I have few 2200mAH 3-cell packs for my Heli, after 2 weeks of fun I was receommended to get a balance charger to charge my pack as I was told it is better for the battery life. When I try to discharge my packs with my new toy, there were at least 10%, some are 17% difference in capacity.
Now I use balance charging every time, they are balanced and showing only a little difference in capacity.
I am sure balance charger and discharger worth the money.