Has anyone used these USB AA batteries?

Hi guys...just wondering...has anyone used these in anything? I'm thinking of getting them for my camera flash as well as my Maglite flashlight for travelling...I backpack a lot...usually have access to computers at hostels, but the less I have to carry (ie: charger), the better it is...plus, USB is the same all over the world, so no worries about adapters, etc.

http://www.usbcell.com​/product/1

Thanks!!
- Tamas

Those 'USB batteries' have much less capacity at only 1300 mAh...commonly available AA NIMH have about 2000 mAh.

Why not simply buy regular AA NIMH and a charger that plugs into the USB port? I have one, it charges AAA and AA batteries, and I take it on trips with me to charge my AAA batteries for my noise-cancelling headphones rather than buying alkaline AAA.

Ah, thanks...I totally forgot to look at the capacities...will this still work fine for a flashlight??

I actually have a USB-powered battery charger (though completely forgot about it haha, thanks for the reminder!), but every ounce counts and every bit of room is premium in a backpack...especially when you travel for months at a time.

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15633348
but every ounce counts and every bit of room is premium in a backpack...especially when you travel for months at a time.

Backpack...so during that travel, what item provides USB outlet to plug this AA rechargeable via USB port?!

When I travel overseas with a laptop, the USB port on the laptop can charge things directly (phone) or indirectly (USB charger with AA/AAA cells), and the AC adapter for the laptop serves everything. But out on the trail...?

Wilt wrote in post #15633602
Backpack...so during that travel, what item provides USB outlet to plug this AA rechargeable via USB port?!

When I travel overseas with a laptop, the USB port on the laptop can charge things directly (phone) or indirectly (USB charger with AA/AAA cells), and the AC adapter for the laptop serves everything. But out on the trail...?

I have a solar powered USB charger.

Then I guess that you simply need to weigh the pro and con of 'USB battery' with lower capacity vs. separate USB charger. I have a pretty compact one myself, about the size of a mouse for a desktop PC.

Yeah, that's about the size of the charger I have, still it takes up room and has weight to it, however small it may be, these things add up on a long trip, plus, it's more stuff to have stolen/lost haha...anyways, the question is, would a battery with 1,300 mAh be good enough to power a MagLite, for example?

I don't carry a laptop when I backpack (I have a strict rule that the only expensive thing I have with me is my camera, and that's with me 24/7). I usually stay in hostels, so charging these things via the USB port on a computer there is not an issue.

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15633873
Yeah, that's about the size of the charger I have, still it takes up room and has weight to it, however small it may be, these things add up on a long trip, plus, it's more stuff to have stolen/lost haha...anyways, the question is, would a battery with 1,300 mAh be good enough to power a MagLite, for example?

With a solar charger, one would think that you merely top up the battery charge on a daily basis (or every 2-3 days) with the accumulated charge stored from the sun during the day. Then total capacity of the battery would not matter. Especially if your light is either fluoresent tube or LED, which are so much more efficient than the old incandescent bulb flashlights.

1300 mAh vs. 2000 mAh translates into 1/3 shorter interval between required charge...are you going to consume over 1300 mAh in a day?...if so, you need the normal AA NIMH, not the USB battery!

A strange product. You'd have to have a computer on for possibly 8 hours in order to charge batteries. Sometimes you'll have that sometimes you won't. I've found that for instance an iphone won't charge when plugged into a laptop that has powered off.

Wilt wrote in post #15633602
When I travel overseas with a laptop, the USB port on the laptop can charge things directly (phone) or indirectly (USB charger with AA/AAA cells), and the AC adapter for the laptop serves everything. But out on the trail...?

I don't know about charging on the trail but I use a laptop USB port to charge all sorts of batteries - camera flash, e-reader, cell phone .....

Thanks guys...finding a computer isn't really going to be a massive issue, I'm not going to be going to no man's land, at least not for extended periods of time. Also, the flashlight won't be used very much, it's not like I"ll have to recharge it often (it's an LED Maglite)...realistical​ly speaking, I'd be just as well off with store-bought batteries. BUT...I like rechargeable batteries because they're way cheaper in the long run and they're so much better for the environment...and this is kind of a neat toy!! (I get to have my cake and eat it too: not carry a charger, but still rock rechargeable batteries!)

HappySnapper90 wrote in post #15641619
A strange product. You'd have to have a computer on for possibly 8 hours in order to charge batteries. Sometimes you'll have that sometimes you won't. I've found that for instance an iphone won't charge when plugged into a laptop that has powered off.

You may actually find that not just your iphone but everything else too will fail to charge when the laptop has powered off. That is one of the goals with powering off a laptop.

pwm2 wrote in post #15649243
You may actually find that not just your iphone but everything else too will fail to charge when the laptop has powered off. That is one of the goals with powering off a laptop.

Actually, many laptops have special USB ports that keep power on even if the laptop is hibernating/sleeping (and perhaps even when it's powered off)...

In the "off" state, the PSU standard allows for a 5V standby voltage. Suitable for Wake-on-LAN, or having the keyboard or mouse wake the machine. But that 5V standby voltage isn't dimensioned for charging USB devices. It can drive a number of LED and a number of internal/external peripherials in standby mode.

In higher power modes, the computer may keep full power to USB connectors. Either through settings in Windows or through hardware options. Toshiba for example markets this as "USB Sleep-and-Charge".