We usually buy Duracell and Energizer and occasionally some other known non premium brand like Ray-O-Vac.  But man they get costly.  I've tried a few off brand bargain batteries and never had much success with them, just cheap MIC crap.  But I've got to wonder though, is there an off brand (or store brand) battery that can stack up against the top name brands?  I'm looking at Harbor Freight now and see they have batteries at a not too bad price, and I'm sure I've seen similar deals at Tractor Supply. 

 

Have any of y'all tried/tested these lesser known brands and if so how did they work out?

I'm a Duracell guy but will use Energizer in a jam.

 

If you can find Interstate batteries, I recommend them as well. I'll buy them from time to time because of corporate discount, but I have to plan ahead to make shipping worth while.

Cheap batteries generally tend have less capacity than the more expensive name brand batteries.  That being said, I've bought cheaper ones from Shoprite and online that have decent capacity.  I've got Sony, Fujitsu G+, Kodak Extralife... they all work well.

Costco/Kirkland are decent. Not great, but decent. They seem to last ok, but they also seem to get the crusty/leaky crap on them at the end of their lifespan a little more than other brands.

I often find sales on large packs of duracell or energizer. I just buy like 50 or so at a time, the newer ones now last as much as lithium ones on the shelf.

 

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/duracell-battery-10-years-decade-power,news-15507.html

Last two times I bought Duracell on Amazon in lots of 100.  Price was right (around $35 for 100 double A), and they work much better than anything else I have tried, except rechargeables.  I prefer the rechargables and use them most often, but keep the standard ones as backup and storage in places where needed (car glove box, gun box, work bench, etc).

That's still 35 cents/battery.  I bought 80 Fujitsu G Plus batteries (High Performance Alkaline) for $15 shipped.  That's 18.75 cents/ battery...  About half of what Duracell costs.

My wife bought the cheep batteries from bj's they where horrible ,bulk Duracell or energizer are not much more.

I bought the Costco brand awhile back, They tricked me with the packaging looking just like the Duracell's so far I have no complaints. I have also used Panasonic in the past and they seemed ok to. I used to get RayoVacs for free a few years ago and they were great for the price!! The Rayo's AA and AAA seemed ok but the D's didn't seem to last at all.

The Kirkland batteries at costco definitely do not last as long as the Duracell ones. IMO, they are on par with ray o vac which I find to be substandard, but usable. Panasonic, Duracell, energizer, all have done well by me. Discount no name pharmacy batteries? They seem to cost half as much and have 25% of the capacity.

Why not rechargeable?

rechargeable rock, I use mostly eneloops, but the primary cells come in handy during long outages, handing them to neighbors, are cheap enough to stock a bunch and you don't look like William Defoe at the end of Platoon when you find out your wife's friend's threw some out thinking they are normal batteries.

The Battery Showdown

 

This is pretty cool.  It's a somewhat scientific comparative analysis of 40 different batteries 

 

http://www.batteryshowdown.com/index.html

The Battery Showdown

 

This is pretty cool.  It's a somewhat scientific comparative analysis of 40 different batteries 

 

http://www.batteryshowdown.com/index.html

 

The problem I have with that, and most battery testing, is that they are a snapshot in time. No one knows who makes who's batteries on a given month or week. Ikea or whoever can randomly change suppliers and their next batteries can suck. 

Im trying to figure out exactly how to analize the data on that site...

rechargeable rock, I use mostly eneloops, but the primary cells come in handy during long outages, handing them to neighbors, are cheap enough to stock a bunch and you don't look like William Defoe at the end of Platoon when you find out your wife's friend's threw some out thinking they are normal batteries.

What appliance did the wife's friend use to burn them out?

What appliance did the wife's friend use to burn them out?

 

They were in a camera she borrowed and when they ran out she just chucked them an installed alkaline. Not end of the world, I have lots of spares but still  .. grrr. 

 

But I see what you did there ... 

I second the Sanyo Eneloops.  I use them for all my camera flashes and other high draw equipment.  Unlike many rechargeables they hold their charge for years when not being used.  I don't lend them out though.

I third eneloops great batteries!

 

 

Who is John Galt?

I am so excited I figured out how to change my signature.

I fourth the eneloops. Costco has them the cheapest

I'll echo eneloops

Never heard of the Eneloops, thanks.

 

I have Panasonic Ni-MH chargers from my RC truck days.  Will they work with the Eneloops?

Never heard of the Eneloops, thanks.

 

I have Panasonic Ni-MH chargers from my RC truck days. Will they work with the Eneloops?

Probably. But if you buy a pack from cosco, you get a charger and adapters for different sizes.

Costco will have the eneloops on sale $6 off black Friday through Sunday. I plan to buy some more. I've been using them in everything including C and D applications using spacers.

Actually a sale on them now. http://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/135808

Costco will have the eneloops on sale $6 off black Friday through Sunday. I plan to buy some more. I've been using them in everything including C and D applications using spacers.

 

 

never knew you could do that (with spacers...)

never knew you could do that (with spacers...)

They wont last as long as actual C and D batteries but they are rechargeable so I just replace more often

The $100 Eneloop starter setup.

 

Been shopping around for Eneloop deals.  It seems that Costco is no longer carrying this battery line, it's listed as "no longer available" on the website.  Battery Junction seems to have decent prices compared to Target and Wally World.

 

Out of all the kits and combos, this is what I put together as a starter kit.  I'm going to get this for myself and my family secret santa (which is actually a bitch slap santa).  So for one hundred smackers (more or less), this is the line up.

 

Starter kit with 8 AA, 2 AAA, 2 C adapters, 2 D adapters, wall charger.  $34-

Charger with 4 AA Batteries  $18-

Adapter 4 C cell  $10-

Adapter 4 D cell  $10-

AAA 12 pack   $25-

 

GT $97-

 

So, for about $100 this should keep all the important battery powered stuff well fed.

A little side note, apparently Sanyo sold the Eneloop brand to Panasonic.

 

This is actually not a bad thing. The Panasonic ones are a newer gen, about 30% more charge cycles.  Say away from the black/Pro versions, they are higher capacity but only a quarter of the charge cycles.

A little side note, apparently Sanyo sold the Eneloop brand to Panasonic.

 

This is actually not a bad thing. The Panasonic ones are a newer gen, about 30% more charge cycles.  Say away from the black/Pro versions, they are higher capacity but only a quarter of the charge cycles.

The black "pro" ones did not impress me at all.  They only had maybe 500 more mAh and were more than twice the price.  $5 per battery I think, not a good value..  I'll have to take a second look at Costco's website and look at the Pana batteries.