I purchased two 4-packs of
AmazonBasics Pre-Charged AAAs
and will be taking an in-depth look at their quality, out of box charge, and measured capacity. These are not advertised as low self-discharge batteries but the pre-charged term essential means the same thing (some others include hybrid or ready to go, but still do some research before buying any potential LSD battery, as they are not all created equal). These batteries compete with Sanyo Eneloops to an extent but cost slightly less. I own Eneloops and they are excellent batteries but it's nice to have some cheaper alternatives and we'll see if the AmazonBasics AAAs are worthy competitors. In my case I got these during an Amazon Warehouse Deal in like new condition for $3.14 per 4-pack (the price brand new, as of this writing, is $7.34 for a 4-pack). So they were very cheap at $0.79 per battery.
<<Exterior Quality Analysis>>
The batteries have three vent holes on the positive end. They are unobtrusive but attractive mostly black in color, and are fairly distinctive thanks to the green strip that says RECHARGEABLE in all caps near the positive side. There is some funny writing on the batteries that says "Standard Charge: 80mA in 15 hours" which I found quite amusing but it's mostly meaningless if you have a decent smart charger. Let's get into the hard data.
<<Out of Box Charge>>
To get the out of box charge I used my
La Crosse Technology BC-700 Smart Charger/Analyzer
(low priced smart charger that is very feature rich, I'd highly recommend it). I used the discharge-refresh function which first discharges the batteries and displays the charge it extracted before this number changes after the next complete discharge cycle. I only tested one of my two 4-packs as I started using a pack right away. Both of my AAA packs were purchased on April 18, 2013 (in used like new condition) and have identical manufacturing dates of October 2012. For this test the discharge rate was set at 250mAh.
*AAA 4-Pack #1: 718, 725, 747, & 753mAh (Avg: 735.8mAh)
Conclusions can't really be made based on these numbers due to some unknown variables that include how long they were on the shelf and the charge they received from the factory. Still, it's interesting to see what capacity we get without doing any charging and it's the LSD battery technology that makes this possible. The numbers are actually pretty impressive with the percent of the 800mAh rated capacity ranging from 89.8% to 94.1%.
<<Measured Capacity>>
For the measured capacity I used the discharge-refresh function again and went through around 3-4 cycles to break-in the batteries and obtain their full capacity. For this test the discharge rate was set at 250mAh and charge rate at 500mAh.
*AAA 4-Pack #1: 908, 920, 933, & 937mAh (Avg: 924.5mAh)
*AAA 4-Pack #2: 864, 875, 878, & 883mAh (Avg: 875mAh)
Pack #1 is extremely impressive at 13.5% to 17.1% higher than the rated capacity. Pack #2 has less capacity but is still well above 800mAh, getting 8% to 10.4% more capacity. These numbers are even more impressive when compared cheap LSD batteries that may not even live up to their advertised capacity claims.
<<Conclusion>>
Based on my analysis I have no trouble recommending these batteries. They are indeed LSD batteries based on their out of box charge. They have high exterior quality and capacities that consistently exceed the manufacturer's claim. They are versatile in that they can be used in high drain situations (due to their fairly high capacity) and low drain situations (due to their LSD charge retention properties). They are also a little cheaper than competitors but at their current regular price I probably wouldn't recommend getting these over Eneloops. If another Amazon Warehouse Deal pops up I'd snatch some of these up.
Just a side note on Amazon's customer service. I got the batteries in only a day thanks to Amazon's quick service and my Prime membership (this was with the free two day shipping option). There was a slight mistake with my order but Amazon resolved it beautifully. I bought four packs of AAAs but instead got two AAA packs and two AA packs (incorrectly in AAA packaging). I contacted Amazon via live chat and was swiftly given a refund for the missing AAA batteries and allowed to keep the AA batteries sent by mistake. On top of that these batteries were priced insanely low via Amazon's Warehouse Deals and came in excellent condition (just be aware with some Warehouse Deal items they may not come in original packaging).
There is a newer model of this item:
Amazon Basics 4-Pack Rechargeable AAA NiMH Performance Batteries, 800 mAh, Recharge up to 1000x Times, Pre-Charged
$13.99 ($3.50 / Count)
(177,822)
In Stock
$13.99 ($3.50 / Count)
(177,822)
In Stock
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Hazelleyes
Handily pre-charged and quick to re-charge.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2016
