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(More customer reviews)The latest family of Rayovac rechargeable NiMH batteries are all missing one thing: the capacity rating. Previously, you can see the charge capacity (such as '2500mAh') marked on every package and also on each cell. But newer Rayovac rechargeable NiMH cells are just grouped into three classes ('Everyday-Use', 'High-Energy' and 'Hybrid'), with vague claims such as 'Up to 275 photos' printed on their packages.
Of course, those claims make very little sense to us, because Rayovac never tell us which camera was used, and under what test conditions were those photos taken.
After a lot of searching, I was able to find the spec sheet for those cells from rayovacindustrial dot com:
- NM715-4OP 'Everyday-Use' AA, 'Up to 275 photos': capacity=1400mAh
- NM715-4B 'High-Energy' AA, 'Up to 375 photos': capacity=1900mAh
- LD715-4A 'Hybrid' AA, 'Up to 400 photos': capacity=2100mAh
The item offered here is the NM715-8OP (the 'OP' stands for 'Opening Product'). It has the LOWEST capacity amoung all Rayovac NiMH batteries. I have tested some in my La Crosse BC-900 Battery Charger, and the average capacity is actually higher than spec at 1500mAh. But this number is still very low by today's standard for NiMH AA cells. So although the price looks attractive, this is just not a good value.
As of this writing, this 8-pack (NM715-8OP) is actually priced higher than two 4-pack (NM715-4OP). Furthermore, the Rayovac 4.0 AA 4-PACK is available at even lower cost. Those are low-self-discharge cells with higher capacity of 2100mAh. So it is a no-brainer which package you should buy.
[Update on July 16, 2010]
I recently discovered a hidden benefit of those Rayovac 'Opening Product' AA cells: they are exactly the same size as alkaline AA cells, while other NiMH cells with capacity 2000mAh or over are all slightly thicker. So for some appliances with extremely tight battery compartment (such as the Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 1W LED Flashlight), those are the only rechargeable cells I can use.
[Update Sep 4, 2010]
As if the offerings above is not confusing enough, Rayovac has now discontinued the 'Hybrid' series, and replaced it with another two types:
- LD715-4OP 'Pre-Charged': capacity=1400mAh
- PL715-4 'Platinum Pre-Charged': capacity=2100mAh
Click Here to see more reviews about: Rayovac Rechargeable NiMH Batteries, AA-size, 8-count Carded Pack
Rayovac AA Rechargeable NiMH Batteries can save you $100's over standard alkaline batteries.
