By reliable I mean which brands are least likely to leak, corrode or screw your sight up. I had an Energizer that leaked out after being put away for 10-15 years. Are lithium batterys less likely to leak? Sorry if I’m battery ignorant.
I run the energizer lithiums in my Eo-tech, no problems yet. Main reason I switched to lithiums, was cause normal AA would die in less than a year. Just sitting in the Eo-tech inside the safe.
From interweb surfing, majority of people say lithiums are less prone to leakage. Also, they also are supposed to work better in colder temps, than normal AA batts. However, I don’t leave my batteries in for that long either. 
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Lithiums generally have a 10-year shelf life. Alkalines are good for about 3-years max and that is at room temp. I’d change alkalines out every year or so if they are not kept inside.
10-years is a long time and I’d never expect alks to last half that long.
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Energizer lithiums are what I use in my Eotechs, and the M4S when I use to have one.
Though, I still change my batters every 360 days just in case.
Energizer Ultimate Lithium’s.
Sounds like your batteries functioned exactly like they were supposed to.
More/less likely to leak is a matter of manufacturing than what type of battery. Don’t go for off-brand batteries, you reduce the possibility of leakage.
However, a leaky lithium is more likely to start fires, especially if you add moisture. So, they can be more hazardous, in that regard. This is the reason behind having periodic inspections and putting aside the idea of being able to simply forget about the item until needed.
Energizers leaking after 10-15 years of storage…yeah, that’s human error, not the fault of the battery.
Hence my comment “battery ignorant”
Thanks for the reply, I wouldn’t call it storage. More like memory loss. Upon finding this leaking battery, and with an AP M4 on the way, I started wondering about the likelyhood of a battery leaking before it’s life had expired. Periodic inspections seem like a must.
It’s no bust. Battery manufacturers are no help, in the way they market their product to make it sound like they’re immune to entropy.
It boils down to the military maxim of “Inspect what you expect,” and it applies to pretty much anything one could think of.