Last summer I presented at the National Association of Lowland Search and Rescue Conference, and as always, at these meetings I make time to check out the trade exhibitors stands, searching for innovative and new kit that will either help me in Mountain Rescue or with the training that I deliver. I came across such a neat idea that I bought a few right there and me and Scott Amos (
good buddy and fellow mountain rescue team member).
One of the practices I encourage students to adopt is to use electrical kit that all uses the same size of battery - AA. By doing this you only need to carry a few spare batteries.
I used to use two small plastic bags for the rechargeable AA batteries I carry, one for fully charged and the other for spent batteries. Additionally, packed in my waterproof box containing my emergency first-aid kit, was a spare set of Lithium AA disposable batteries, still in their original packaging - my failsafe.
Now because of some Law of Physics to do with a guy called Sod, my batteries invariably ran-out at the most awkward times:
1. If it was my head torch then fumbling around using the low light left in the torch searching for my spare batteries or worse still, in no light determining which bag contained the fully charged batteries and which the discharged.
2. My rucksack gets some pretty heavy use and as a consequence my kit inside is knocked about, and frequently the batteries either got dented on the outside or would end up with their terminals touching other batteries and thereby self-discharging.
So I purchased these battery caddys, made out of tough polypropylene, and have trialled them on all of my trips, in addition, Scott and I have used them on our MR training and call-outs.
Firstly they hold batteries securely in place with a unique locking feature, and secondly, they protect the entire battery plus the terminals of the batteries at both ends. These features in themselves would be enough to prompt me to recommend them.
I also adopted the simple technique of placing all the charged batteries with the anode at the top and spent batteries the other way up so you could easily identify which were which.
But the really good thing was something frankly I thought was marketing speak, they glow in the dark. No they don’t – they SHINE. Whatever technology is used to give them their luminosity, it is the best I have ever come across.
You can purchase them at
http://www.shavenraspberry.com/ Footnotes1. I save money by using the lower priced Blaze Orange Caddys to hold my spent batteries.
2. They are great for keeping batteries safe on flights where you are not allowed to store them in the aircrafts hold (lithium batteries).