What are your 'name brand only' items?

What do you refuse to get generic versions of?

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batteries.
- This one is interesting, because I've heard certain generic brands are actually just repackaged Duracells
  I've also been thinking about getting some rechargeable Ikea ones, heard those are decent
  
  I wonder if they're repackaged due to not meeting certain quality control thresholds, but still technically useable
  
  Rechargeables are definitely a good upgrade for most applications where people use alkalines. They have better performance under high load, are much less likely to leak corrosive electrolyte, and you can use them again after you drain them. I'm a little surprised they aren't more popular.
  The Panasonic Eneloop is the gold standard for rechargeables, particularly the white ones which are more shelf-stable and have a longer service life than the higher-capacity black Eneloop Pro. Made-in-Japan Ikea rechargeables are suspected of being rebranded Eneloop Pros, but I don't think that's been conclusively proven.
  
  A few years back a guy did agood dive into this on (other website name redacted). He said for things like digital camersand other high draw items, Duracell is still the champ - however, $/hour of use, some cgeaper bands came out ahead. I still have half a giant pack of AC Delco AA / AAAs that have been quite solid.
  
  Here's a comparison site that graphs the voltage during discharge of a bunch of AA and AAA batteries with various loads using a high-end battery tester.
  NiMH rechargeable AAs trounce every alkaline under heavy load. It's not even close at 0.5A and above. Disposable lithium is better still up to 2A, but extremely expensive. Few devices will draw more than 2A from an AA battery, but I can think of a couple of flashlights that do; disposable lithium is unsuitable for those.
  
  I've heard certain generic brands are actually just repackaged Duracells
  Might depend where you live, I live in Nothern Europe and the cheap generic brand batteries from a popular electronics store chain, rechargeable, are quite shit when I compare them to my 5+ year old Eneloops. Haven't tried IKEA ones though.
  
  The Ikea Lada rechargables are rebranded Eneloops. Panasonic is the only manufacturer making rechargable batteries in Japan.
  
  I’m pretty sure ikea just spent a bunch on R&D and tooling to set up their own battery manufacturing plant in Japan.
  
  I've got eneloops that are 10 years old and still kicking. I tried Amazon's as well and those are shit. 100% are dead and I got them over the years after I got the eneloops as I needed more.
- Some of the IKEA batteries are rebranded Eneloops!
- Definitely! For electronics, Eneloop batteries are worth every penny. I think I have ~10 AA and AAA, and I haven't bought disposable batteries in years. I try to make sure I have 4 of each available at all times so I don't have to wait for them to recharge. I've tried cheaper (Amazon) batteries, and they fail much more quickly, and sometimes swell to the point where I have a hard time removing them.
  Some people say IKEA's batteries are just rebranded Eneloops, but I haven't had a chance to try them

208 comments