Over the past decade, I’ve grown used to charging every electronic gadget with USB power. Whether it’s the Micro USB of my keyboard, the USB-A of my charger block, or the USB-C of my vaporizer, it’s USB all the time. So color me surprised when I became a dad and discovered that just about everything kid-related still uses AA and AAA batteries.
And it made me realize how many modern devices still rely on old-fashioned rechargeable batteries. Remote controls, flashlights, digital scales, clocks, and even some wireless keyboards and mice.
I don’t want to buy brand-new disposables every week and I don’t want to contribute to unnecessary e-waste. But my dependence on rechargeable AAs and AAAs would be a headache if it weren’t for the super-fast $40 charger I ended up getting—and it’s so useful that it’s now one of my favorite techy gifts to give.
Why fast charging matters
The XTAR VX4 is a fast 20W charger that can handle up to four AA and/or AAA batteries at a time (as well as the more niche A and AAAA types). It can take both 3.6V Li-ion and 1.2V Ni-MH batteries, and it has a built-in battery tester that doubles as a great kid’s toy. My own two kids love checking the status of batteries for me!
Jon Martindale / Foundry
But it’s the speed of this charger that’s so important for busy family life. When my son’s white noise machine is dead, I can have its batteries fully charged in under an hour. When the baby monitor’s light is blinking, I don’t have to wait long before it’s up and running again. When there’s a new toy at Christmas that needs batteries, it’s ready to go in a snap.
As simple or complex as you like
I love how straightforward this charger is. With its wide support for different size batteries, types, and capacities, you don’t need to worry about where you’re plugging them in or whether this charger supports a specific battery form factor. Just grab them, shove them into the spring-loaded charge points, and they’ll get juiced up in a jiffy.
Jon Martindale / Foundry
The charger selects the best charging mode for the type of battery you’ve plugged in with no input from you. And since it’s USB-powered—rather than having its own specific barrel plug or similar—you can take it with you and use any old phone charger to power up your batteries.
If you want to dig into the specifics, this charger displays all the information you could need. The LCD display showcases which slots are occupied, by what type of battery, what current and voltage its charging at, and what the charge volume is. It’s all clearly shown and easy to read at a quick glance. It’ll even give you a heads-up if there’s a problem with a battery that needs to be disposed.
A little pricey but worth every penny
For something that “only” charges up your batteries, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking $40 is a lot to spend. And you also have to consider the rechargeable batteries themselves if you don’t have any on hand. I felt the same way before I bit the bullet—but I’m glad I did in the end.
I’ve gone through two other battery chargers before this one, and now I’m never looking back. The first one was a $12 cheapie that burned out in six months and could’ve been a real fire hazard. The second one was $20 and still works, but it can only charge batteries in pairs and it takes up to four hours for a single pair of AAA. That’s way too slow for me.
Between the fast charging speed, wide compatibility with multiple battery types, and flexibility to charge any number and combination of batteries at any given time, the XTAR VX4 is very much worth it—and I love it so much that it’s become my go-to gift for techies.
The XTAR VX4 is something most people aren’t willing to buy for themselves, something they don’t even realize they need. And yeah, it’s not exactly cool. But it’s extremely useful. And you don’t realize just how useful it is until you’ve been using it a while.