PoweriZer AA 1.2V 2600mAh Ni-MH Review

Overall Rating

Quality and value.

Value: 2600 mAh PoweriZer batteries cost significantly less than comparable 2500 mAh Energizer batteres. I've recently purchased both and paid roughly $2.50 per battery for Energizer and roughly $1.50 per battery for PoweriZer.

Quality: PoweriZer's standard AA batteries are 2600 mAh which is slightly bettern than Energizer's standard 2500 mAh batteries.

Company Information: I can tell you Powerizer makes a great product based on the published price and specifications. Anecdotally I can tell you that I've had success with this brand and I plan to purchase only PoweriZer rechargeable batteries in the future. I can even tell you the company has been around since 1995. However, the website, powerizer.com does not exist. I can't direct you to their site to read more about the company and what they stand for and their vision for product quality, etc. OK, we're talking about fairly inexpensive batteries here, so this is not much of a concern.

I use a lot of rechargeable AA batteries. Especially for cycling, but also for listening to music, etc. My first experience with PoweriZer was through Dinotte lighting. Dinotte is a top company in the bike light industry. In fact, if you do your research you will not find a more well respected company for cycle lights. Now my point....when I ordered my $175 Dinotte light, they sent me PoweriZer batteries and a charger. I was surprised as I had expected a name brand (Duracell, Energizer, or Rayovac), but I got PoweriZer. I did some research and found that PoweriZer makes a product equal to if not better than the bigger names that sells at around a 40% discount.

Some specifics regarding my success using this product. I often run a high intensity 5-watt LED bike lamp on high. My PoweriZer batteries last about 1.5 hours. Very expensive disposable lithim batteries only last about 2.5 hours in my light. I'm not sure what it costs to charge my PoweriZer's, but I'd have to guess a few cents a time. Also, they can be recharged hundres of times, so in the long run I'll save a lot of money.

For all your frequent use electronics, I recommend using PoweriZer rechargeable Ni-MH batteries.

Tip: Do you have a portable I-pod player that runs on batteries? You can easily run it on rechargeable AA's even if it takes C's or D's. Just google, "battery adaptor" "AA to C", and you will find an assortment of products. Standard good quality NiMH C batteries are about 5000 mAh, compared to 2600 mAH for AA's. This is not a problem, just means you batteries will only lost about 1/2 as long. A large set of AA's with chargers and adaptors is more practical, less expensive, and easier to keep organized than having C's and D's.

Brief comment on charging: I'm not going to get into a lot of detail on charging, but there are a couple important things to know. You want a fast charger. Not only for convenience, but also because fast charging probably reduces battery "memory" and will allow your batteries to perform optimally for a long, long time.

Where to buy: I'm not going to promote any specific website, but I will say you should be able to get a nice starter set of 16 batteries and an 8 cell fast (1 hour'ish) charger for under $50. The AA to C/D adaptors I mentioned sell for less than $2.00 a piece.

Thanks, Paul.

09/06/2008_P.M.E.