Rechargeable or Disposable Batteries: Which Do You Use???
In the 3 geocacher profiles that have been posted, which have provided information on some of our Board members, there is a question about whether they use disposable or rechargeable batteries for their GPS receivers. I noticed that in all three profiles to date, the answer was disposable. That really shocked me, because I had just assumed that most experienced cachers would be using rechargeable batteries.
I know that I personally have been using rechargeable batteries since about the 2nd month after I started geocaching. My primary reason for doing this was to cut the cost (over time) of the money I was spending on batteries, since rechargeables can be used over and over many times. As a testament to this, I am still using rechargeables that I bought in 2003! I keep a pair of rechargeables in my GPSr, and I always carry 4 extra batteries as spares - 2 additional rechargeables and 2 disposables. When my batteries die, I just put in the pair of recharged batteries and keep going. When I get home, I put the dead batteries on the charger and they are ready within a few hours to go back into my cache bag as spares. I carry the disposables on the rare occasion that I have been caching so long that my rechargeables die! It doesn't happen often, but it has happened! Usually after I have used the set in my GPSr for a long while and they are low in charge, and then I go on a long day of geocaching!
Anyway, it is human nature to assume that others who share a similar interest also do other things similarly. Like use rechargeable batteries! Well, the 3 profiles have made me question my assumption. So I have decided to post this poll to see what others use - rechargeable or disposable. I will be interested to see the results and your comments.