Anyone know of the best flashlight batteries for temperatures less than 0°F? It is getting to be that time of year when it is getting cool and I need batteries for my light. I am looking for normal batteries like A and AA that are good down to -20°F or lower.
I don’t know of any battery type that likes to get cold. An option might be to rig up the batteries remotely so you can hold them inside your coat, using body heat to keep them warm, and then a long cable out to the light.
djm
This is yet more evidence that I do not live in a cold area of the world: I had no idea batteries don’t work if they’re too cold.
They don’t work as well in the cold, it slows the chemical reaction. Some people put batteries in the fridge to keep them longer.
The Googleliscious wisdom of the web seems to be saying that lithium cells do better than conventional alkalines at low temps. Energizer lithium AA/AAA are advertised as rated down to -40°F.
I live in a cold climate. Two days ago it was -31 F. Today it was in the +teens and was delightfully balmy.
Lithium batteries are far superior to alkaline. Decades ago, when it was hard to get lithium batteries and they didn’t come in the standard sizes, I remember running a wire from a separate battery pack to my headlamp so the battery pack could be kept inside my coat and be warmed by body heat.
Many people around here have battery blankets installed in their cars so that when they plug their car in (headbolt heaters are standard) it warms the battery to give enough power to turn over to start. I can’t imagine living in a place so warm that you weren’t aware that batteries don’t have much power in the cold! 
Thanks, I’ll have to try out Lithium batteries. My last rechargeable was NiMH and those seemed to be worthless below 0. Don’t know what’s wrong with my searching skills, I couldn’t find anything when I first tried on google.
Ditto. London isn’t known for being particularly cold, but even here we know that a battery that apparently has zero charge can be eked out a bit by gentle warming in a hand or pocket. I’ve found this particularly useful with rechargeable camera batteries.
In my experience, rechargables are just about useless in any temperature.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing…
I have had mixed results with rechargeable batteries in other devices. With the newer LED lights, I am hopping that the charge will last longer and be sufficient. I it beats having to buy a Carbide Lamp.
Yeah, it doesn’t really get cold here. All this talk of negative temperatures makes me dizzy. The coldest it gets here is like 30 degrees for a couple of weeks in February.