I’m thinking of picking this up from Radio Shack. Has anyone on this board used something like this? The ability to charge in 15 minutes means I’d be able to juice up at a library/outfitter/restaurant/hostel and only have to inconvenience them for a short amount of time.
It charges both AA’s and AAA’s. Only the Radio Shack IC3’s will charge in 15 minutes. Other brands need to charge overnight.
Nomad
i prefer the energizer ones. the 15 minute charger costs right about the same, and the batteries have higher milliamp hours (the MA2000) on the battery you see at the radio shack ones mean 2000 milliamp hours. my energizers are 2250MA so they last longer, and i saw in walmart the other day they now have 2500 MA hours energizer rechargebles for the same price. plus, radio shack batteries of course are only available at radio shack, while energizer rechargeables you can get at most any store.
just my 2 cents worth i guess. but they work wonderful for me and i used mine this past week hiking and the batteries worked great in ym headlamp.
big boy
If you plan on being on the trail any time soon when it is still cold you will be very disappointed Alkaline batteries have very poor performance in cold weather, and rechargeables fare the worst of all. At about 20 degrees you will get zero juice out of them. Lithiums function well down to 40 below, last twice as long in high-drain devices, and weigh half as much
Swift
The logistics of such is very interesting to me.
I’m carrying a dgital camera that uses two-AA batteries; a Petzl headlamp that uses three-AAA batteries; and a Compaq IPAQ PDA that has a special charger that runs off of four-AA batteries.
For the camera, during my Jan/Feb thru-hiking, I used AA Lithium batteries. One pair has lasted two months. The lithiums are superb for cold-weather use.
For the Petzl headlamp I’ve used regular AAA batteries - and the headlamp has seemed to last a decent period on one set of batteries before having to change them.
For the IPAQ PDA battery charger - I’ve used better quality (???) regular AA batteries.
I would lke to try the concept of using re-chargeables in all devices - especially since there are chargers that can charge both battery sizes at the same time.
However, from a logistical standpoint, it would seem that I would have to either carry the charger at all times in my pack (but only would be used in a town - that seems a shame); OR, put the charger in my bounce box. But doing that is a real guesstimate of when and where you will be, plus the added cost of postage (opening the bounce box everytime you need to recharge).
Also, I’m not sure if it would be feasible to carry multiple sets of recharged batteries to keep the need for the recharger to a minimum. I don’t know how long the Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeables will retain their charge. And the cost of buying the extra batteries?
JAWS
Wow big boy, you sold me.
The Energizer charger works with ALL AA or AAA NiMH batteries, comes with 4 AA batteries, and costs $15 less! The Radio Shack version is inferior by far (only works with Radio Shack batt’s, only comes with 2 AA’s, and costs $40!)
The estimated ship weight is 3 pounds, so for the light weight zealots out there, I guess this is out of the question (unless you were to BB it), but as for me the extra weight is well worth worry free picture taking!
If you’re interested these chargers are avialable at Target, or online through Amazon.
Nomad
Cant the Energizer charger handle 2500 MaH? b/c the manual says use only 2200 MaH AA’s and 1800 MaH AAA’s.
Nomad
there is a big difference in doing a quickcharge (15mins) and a deep charge.
a quick charge will run out/flatten considerably faster than doing a deep charge.
i used 1 pack of 4 AA’s a month for my digital camera when I hiked. and never had to change the batts in my petzl (3 AAA).
you can now get lithion AAA’s so its all good.
and if your AA taking camera can take CRV3’s even better (they are like two AA’s molded together, but have far greater charge than two AA’s… often can be used interchangable with two AA’s, if the battery housing is flat.)
Bloody Cactus
Does anyone know the actual weight of just the charger? I’m assuming it is (substantially?) less than the 3 lbs if you exclude the weight of the batteries included and packaging material.
Thanks.
JAWS