Don't buy those for that purpose. Just get Eneloops only, and use one of these:
That charger isn't much bigger than all the USB connectors combined, but it gives you the advantage of being able to charge anything with it. Then you get full Eneloop power, and only 1 USB connector. You save space, and maximize electrochemistry.
I don't know if you've seen, but Amazon sells them.
There's also a 26800 battery tube available via email request. 26800 cells aren't super common, but mine are measuring at around 7200mah which is a really nice bump in capacity over a typical 5000mah 26650 cell. The catch is there aren't any good bay chargers so you have to use one of these super slow magnetic chargers (14 hours to charge a 26800).
Basically, the H600Fd Mk IV is all around the better light in simply every category save for initial cost. This is simply a comparison between a high-end light and a budget light. Zebralights are known for some of the best runtimes, best overall efficiency, lightest weight and smallest sizes of just about any light on the market... so as they say, you get what you pay for.
Besides better efficiency/performance, the H600Fd has a much better selection of user modes and the ability to program those modes by setting the light's three main sub-modes (High/Med/Low) whereas the SP40 has no real programmatically other than to remember its last used mode. The H600Fd has a fantastically useful low moonlight mode (that can go all the way down to 0.08 lumen, which can then run continuously for well over 5 months! So, it can basically act as an unobtrusive marker at night to help locate it vs. the SP40 that can't get any lower than 5.00 lumen and will drain the battery at that setting in just over 9 days.)
Max output on the H600Fd goes all the way up to 1568 lumens with a 2.5 hour runtime vs. a max of 1200 lumens for a 1.8 hour runtime on the SP40.
The H600Fd has 2 different beacon and 2 strobe modes which the SP40 doesn't offer. (Granted strobe modes aren't all that useful, but in an emergency, the beacon modes definitely are.)
The H600Fd has and uses a fully regulated output driver - the SP40 uses an unregulated driver.
The H600Fd only weighs 39 grams without a battery... the SP40 weighs in at 63 grams without a battery.
The H600Fd has fully potted and sealed LED driver circuitry - the SP40 does not.
The H600Fd is rated to the IPX8 standard (Waterproof to 2 meters, for 30 minutes)
The SP40 is only rated to the IPX7 standard (Waterproof to 1 meter, for 30 minutes)
The H600Fd is only 97.8mm in length vs the SP40 at 108mm.
The H600Fd has a max head diameter of 24.2mm vs the SP40 at 25mm (So pretty much a wash there.)
The SP40 has a bright hotspot - the beam profile of the H600Fd is much more smooth and even.
The H600Fd uses a Cree XHP50.2 LED emitter with a nominal CCT of 5000K with a very high CRI level between 93-95. The SP40 uses a XP-L LED emitter that's more a cool white (a CCT between 5500-6000K) and has a CRI that's somewhere in the low 80's (so worse color rendition).
Used sparingly on it's low mode of 3.3 lumen, which is plenty of light at night when camped, the H600Fd can run continuously for 17.5 days - almost twice that of the 5 lumen low mode of the SP40.
The SP40 also has a rather high parasitic drain - so it will basically discharge the battery over the course of about a month or so. AND, it may continue to drain your cell if left in the flashlight longer, which isn't healthy for a LI-ion 18650. (18650's should never be drained much below 2.7 volts). The HD600Fd's parasitic drain is measured so low that it is even less than the battery's own natural parasitic drain level - so that's lower than when the battery is sitting alone, outside (not inserted into anything.)
The only thing the SP40 has over the Zebra is a built in charging port - but I really see that as more of a liability in it getting its internals/electronics wet and/or shorting out or breaking due to the port getting yanked on or inserted improperly. Given that its intended use is hiking/camping, this to me is a very big negative against the SP40. And since you have to carry a charging cable anyway, why not simply invest in something like this to take along for charging the battery? Also, given the long runtimes the H600Fd is capable of, especially if you stick to primarily using its low/med modes, odds are a single 18650 cell will easily last you the entire hiking trip.
So, bottom line: Do you want a high-end, high performance, feature rich, quality piece of kit? Or would you prefer something more in the low budget end range that's semi disposable?
NiMH batteries are heavier than lithium, that's true. However, if you have multiple devices powered by multiple different batteries, you will probably come out ahead if you get rid of them all and standardize on AA Eneloop NiMH batteries. I got rid of something like 25 kg of chargers and cables and more than 150 spare batteries that could only be used in 1 device. In short, I saved a LOT of weight by switching to heavier AA NiMH batteries.
When all your devices use AA batteries, you have so many, you may not even need a charger, and not even any spares because you can take them from your unused devices if you need spares unexpectedly. You can't go wrong by standardizing on AA batteries.
If you only have one device, and if you REALLY want to trim the last gram from your travel kit, you're still better off with a more conventional battery that uses the existing battery connectors for charging instead of a third special connector for charging.
If you are 100% sure you want to have a charger with you instead or in addition to a spare, you can use either the normal Eneloop charger, or something a bit more exotic. This is the smallest charger available that will work for most common battery types, including AA NiMH and AA-compatible 14500 lithium:
The only way to beat this is to use AA Energizer lithium non-rechargeable cells. They are expensive, but they are the ultimate for light weight, and obviously you don't need to cary a charger because they're not rechargeable.
I searched around for a USB-C AA battery, but the only one I could find was actually a C battery, not AA, and the minimum order is 6 cells:
Even that one, in the specifications, says "micro USB", so I'm not sure if there's some confusion going on between "USB-C charger" and "USB C battery", but the connector looks like USB-C to me. In any case, nearly all the others I could find were micro USB or regular USB. I did further searches, and found nothing:
If you crosspost this request to r/AAMasterRace, I can revisit it if I find a USB-C AA battery.
I don't know any specs off hand, but I keep one of these in the car and in my pack for emergencies. Super compact and can charge a plethora of batteries.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5KU97Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_8rQFAbV4S4PQS
> Yes I did buy rechargeable batteries for the rift and it works just fine, but the thing is I had to buy them and I use them only for the rift because nothing else uses AA batteries anymore. So yeah buying additional charging equipment is a bit of a pain.
Woah, you got this totally backward. From the sidebar of r/AAMasterRace:
> If you have only AA batteries and you want 10 spares, you only need 10 spares and 1 charger. With 15 different battery types, and 10 spares of each, you need 150 spare batteries and 15 chargers. That's a HUGE difference. With AA you can carry it all in your pocket. With everything else, you need a truck.
The "additional charging equipment" is for all your other devices. If you want a USB AA battery charger, you can certainly have one. Here are the best ones I know about:
About your belief that nothing uses AA batteries anymore, you are very mistaken. AA batteries have been the world's most popular battery since their introduction in 1907, and today they still represent 98% of the battery market. They are so incredibly dominant, it's ridiculous. And, in fact, they're actually still growing in popularity:
AA batteries are the Master Race. Everything should use AA batteries, then life would be super simple.