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(More customer reviews)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.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Digipower BHNDR2AA Endure AA Rechargeable 2000 mAh Batteries (4 Pack)
Consumers often complain that NiMh rechargeable batteries are not reliable.When left in the camera or stored for a short period of time, they will loose power.Standard Nickel Metal Hydride batteries loose an average of 25% of their power every month, making them unreliable at unexpected times.The new endure Series are packed with new features that make using a digital camera more enjoyable.They come pre-charged and ready to use right out of the package. They stay charged for up to 1 year.endure series 1 will retain up to 90% of their power for a year; so they can be stored in a camera for extended periods without fear of drain and loss of power. Endure series are ready to use at any time.
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