I finally bought a cycler in December... after nearly 30 years dealing with R/C. Without ever using a cycler I had one set of NiCds last 10 years. I simply made sure they got used and charged at least once a month.

More normal... the NiCds will last about 3 to 4 years. Some people trash them at 2 years without even testing to see if they are still good.

I just use an ESV after each flight... and if the pack shos significant loss of useable flying time... time to trash it. (take the bad pack to Radio Shack... they have a NiCd recycling program)