Energizer is due out with 1.5 volt Lithium AAAs sometime this year - I don't think they are out yet "...later in 2004..." I imagine that they will be about $1.00 US each from discount battery suppliers on the web (just a guess). Perhaps someone else has more information...?

Tom

just a thought, do you guys recommend a specific battery brand of type?
such as energizer, nicad..etc

and does anyone order batteries in bulk?

NiMh AA batteries now come in 2100 mah. I get mine from either Sams Club or Wal-Mart. These are Eveready brand. Seems like the shelf life has also gotten better. I put a number sticker on each battery and have been checking their shelf life and now find a 2 week cycle is OK. Probably longer, but 2 weeks works for me.

I keep Lithium batteries in our back-up ham radios which we carry in our hiking packs. The weight reduction is significant. If we indend to use the radios, we change to NiMh, reserving the LIthium for emergency use only.

Just threw out a whole bunch of Radio Shack Batteries. They are expensive, low power and althought I have been charging them in only the high end microprocesor Radio Shack Charger, they all have developed leaks. I would recommend staying away from Radio Shack NiMh Batteries. I took a bunch into a store to see if there was any guarantee and was told that there was none. Junked over $100 worth of them.

Nomad

I've been buying the Ray-O-Vac bulk packs that Lowes and Home Depot have on sale. They seem to work fine to me.

Something to note, Lithium AAA's are coming out sometime this year. I keep some AAA devices for EDC due to the smaller size (Arc AAA, Mag-lite AAA's)
When I was looking for a new cell phone last fall, I started looking for something similar to the old Motorola flipphones with the external removable battery. I found Samsung makes some like that, I got a B/W screen, no camera, removable battery flip phone that is digital and analog capable. Then bought a desktop charger like the old Motorola's and spare battery and car charger and stuck an extra jack in the door pocket of my truck so the charger is always there and always plugged in. This was I always have a spare battery as well as a charged phone since I simply drop it in the charger when I take it off my belt.

I recommend Energizers. Mainly because Energizer offers Lithium AA's, but also because they publish the technical specs of their batteries, including capacity and discharge curves. It's nice to know what your buying.

An interesting note--when the e2's originally hit the market, they carried the same mAh ratings as the regular Energizers. Checking the site now, I see that the ratings of the e2's have been bumped up. 3135mAh v. 2850mAh for a AA (10% more). Of course, the Lithium AA's are rated at 2900mAh, but that's at a constant 200mA drain, as opposed to a 25mA drain for the alkalines...

Lithiums are much better in high-drain devices. They may not last any longer than alkalines in low-drain devices, but they sure do weigh a lot less and have better shelf life, and for survival gear, that's a very good thing.

thanks for the help, ijust checked out those sites and home depots has the best price of energizer AA 24 pk for $10.69, and a 12 pk of C for $9.98.

if anyone can top these deals let me know.
now i need a good battery charger...grumble..