****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is an outstanding charger. It's not the cheapo wall unit that holds only four batteries. This Energizer Family Charger holds twice as many batteries, and many more types. Even better, it can deliver a different level of charge to different batteries of the same type - so it's OK to charge your new Eneloop AA's along side your exhausted Duracell AA's. And those four fill just half of the charger. In the other half you can charge AAA, C, D, or even 9V batteries at the same time. And because it's a closed-lid device, the batteries are all kept in a single place protected from dust and ready to go at a moment's notice.Add the lid's separate charge-level indicators for each individual battery, and this charger beats every other consumer-grade model I have owned or seen. It even beats the professional-grade models we use at work.So why are some buyers' experiences negative? I'm convinced it's the batteries themselves. I have been using rechargeables for six years now, enough to know that all batteries are not equal. One obvious difference is the milli-amp hours rating on the package. But as engineering tests have shown, the actual batteries delivered often don't match that rating. But the most important factor isn't shown on any measurable rating on the package. We consumers want batteries that hold their charge after charging and can be recharged over and over without degrading. Without going too depp into the technologies involved, I'll state confidently that my Energizer and older-model Duracell rechargeable batteries fail to meet these expectations. Lots of people blame the charger, but it's the battery. Eneloop is hands-down the best at meeting onsumer expectations, and with Eneloops in this Energizer charger one achieves the dream. White-topped Duracells rank second, if you get a good batch.One telling sign is a battery set that ships pre-charged. That's a strong indication that the batteries themselves hold their charge for months, where lesser batteries hold a charge only a couple days after charging. This is true of my Energizer rechargeables even when I leave them in the charger for that "trickle".So my experience before Eneloop and a decent charger was the anti-dream. I invested in rechargeables, but the family had no confidence. The charged batteries all lost their charges by the time they were needed. Whenever the family needed replacement batteries in a toy, flashlight, remote control, or video game, my only viable answer was "I'll charge some overnight so you can use them in the morning". Therefore the wife regularly bought conventinoal batteries so we'd always have a ready-to-go solution, meaning I was receiving on return from my investment in rechargeables.Now it's all better. I have a dozen batteries upstairs ready for use immediately because they charged thoroughly and still hold their charge. We all have confidence in the current rechargeable solution, and we never buy conventional batteries anymore.In summary: If you want the best rechargeable battery experience possible today, get this charger with Eneloop batteries. If you can only get one or the other, the Eneloop batteries are the most important element. This charger is just a terrific addition to the capability offered by superior rechargeable batteries, primarily because it concurrently charges different batteries from different starting levels. The complete range of sizes is a huge plus, but only if you use rechargeables in all those sizes.
