmann 2400 worked out at the best value at the time.
7dayshop’s own brand have all now failed over the same lifespan (4 years). Threw the last one in the recycling bin last week.

Recently, I’ve just been buying Eneloops, but I’m wary of ebay, because faking Eneloop would be an easy way to make money.

I used to use 7dayshop but found them to be inconsistent I now use GP from Battery Force

My experience of cheap batteries is that even if the initial capacity is high, it seems to decrease quite quickly with repeated use.

Eneloops are lasting a lot better.

In what way? I’ve noticed no difference between the 7DayShop ones and the Eneloops I’ve got.

They (Eneloop) last a lot longer in my digital camera before the voltage drops low enough to cause it to shutdown, good batteries maintain a higher voltage over their discharge rather having a higher capacity at the expense of a lower voltage. The below graphs should explain better

also…