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I'll second the Standard Horizon.
I have one of the older models, HX255, and it's been great for 6 years now. It's not one of the submersible ones, but it's been very wet on numerous occasions, and no problems.
if you are using the radio for emergency backup, then you don't care about, or ever want to rely on, the rechargeable battery. If you forgot to recharge it, it's not a very good emergency backup...and you should use it as an alkaline battery radio.
If you plan to use the radio as your primary radio, which no one really recommends since a fixed mount is far better, then you may want a LiON battery model....but then, if you have an emergency, you better have some alkalines on board.
As far as I'm concerned, there are only two radio manufacturers that are even worth considering...ICOM and Standard...and that's for fixed or portable VHF.
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The views and/or opinions stated by the author in this post are only the views and opinions of the author
You're right, the batteries are NiCad. To minimize the risk of using NiCad power, I always fully deplete the batteries before charging them. I'll charge the VHF on a Friday night, use it all Saturday on the water, and when I get home I'll leave it on and let the battery die. It depletes quicker if you leave the radio on scan.
I have two fixed mount VHF radios on board, and just use the HH for scanning channels and bridge to bridge comms on ch 13.
Standard Horizons also come with alkaline battery trays, as do the ICOMs. I keep a fresh set of batteries loaded in the tray in my ditch bag at all times. If the NiCads go belly up, I only have to change the battery tray to get back up and running.
My only criticism of the Standard is that, when I read the manual, it said that the radio is no longer waterproof when you use the alkaline battery tray. That doesn't seem very good in an emergency, especially if you wind up in the water.
Good point bw12. I contacted Standard Horizon for clarification regarding the HX260 and HX350. I received the following very prompt and informative reply:
"Thank you for contacting Standard Horizon Marine Electronics. We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance to you.
The AA battery pack is not submersible. However, when the battery pack is installed in the radio, the radio itself is still submersible. If the radio is submerged for any length of time with the alkaline battery tray installed, the radio will be ok, but the battery pack could have problems."
FWIW, the good news is if you end up in the water with your radio, it will not be destroyed. The bad news is it may not work. Standard Horizon builds an excellent radio from the posts and reviews I've read, but it's good to know the limitations of the equipment you depend upon.
Best Handheld VHF?
Standard Horizon builds an excellent radio from the posts and reviews I've read, but it's good to know the limitations of the equipment you depend upon. 
