I got the 35 amp hours rated battery (35 amps for an hour) and rated for 18-40 lb thrust trolling motors. Mine is 30 lb thrust. The 'AGM' type, deep cycle, sealed battery was well packed (box in box) and has 2 terminals with hex head bolts that are screw in bolt with washer type posts clearly marked with a reddish color plate for the positive contact. It was 100% charged when I received it. Sturdy white plastic 4-attach-point handle. The real nice surprise is its size and weight. I had a WalMart battery (like a regular car battery dimensions) for several years that finally failed, but performed well. But the VMAX857 is considerably smaller in all dimensions and a lot lighter. One hand handling versus a heavy 2 hand weight for the WalMart battery. For a canoe or kayak outfitted with a trolling motor (mine is the Native Watercraft Ultimate 12), weight and size are paramount. So the VMAX is a much better choice than a 'dual purpose battery' and can be run down to about 1/2 capacity with no harm. By using a 'PWM' digital controller ($25 on eBay), the current draw is reduced a lot and more usable power to the motor. For a casual trolling motor duty, used at lower speeds (like 1-3 of 5), this battery should recharge over 100 times if normal. I used it for the first time today, always at low or 1/2 speed for about 1 - 1.5 hrs running time. When I got home, I put it on the charger and it was still 100% charged! January 1 2013 update: Now that I used it most of the spring and all summer into October as a trolling motor battery, I can tell you that it works great for my small 30$ trolling motor. Having an electric motor rigged with digital PWM speed and pushrod type steering control for your canoe/kayak opens up a lot of fun! Paddling is slow, you cannot fish as you paddle, and if a storm comes up.... with a motor you have a way to get to shelter more quickly than paddling (and I paddle as well as run the motor!). If you insist on a canoe, get a square backed one for a troller or outboard (typically 2-5 hp). And look at the Native Watercraft Ultimate series!

I bought this deep cycle battery to set up a portable battery minder for my Harley. Through the winter months, I put my Harley in a dry storage unit and there is no electricity there. I didn't want to take the battery out because I may just want to ride it at the spur of the moment. So on this battery, I connected a 150 watt power converter and plugged my battery minder into it. It's been connected and operating non stop for 3 days so far and the voltage in the battery is currently around 11.5 volts. It's only dropped 1 volt since I started this test. If this battery continued on this pattern of loss, it could hold up for 30 days. My plan is to bring this battery home recharge it as needed and reconnect to trickle non stop while the Harley is in storage. I'm at the beginning of testing this so I will try to update as time goes on. The picture shows my set up. You can barely see the power converter because the minder is covering it. It's not big. Smaller works best in this case. This minder won't charge a battery. It just keeps a charged battery charged.

(YEAR 2017) I mounted trolling motors (Minn Kota Endura C2 30 pound thrust) on two kayaks (Sun Dolphin Aruba 10 and Future Beach Trophy 126). At high speed (5) continuously, the battery lasted over one hour. Running at speeds (3) and lower, the battery lasted over three hours. The Vmax857 suited my needs for fishing and joy riding around the lake on kayaks. (YEAR 2018) In the winter, I used a trickle charger set at 2 amps deep cycle for 2 to 3 minutes almost every day to keep the batteries fully charged. I went out on our kayaks for the first time this year, hoping the batteries were still good. The batteries performed just as well as last year. (YEAR 2019) 6/24/2019 In the winter I continued using a trickle charger deep cycle for 2 to 10 minutes almost every day like I did last year. The batteries still work as well as the day I bought them two years ago. I purchased two more Vmax857 batteries. Now I have two batteries in each kayak running through a battery selection switch. Now we have twice as much fun and time. The size and weight is perfect for kayaks.

Getting ready to go out for another holiday . . . It started my 25 Yamaha without issues. The boat sits under a carport in Central Florida "heat". Good Job Vmax! Will buy another whey this one get 'tired'!

When I got this battery and went to pic it up, the weight was awesome. My first thought was: how big is the thing? When I opened it up and looked at it my first reaction was, this is a joke! Wasn’t too much bigger than a motorcycle battery. I was afraid to use it because it looked like it would run down pretty fast. So, I went and bought another bigger battery just in case this little thing ran down and catch me in the middle of our small lake. Well, I hooked up the smaller battery and after two hours I loaded up and came home. To my surprise, it was still in the green on the power. This is one great battery. Don’t let the size fool you. This little thing is almost heavier than my bigger battery. It has the power to push a boat. If you want a battery that will last on power, This is the one. It should have “ever ready”written in it. It just keeps going.