I have two Ph12350 Group U1 batteries 35ah that I like. They weigh 23 pounds each which makes them comfortable to carry. I picked them because their small size means they can be comfortably placed between my legs in a kayak. They probably cost me a little more, maybe $20, than a single battery. The thing is that I spend more than $20 on gas and food every time I go fishing. These batteries are typically used in wheelchairs if you were curious. That means they normally get abused by being run to low. The guy at the battery story says his wheelchair customers use these batteries every day and typically run them down to under 20 percent and they still last a year.

People look at the battery thing wrong. They are not an investment but an expendable item like fuel. I can understand that if you have a boat with two $160 batteries to run a 24 volt trolling motor and it's a hassle to replace them that you may not think of them as expendable. Batteries for a kayak or a canoe is completely different because you are taking them out of the boat every time you fish and there is no reason to spend $320. I fish all day on one 35ah battery and the second is a reserve. Of course I have a 12lb thrust trolling motor so a 30 will use more power.

What I get with two small batteries is ease of transport, small size that fits anywhere, the option of lugging one 23lb battery if I'm not going to fish long, $60 dollar replacement cost if one goes bad, a spare if one wasn't charged properly or was damaged, SLA security against leaks, quick recharge with two chargers, and relatively low overall weight.

As I said earlier I think of batteries the same way I would fuel. The guy that sold them to me said he expected them to last 3 years. I got them on a good sale for $50 each. If I use them 10 times a year for 3 years that is thirty uses. That works out to be $3.33 dollars a trip. I spend more than that on lost lures. If you go more often than 10 times a year then you will want to take good care of them which mostly means not running them down below 50 percent charge and recharging them as soon as possible. My situation is a little different because since I don't use them a lot I don't care if I go below 50 percent and shorten their life. Batteries have a shelf life regardless of how many times you cycle them so the guy at the battery store told me to not worry too much about damaging them. I know some people on here will tell you they have used there batteries for a lot more than three years but they probably paid more for them and they are probably heavy as hell. Let's say you double their life by 3 years and they last 6 years. That means cost for 30 uses is $1.66, does anyone who fishes really care about an extra $1.66 a trip? I would rather replace them than use a heavier more expensive and less convenient battery for the small additional cost.

I would like to get Lithium batteries but for 70ah the cost would be $900 dollars and because you can run them down to 0 it would be the equivalent of 140ah battery but there is no way to justify the cost. I see where you can get them from China for less than $300 but with a minimum order of 10. If you used them everyday that would actually be a good deal because you can recharge a Lithium battery 2000 times. That could be something to look into if a couple of us wanted to get together and order them but I'm leery of all things Chinese.