CamelCamelCamel.
Are rechargeable batteries better?
Depends on your use case, these are perfect for my parents with remotes and clocks and no concept of recharging batteries.
Fair enough
better for the environment. but cost? disposable reigns supreme
Hard no. For anything where you replace batteries regularly, NiMH will be the value leaders by a long way. The LSD options like LADDA and Eneloop are costlier, but suitable for high discharge, rarely used devices, as they are shelf stable.
The only place an alkaline is affordable is in a remote or other almost zero drain device where you are likely to replace the device before the battery runs down.
I've been in this camp for over a decade … until recently. NiMH can't run Lego battery boxes at 1.2V or very erratically (even my few eneloops from a decade ago struggle). So I have had to assess Lithium AA's vs alkalines just for this purpose and am undecided at the moment (I've only used a couple of free alkalines included with torches so far and they've worked brilliantly; I make a mental note of the leak risk).
@ihbh: We ran Lego trains OK, but maybe the technics motors need more power.
For $12 you can get 30 alkalines at Bunnings, which would be many years of Lego play!
I'd not have bought so many eneloop pro's if I knew NiMH rechargeables are only 1.2V, which makes them weak compared to 1.5V Alkaline for strong burst operation of motors in devices.
How are these compared to Bunnings batteries which are slightly better value?
Panasonic is one of the most highly regarded battery makers in the world (at least when it comes to lithium cells).
Bunnings is usually rebadged cheap-ass garbage from some random Chinese factory.
So if by "better value" you mean "costs less but might suck" then yes.
I like the varta batteries, but also hard to go past Amazon as basics. So cheap
https://www.choice.com.au/electronics-and-technology/cameras…
Looks like they're in the middle of the pac @$0.56 each,
Choice recommends Duracell as number 3 with 70% recommendation
(Duracell leak like sieves and will destroy your equipment)
Totally agree. I've lost so many devices due to leaking Duracell batteries and will never touch them again.
AA sold out on Amazon. Bought for $10 on eBay (Bing Lee).
This read as "AA AAA Amazon" from the main page, I thought somebody was trying to sneeze đŸ˜‚