My wife was wondering if the generic named batteries are just as good a name brand...anyone have any real world experience to share? I'm talking AAA, AA, C, D, etc...
I'm about as big of a bargain guy as anyone I know, but to me, they honestly don't seem like they last nearly as long as the "good" brands. I bought one of those 80 packs or whatever of AAAs from Harbor Freight, and I swear over half of them were dead out of the package.....
I bought a bag full of cheap batteries from Harbor Freight. I filled up my extended Smith & Wesson MagLight with 4 D cell batteries a few months ago. Went to turn it on last week and all of the batteries in it were corroded and leaking. Ruined my favorite flash light!
I have had great luck with Walgreens brand - get them when they are buy one get one free. I have had no luck with ones from Aldi's - do not last. UticaGeoff
I recently bought some of the bulk pack cheapies from Amazon ("Amazon basics" I think is the name on them). They seem to be holding up decently, but I agree, seems the off brands rarely hold up as well as Energizer/Duracell/etc. Get what ya pay for with batteries I suppose.
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Duracell batteries as the only "off the shelf" batteries that are allowed for use in aircraft emergency locator beacons. That's good enough for me.
In my sound deadening headphones I use while mowing, the cheap Sunbeam brand don't last 1/2 as long as an Energizer or a Duracell AA
To the chagrin of my kids I moved on to rechargeables. I think for everyday use there's no better investment.
Years ago we did a "spin pop challenge" with duracells vs Ray o vac and the underdog ray o vac where a bit better. Point being you can save a few bucks on batteries but don't go too far down the chain or quality will most definitely suffer. Cliff
To everyone buying regular Alkaline batteries, you need to seriously look into investing in NiMH. I use a Maha charger with a mix of Powerex Imedion and Eneloop AA/AAA. I use them for the remotes, xbox remote, mouse and Febreeze air fresheners. Haven't had to buy a regular AA or AAA in the last few years now. Actually waiting on an EBL charger and 6 pack of 9V Li-ion to try out in my testing equipment for the shop.
After losing a few good flashlights to leaking corroded alkaline batteries, I now use nothing but Energizer Ultimate Lithiums, primary (non-rechargeable) in everything. More voltage and current capacity than alkaleaks, longer shelf life, better cold temp performance. If i need a D, I use a 3AA-to-D adapter (cheap, off ebay). If I need C, 3AAA-to-C adapter. Buy 'em at Walmart
I buy those sunbeam at the dollar tree(I also get toothpaste and bleach there) and for a dollar ill change em rather than paying five to six times as much for the Duracell or energizer . But as pointed out I buy the fancy batteries for the"storm" flashlight and smoke detector. But for tv remote and such the cheap is better to me.
