Udo,

I don't know anything about process and quality controls in battery
manufacturing, so I can't make an authoritative comment. But, I've
seen a similar complaint levelled against another supposedly
high-quality brand. In that case, annecdotal evidence from people I
trust (ie. several methodical and careful glider pilots) kept me away
from that brand. I then spoke with the guy at the local electronics
supply house, and he said he had "never, ever had a single problem"
with that brand, and he claimed to sell "hundreds of them per month."
Go figure.

However, this retailer did mention that he had seen problems caused by
incorrect storage. High temperature and long term storage without
charging can apparently cause permanent loss of capacity. His
professional opinion was that this was more likely to be the problem
with "bad cells", especially if several were purchased from the same
place.

In any event, I've had very good luck with Powersonic cells. Their
claimed discharge curves are available on the Web, so you can see if
they meet your needs.

P3