I am quite the battery/charger tragic now, but I swear it only came on in recent years when I switched to rechargeable AAs and LSD Eneloops batteries for my GPS, Steripen on longer hikes, and torches.
I have the same two chargers as Zone-5, as well as a few other chargers. But I separate my chargers depending on the type of batteries I intend to charge as well as where I intend to use them (that is, via AC power or via USB solar power or 12V DC vehicle power).
AC socket charging NiMH batteries I mainly use the same two chargers as Zone-5. They are both "smart" analyzing chargers.
The Lacrosse BC700 on the left (also sold as the Technoline in Europe) and comes in a few other models with more features (the BC900 and the BC1000).
The Maha C9000 on the right is also known as the Powerex Wizard One.
They are "smart chargers" as they use various of chip controlled methods to terminate charging (like -dV and temperature control), compared with regular "dumb chargers" which have fixed charge rates and use a timer for stopping the charge to the batteries.
Both are good chargers IMHO, although the Maha C9000 has more features and is quite well regarded. Both have variable charge rate settings, but the Maha has a wider range of charge rate settings. The Lacrosse charger only has three charge rate settings from recollection. The advantage of chargers like these two is that they can analyze the charge that has been put into each cell so can report the individual batteries capacities.
I prefer the Lacrosse charger for a few reasons: the smaller size is nicer when travelling, and the individual screen display for each cell means I can check/set charge type and rate for each cell with fewer button presses than on the Maha. The Maha displays only shows the readings/settings per slot, so you have to cycle through each slot on the same display.
But the Maha has greater features including the wider range of charge settings, a break in mode, and a refresh mode for older cells.
The speed of the charging is due to the charge rate. Normal "dumb" overnight chargers typically have a low charge rate, but don't stop charging and can lead to overcharging your batteries. The "dumb" Fast or Super Fast chargers have a very high charge rate, which will shorten the lifetime of your NiMH cells. The default charge rate of the Maha is 1000mAh, but the Lacrosse BC700 has a lower default rate of 200mA (the other charge rates are 500mA and 700mA).
On charge rates, I usually charge at a 0.3-0.5C and a maximum of 1C (meaning 1 times the battery capacity). So if the battery has a 2000mAh capacity, the max charge rate would be 2000mA.
Solar Charging AAs and AAAsFor charging NiMH AAs and AAAs via solar power with one of my portable USB solar panels, I am yet to find the perfect charger. I currently use:
* Portapow USB charger (also seen this as a Fujicell SCH500 or 500F charger) - http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/ ... e-battery/ - the portapow I've used most recently, but needs a male to male USB cable to power. The issue I have with it is that when it is my backpack connected to the solar panel, the front button presses too easily and it switches the USB socket from input to output so isn't charging anymore.
* Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus - Biggest issue with this is that it needs to charge 4 AAs at a time, needs additional attachment for AAAs.
* An older version of what looks like that Rayovac charger but is not a smart charger.
* a cheap 2 x AA/AAA USB charger which provides a low continuous current but it is not a smart charger again.
I've just ordered a Sunjack USB AA/AAA charger
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PZ6V99U/ I found on Amazon, but have to wait until I get back for it to be delivered. Sunjack is a Californian based kickstarter funded company that made some GoalZero style folding solar panels, and when I emailed them about more info on their AA/AAA charger, the founder emailed me back quickly with some more details about the charge rate and termination methods. Hopefully this will be the charger I take on longer overseas hikes replacing the Portapow charger I currently use.
I have also been looking at a small Xtar MC1 charger to be able to charge 18650 or 14500 lithium cells via solar panel. I don't normally take a lithium based torch bushwalking, but if I can get a good light charger that works via USB solar panels, I might just pack a couple of 14500s for the extra boost in my AA torches that can handle lithium batteries. The Xtar MC1 is a single cell charger, and has some good reviews.
AC charging Lithium cells For Lithium based cells like 18650 or 14500 cells, there are also good chargers out there, with a number of recent brands coming out with some nice chargers that can do both NiMH and Li-ion cells, and have some of the testing/reporting features of the Maha/Lacrosse chargers. I use 18650 and 14500 cells in various torches that I have. I have a couple of the Nitecore Intellichargers in i2 and i4 formats, but they don't have the analyzing features of the Maha/Lacrosse chargers so I haven't found a favourite yet.
The Nitecore D4 mentioned in the post above is an upgrade to the i4 model, with a display screen and some other upgrades, but does not add the analyzing functions.
An analysing charger for lithium cells I've been looking at for a while is the Opus BT-C3100 charger which is currently at it's V2.2 iteration, and that looks like it could be on the short list. It is reviewed with the earlier software here:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Ch ... %20UK.html and is a good analyzing charger for NiMH and Li-ion cells.
Lithium camera/smartphone batteriesFor charging other lithium batteries via USB like camera/GoPro battery li-ion cells or smartphones, RonK's reply is a good option if you are using an AC wall socket. Anker make great products, but they have stopped selling to Australia via their eBay store, and they won't ship to Australia via Amazon, so are annoyingly difficult to source at a reasonable price now.
There are a few other mobs that are making some similar multi USB hubs out there. I have ordered a 50W (5V//10A) 6 USB port one by a company called Poweradd (
http://www.ipoweradd.com) to see how it performs - it looks similar to the Anker chargers.
For charging removeable lithium batteries from cameras/gopros and phones with solar charger, I've been looking at the Pixo C-USB universal charger
http://www.pixo.de/p/pixo_cusb.html. Difficult to source locally for a reasonable price, it is a lightweight, compact charger that can charge some li-ion and lipo batteries as well as NiMH AA/AAAs using a USB input so works with solar panels as well.
While my phone and cameras can charge directly using the USB socket out of one of my solar panels in certain circumstances, I find it in practice easier to charge up an external battery pack, and use that to charge up the devices later as needed. Using something like the Pixo C-USB charger or plugging into the device directly I have found challenging while on the move as the current fluctuates while you are walking, and the sun's rays are obscured so the charging stops/starts. Some devices don't like the drop in current, and stops charging and only starts charging again on unplugging and replugging in the USB socket, making it impractical while walking. It might be more suited to charging at a basecamp or for something like cycle touring.
If anyone is interested, HKJ who posts on the candlepowerforums and budgetlightforums, does great reviews on various chargers (as well as batteries and torches)
http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatt ... %20UK.html