Customer Reviews

Digipower BHNDR2AA Endure AA Rechargeable 2000 mAh Batteries (4 Pack)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The product description of Digipower Endure AA Rechargeable Batteries claims they are "pre-charged and ready to use right out of the package", and that they "retain up to 90% of their power for a year". Its package has similar claims printed. Even on each cell it says: "The longer staying rechargeable battery". But as far as I can tell, none of those claims are true.

I received four of those "Endure Series 1" AA cells with the Digipower DPS-6000 Battery Charger. Right out of the package, one cell is completely dead (terminal voltage 0.88V). The other three are at 1.28V, which seems normal. But when I tested them in my La Crosse BC-900, their average remaining charge is only 720mAh, or about 1/3 of the rated capacity!

Previously I have test many name-brand low-self-discharge batteries, such as Sanyo Eneloop and Rayovac Hybrid. All of them arrived with at least 70% of full capacity - even those eneloop cells that were manufactured 22 months ago. In contrast, the charge retention capability of those Endure cells appear to be similar to that of ordinary lower capacity (under 2400mAh) NiMH cells.

After two additional charge/discharge cycles on my BC-900, those four Endure cells showed an average capacity of 2270mAh. This by itself seems very good, because all named-brand LSD cells are rated 2000-2100mAh only. But in this case, the unusually high capacity only deepens my suspicion that: those are in fact just ordinary NiMH cells marketed as "Pre-Charged" and "Ready-to-Use".

I am in the middle of a long-term storage test, to verify whether those batteries are really low-self-discharge as claimed. In the meantime, don't take your chances. Stay with name-brand LSD cells from Sanyo, Rayovac, Kodak and Duracell instead.

[Update on Oct 12, 2010]
My long-term self discharge test turns out to be inconclusive. After 6 months of storage, one of the four Endura cells was completely drained (as bad as ordinary NiMH cells). But the other three retained about 85% of charge (as good as name-brand LSD cells). So obviously one cell was defective.

I should also add that I have tested over 200 LSD cells in the past three years, and Endura is the only brand that gave me a defective cell.

I bought these with the DPS-601 charger to power my point and shoot digital camera about a year ago. They did recharge several times before I noticed their capacity begin to decline. I also noticed that if they sat for any length of time in the camera, I would get the message to change the batteries when I turned it on. Recently, they would only hold enough charge for 20-30 pictures without flash even if they were freshly charged. I had given these up for dead until I got a La Crosse smart charger. They refreshed to 2000mAh. I believe I will get some more use out of these by using a smart charger. I would not buy these again. If you want batteries that will be ready at any time even if they've been sitting in the camera for weeks, invest in Sanyo Eneloops or similar low self discharge batteries from a trusted name brand. Digipower Endure Series 1 batteries will not last using a dumb charger. If you have a smart charger you may get your money's worth out of these.