As many here I use an AA-powered Garmin hiking type GPS for bikepacking.

Fine for short (long weekend trips) when I usually take a few sets of spare rechargeable batteries.
I appreciate LiON batteries last longer; however, I am a tight arse Northerner.

So, been looking a small, lightweight, USB powered, smart AA charger.

Have found one.
Sharing here is others might find useful.

Not much larger than an AA battery case.
Powered via micro-USB, will run from a standard battery pack.

https://uk.gpbatteries.com/products/gp- ... yko-pro-aa

I have a cheap ikea one. Charges 2 AAA or AA cells at a time, not sure on specs but it seems to work well enough

Think you can run the Garmin directly from a USB cable from a Powerbank

Need to select Garmin mode instead of USB / Storage

Maybe just Etrex30

I will await either confirmation from the forum, or to be corrected.

javatime wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:11 pm Think you can run the Garmin directly from a USB cable from a Powerbank

Need to select Garmin mode instead of USB / Storage

Maybe just Etrex30

I will await either confirmation from the forum, or to be corrected.

One can, appreciate that.

And I killed a Garmin doing just that.

So this is a heads up to those that want to run off AA's and need a way to recharge during the ride.

That's a nice little unit. I am slightly suspicious of their charge times though... My mains Nimh smart charger takes far longer to recharge batteries than that.

One other point, don't assume Lion is expensive... the Xtar Pb2s 18650 Lion USB smart charger is only £16ish and 18650s aren't that expensive. Then you can use it as a power bank too. But that certainly looks useful for AA use cases... Thanks for sharing

I use these high powered ones that can charge from your powerbank overnight

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1
EBL 1.5V Lithium AA Rechargeable Batteries 3300mWh

Thanks for that, worth knowing!

I got this set of rechargeable lithium batteries plus charger last year.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kratax-3500mWh ... 727&sr=8-4

Get about double the run time in my Garmin Dakota 20 as I got with rechargeable NiMH batteries.
But not as long a run time as with non rechargeable lithium AA batteries.

Eneloops for me ... https://www.batterystation.co.uk/panaso ... es-4-pack/
A pair will run my Garmin Oregon 450 for 2 days, so taking a spare pair will do 4 days.
But maybe a charger works better for some.

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:53 am Eneloops for me ... https://www.batterystation.co.uk/panaso ... es-4-pack/
A pair will run my Garmin Oregon 450 for 2 days, so taking a spare pair will do 4 days.
But maybe a charger works better for some.

I have those exact same batteries.
Get ~ a day in an Oregon 700 with the unit in "power saving"; low screen brightness, BT turned off, etc.

I'm going to Iceland hiking for a week, and a mutli-week bikepacking trip, so need an easy and convenient means to recharge the AA's from a USB battery pack.
This charger seemed ideal

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 9:52 pm I use these high powered ones that can charge from your powerbank overnight

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1
EBL 1.5V Lithium AA Rechargeable Batteries 3300mWh

I have those too. Handy for convenience but not actually high powered. They're the only brand I know to use mWh rather than mAh and that's (deliberately?) confusing.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Fri Apr 08, 2022 10:02 am

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 9:52 pm I use these high powered ones that can charge from your powerbank overnight

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1
EBL 1.5V Lithium AA Rechargeable Batteries 3300mWh

I have those too. Handy for convenience but not actually high powered. They're the only brand I know to use mWh rather than mAh and that's (deliberately?) confusing.

i saw the rechargeable LiON batteries and thought they could be ideal
direct charge, and no charger needed.
then read some of the reviews.