The pro battery jungle
 

As an upcomming job requires me to add at least 3-4 more bricks to my power arsenal the question rose, what's actually the difference between the different manufacturers? At the moment I'm using 2 x Idx Endura 10s and a VL-2PLUS charger, all jolly good as they came with my Hpx500 package, with a cheap adaptor plate.

I realize now that I will be owning a EFP camera kit of some sort for a long time and started to wonder, what's the "best"? A quick look at what rental houses and networks use says Anton Bauer and IDX, and some ultra cheap v-lock bricks for the cheap rentals.

What's actually better with the expensive AB and IDX over cheaper alternatives? I now there might be some build quality differences, got a box of cheap v-locks with a Pdw700 once and the v part of was made of plastic, while IDX are metal. And the fact that there might be some different max discharge and other functions, are there any good reason to choose a AB/IDX over a cheaper option, or a more "unknown" manufacturer? Also the AB Gold Mount Vs. V-lock, will the v-lock last as long as AB's system? And if we stay with say AB/IDX/Hawk & Woods, are all about equally good if simular batteries from them where compared?

Other things that might come into play is the temperature can be about -40 in the winter and +30 during the summmer, all Celsius. I also have a found out that i use pro gear for what it's worth, cheap and brittle gets worn out pretty fast or broken at once.