RE: Is Pack balancing is a gimmick perpetuated by companies who make balancers
The real problem is that the cells in a pack don't age or degrade evenly. Even if they are perfectly hand matched for internal resistance when new, these numbers change and there is no way to predict that ahead of time. The best setup is balance charging where you charge each cell individually through the balance taps. This ensures even charging and no over charging. The older "bleed off extra voltage" method of balancing is less accurate and harder on the batteries.