XTAR VC4SL Charger Review: AA, 18650 and 21700 Cells

25 Apr 2025 · XTAR VC4SL review tested with AA, 18650 and 21700 cells: easy to use, solid build, and a great all-round charger for the bench. · XTAR · Rating: ★★★★★

XTAR VC4SL battery charger
Xtar Battery Charger.
Product XTAR VC4SL charger
Best for AA, AAA, 18650, 21700 and other cylindrical rechargeable cells
Good bits Four independent bays, USB-C power, useful display and broad cell support
Annoyances A separate mode button per channel would make it less fiddly
Worth it? Yes. It is a strong all-round charger for the bench or travel bag.

This is my XTAR VC4SL charger review, tested with AA, 18650 and 21700 cells, and focused on why it works well as a useful USB-C bench charger.

Xtar VC4SL Charger

The XTAR VC4SL is a four-bay smart charger aimed at Li-ion and NiMH users. I’ve been using it since January 2022, so you might say this is a long term review. I bought it to replace a dead charger. I get most of my batteries from Fogstar batteries and they sell chargers too, so I picked this up from them, when I was ordering a bunch of 18650s. I don't remember how much it was, somewhere around £30 I think (just checked the website and they're £27). The charger connects to leccy via USB-C, so it fits well with my love for USB-C.

Xtar USB-C
The best USB standard yet.
The charger will charge a plethora of cells. LiPo 10440s, 14500s, 14650s, 16340s, 17335s, 17500s, 17670s, 18350s, 18490s, 18500s, 18650s, 18700s, 20700s, 21700s, 22650s, 25500s, 26650s & 32650s. Ni-MH/Ni-CD AAAAs, AAAs, AAs, As, Sub Cs, Cs & Ds. Basically if it's a cylindrical battery, this'll charge it!

It charges up to 4 cells at once, each cell is managed independently so you're fine to charge different cells in each channel - this might be a standard feature now, but back in the day cells had to be charged in pairs! If you hook it up to a beefy USB then it'll charge 4 cells at 1A, 2 cells at 2A and 1 cell at 3A. I'm usually not in a rush to charge cells, that fact that it also does 250mA & 500mA means you can keep your cells in good condition for longer.
Xtar Main Board
The Main Board.
The two boards inside are tidy, the soldering is clean and well done. There's a few small blotches of flux on the board, nothing to write home about, it looks been washed before being installed. The components are all pretty square, there's one resistor that's in the wrong orientation compared with it's neighbours, which frustrates my inner pedant, but doesn't impact the functionality, so I'll let it slide.
Xtar Screen Charge
The Charge Screen.
There's two buttons on the charger, one changes the charge current and the other flicks between the different modes. The screen is basic but useful, it's easy to read and dims when you don't press a button. Above each channel is a red/green LED, red means that channel is charging, green means it's not. The screen shows the cell voltage and charge current in a rev counter style.

The contacts are a decent size, the spring loaded bottom contacts have no flex in them, the slides are smooth, hold cells firmly and are easy to move one handed. The cutout in the bottom of each channel is well defined and cups cells nicely when in use.
Xtar Screen IR
It also measures Internal Resistance.
If I'm going anywhere that I need a battery charger, this is the one I take with me. It charges everything I want when I'm out and about and good old USB-C means you can plug it in anywhere. I've got a separate AAA/AA charger for home that takes a wall adaptor, and is a bit fancier, but this one is one for all.

Thoughts

The charger is well built, charges a million and one different battery types, it has plenty of current options for charging. It connects to power by my favourite USB, USB-C so it works in the car, the house anywhere USB-C is available. The body of the charger is solid, and feels OK. The screen provides useful information and is well lit & easy to read. For £27 you can't go wrong. I wish there was a button for each channel, with just a single button, it's a bit of a faff. That minor point aside, it's a 5* charger for me. If you want a charger that charges many cell types and works on USB-C look no further.

Pros
Charges many types of batteries · Well built · USB-C Powered
Cons
Could do with a mode button for each channel