Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source) or have a very long runtime (like the Elevation Lab 10-year TimeCapsule). One of the problems I’ve had is keeping a sufficient stock of charged batteries — a charger that holds two or four just doesn’t cut it. What I need is a charger that can keep eight batteries charged up.
This is what the Xtar L8 Box comes in. This charger ticks all the boxes for me and is set to become my charger of choice going into 2026.
Xtar L8 Box charger specs.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
OK, so it’s a battery charger. What’s special about that? Well, a few things.
First, it can charge up to eight batteries simultaneously. Just pop an AA or AAA battery (lithium ion or nickel metal hydride) into any one of the free slots — and yes, it can handle both AA and AAA batteries, so you don’t have to worry about what goes where — pop on the magnetic cover, and away it goes.
. Most people have at least half a dozen of these lying around, or they have a multiport desktop charger
The Xtar L8 Box charging up a full set of batteries.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The charger also acts are a convenient storage pot for batteries, with the magnetic lid doing a good job of keeping the batteries from spilling out of the holder.
