I went into my local Target (large department chain store) and discovered AAA Lithium batteries. I had not seen AAA size (also known as type L92) on the market before. Perhaps I just missed them.

Price was $9.69 for 4. ($2.42 each) A bit high it seems to me. I normally buy AA sized (L91) at Sams Club for about $19.00 for 12 or $1.58 each.

I looked up the specifications on the Eveready web site and it is rated at 1250mAh. The regular alkaline battery is rated at 1200mAh so the gain is trivial. Weight is considerably less at less than 0.5grams (0.02oz) for the lithium vs 11.5 gr (0.4oz) for the alkaline.

So weight and storage life seem to be the factors here as there is little difference in capacity. But when I think about carrying the little beasties, then weight becomes a factor. I normally carry lots of battery operated devices and a back-up supply as well (when hiking, not EDC). Because of the very low weight of the Lithium type batteries, I usually carry a replacement for everything, meaning 12 AA (4 for Ham radio, 2 for GPS, 4 for camera 1 for small LED light leaving 1 extra) and 6 AAA (4 for larger LED light, 2 for palm computer).

There's one thing I wanted to mention about AA lithiums. They don't seem to take the cold very well. I have an outdoor thermometer transmitter. Last winter I had alkalines in it, but they started getting intermittent when it got really cold (like below 0). This year, I put lithiums in, hoping they would last longer. Not a chance! As soon as it dropped below about 30, it started cutting out occasionally, and would come back when it warmed up. Since it's been consistently cold, they haven't worked since.

Are these the same batteries mentioned in this CPF thread?

There was a significant difference when used in an Arc AAA. Maybe the total capacity isn't much
higher, but it could be that you can use more of what's there in the lithium due to differences
in discharge characteristics, voltage, etc.

I think so. But they do not give a "real" part number. However as far as I know there is only on energizer AAA lithium. So it must be it.

Very interesting to see the graph. Hopefully this extended service will be evident when I need to use them.

and in reply to the comment about cold weather operation with lithiums, everything I read says that they excel in cold. I have no idea why you see different results with your thermometer example. Guess that is what makes this all so intersting. Lots more to it than just reading the charts. The real world seems to have it's own idea of how things work.

Having only used Lithium batteries in computers, I don't know about the cold problem - the sesor board may have a bad connector or solder on it that is effected in the cold.

I do know that, in reasonable use, Lithiums will have a charge until it doesn't. This may not sound anything but sensible, but alkalines do have a habit of 'fading' over time until they are dead.

Rena

I use lithiums in my gps, and it works flawlessly in the teens and 20's. All my flashlights that are left in the car use lithiums, and I never have had a problem. One of the selling points of lithiums is that they work so well in the cold.

I've been using AAA and AA lithiums in a few different applications without any problems. The GPS and Princeton Tec Aurora headlamp in my truck have been subjected to below zero temps for a couple weeks now and have shown no ill effects...

M

The L92's weigh a little bit less than alkaline AAA's but they sure as heck weigh more than 0.5 grams. They probably weigh 3 grams or so less than alkalines. I can just sort of notice the weight difference in my Arc AAA flashlight when I switch from one to another.

I thought 0.5grams seemed too light also, I have the Energizer AAA's in several devices, and they are light, but, not that light. I took a look at the Eveready site. They list the weights on their chart:
L92 AAA Lithium battery: 7.8 grams.
E92 AAA Alkaline battery: 11.5 grams.

Personally, I think shelf life is really the big winner for Lithiums, at least for your survival, long storage emergency lights. Also, I believe they handle cold better, although I saw an earlier post that seemed to question that. They are lighter, but, virtually all AAA bat's are pretty light anyway.