well, reviews of the new Energizer cells are scarce because a lot of the really knowledgeable tech geeks wrote them off completely after the 2500s were so awful. But I was in Sam's the other day; they had a multi-pack of I think 8xAA and 2xAAA for about $15, if you could use your coupon on those you could try them for cheap.

I still would get a good charger like Maha or LaCrosse (there are others that are good, but those are the names I see over and over again)

good luck

nate