AA battery case and pouch

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Battery standardization is kind of an important thing. When I need batteries for my flashlight, radio, or other geegaw, the last thing I want is to discover I’m out of the battery I need but I have zillions of the batteries I don’t.

For my general needs, it’s just three battery sizes: CR123, AA, and D. End of story. Sometimes it requires a compromise when one product might use one of those batteries but another, better, product might use something like a 9-volt or C-battery. In cases like that I usually fall on the side of logistics because even if the product is a bit better, when the batteries fade and it’s non-functional it will be a lot less than ‘better’.

For stuff that I carry around in the Bag O’ Tricks there is no room for argument – one battery size. Period. Full stop.

For that task, I go with AA lithium batts. They are expensive, yes. The advantage is that they are far less vulnerable to temperature, and they tend to keep their charge over time. The problem is, how to carry spares. I used to just take an Altoids tin, line it with plastic, put tape over the ends of the batteries, and  store ’em that way. Cheap, but there are better ways. A fella handed me a Maxpedition catalog years ago and they had this little guy:

It has been my absolute first choice for storing spare batteries in my gear. It keeps them separate from each other, protects the important ends, and conveniently splits apart and is colored to help differentiate dead from live batteries. (Whys ave the dead ones? Might be rechargeables that you want to save for later recharging.)

I’ve used this thing to carry around my spare AA batts (and it’ll carry CR123 batts as well) for years and can’t think of a problem I’ve had with it. I keep it in the nylon pouch as an added measure of safety and security, but the plastic sleeve by itself would seem to work fine in a tucked away pocket on your gear.

The things I carry in my bag that need those batteries? A couple small LED lights, a small AM/FM/SW radio, and the very small and very useful ICOM R6 receiver. All of those run on AA’s and therefore I only need to keep the one type of battery in my bag. (Also means that, in a real crunch, I could swap batteries as needed between devices.)

While the pouch has MOLLE webbing to let you mount it to your gear, I find it more useful to carry it inside my gear. Why leave it outside your bag to get banged around?

As I said, I’ve used this sort of thing for carrying around spare batts for years and haven’t had a single problem with ’em. Recommended.

14 thoughts on “AA battery case and pouch”

  2. I live in small places and tend to be somewhat nomadic, so I ended up getting rid of everything I had that ran on D batteries. D’s and the things they go in are just too much weight and bulk when everything you own needs to fit in a 15’ Uhaul, will be going in a Uhaul every 3rd year or so, and needs to get stored in about a 400sq ft place once you’re moved in.

    For me it’s AA, AAA, and CR123’s. My EDC flashlight runs on a single CR123 battery and I carry a single spare for it that I vacuum sealed to protect it. Everything else goes in battery cases. I have a few kinds of battery cases, they all work great for keeping things protected and organized.

  3. I like the idea of standardization, it makes things a lot easier to deal with. Lithium batteries are a perfect example of getting what you pay for. Yes they cost a few cents more but in the end how much is your neck worth?

    BTW speaking of (writing about?) batteries and flashlights… Have you seen this?

    https://countycomm.com/collections/view-all-light-products/products/1d-flashlight-by-maratac

    It would fit the bill for AA and D sized batteries very nicely.

  4. I use the cheap ($1) and light soap dishes from Walmart for batteries, and any other small fiddly bits. They’re available in different colors, hold a surprising number of AA batteries, and will hold different sizes of batteries at the same time.

  5. On a slight sidenote looking up the ICOM R6, I also see an ICOM R6 Sport.

    Its a bit cheaper, but it specs out on first glance as exactly the same. I wonder what the difference is, besides from the pics it having a red case.

  6. I have a 12 pack of AAs vacuum sealed with an O2 desiccant pack in it. I tried them 6-8 months later and most of them were dead, the few that weren’t dead had little power. Any help here on what I did wrong? Thanks.

  8. I have one of the MTM R-50 rifle cartridge cases that I keep my rechargeable batteries in – mainly eneloop to keep them separated from the regular alkaline and lithium batteries. It’s worked pretty well for the last couple of years. Their case for the 9mm holds the AAA batteries pretty well also.

  9. Even though I have a couple of items that use other sizes, I have standardized on AAs. I use Eneloop rechargeable and also have multiple Goal Zero portable solar chargers . Eneloop also makes adapters to use AA in place of C and D batteries. They don’t last as long, but in an emergency could make a difference.

  10. What kind of am/fm/sw radio do you use? I have a little am/fm one, but I wouldn’t mind upgrading to one that can pick up shortwave, too…

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