Observe ZDNET: Add us as a most popular supply on Google.
I’ve made it my mission in 2026 to lastly rid myself of all alkaline AA and AAA batteries. OK, there would be the edge case the place one thing will want lithium AAs to run, however that is solely issues that run in chilly climate (like a handheld GPS receiver) or have a really lengthy runtime (just like the Elevation Lab 10-year TimeCapsule for the Apple AirTag). One of many issues I’ve had is retaining a adequate inventory of charged batteries — a charger that holds two or 4 simply does not lower it. What I want is a charger that may hold eight batteries charged up.
That is what the Xtar L8 Field is available in. This charger ticks all of the packing containers for me and is about to change into my charger of selection going into 2026.
Finest turbines offers of the week
Offers are chosen by the CNET Group commerce workforce, and could also be unrelated to this text.
OK, so it is a battery charger. What’s particular about that? Nicely, a couple of issues.
First, it will probably cost as much as eight batteries concurrently. Simply pop an AA or AAA battery (lithium ion or nickel metallic hydride) into any one of many free slots — and sure, it will probably deal with each AA and AAA batteries, so you do not have to fret about what goes the place — pop on the magnetic cowl, and away it goes.
One other successful function for me is that it may be run from any 15W or above USB-C charger. Most individuals have at the least half a dozen of those mendacity round, or they’ve a multiport desktop charger to plug it into. Nevertheless you select to energy it, it’s miles extra handy than plugging it right into a wall outlet.
Cost time is roughly 2.6 hours for a full set of batteries, which is appropriate for one thing like family batteries that you simply will not want in a rush. Maintain the batteries within the charger, and hold the charger plugged into a close-by USB-C port. You are at all times good to go.
The charger additionally acts are a handy storage pot for batteries, with the magnetic lid doing a great job of retaining the batteries from spilling out of the holder.
Xtar additionally makes some superb batteries. I’ve discovered the batteries that I used to be despatched for testing with the charger to be of wonderful high quality. Costly, however that is the value you pay for a great, long-lasting battery.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Xtar is a kind of manufacturers that not solely makes good things but in addition innovates to create standout merchandise, and the L8 Field falls into that class. Not solely is it a very good, strong product, however it’s pushing the envelope of innovation.
At $30, the Xtar L8 Field could be very fairly priced, and in the event you want a USB-C charger to go together with it, you’ll be able to choose one up for beneath $10.
