Handheld Radio Recommendations

[buzbunni]

I'm looking at purchasing my first pair of handheld radios and am curious what anyone's experiences have been with these. First plan is to use them while ice fishing with buddies; other uses to follow I'm sure:

"Did you get the beer?...over."

"I thought YOU got the beer...over."

"GET THE BEER!...over."

"Roger that, getting the beer...over-and-out."

Any comments on power needed or favorite brands to buy(or avoid)?

[gerty]

Can't say I can tell you which ones to buy or not buy. However, I do have a pair and wish I would have gotten the ones that come with the charger/base stations. Mine just run off of replaceable AA's or AAA's and seem to use up a lot of batteries. Nice to have but, would be nicer if you could just get home and set them into the charger.

[Northlander]

Stick with a Motorola talkabouts. Get the 5 mile ones or better. Also get the charging stand and a extra set of rechargable batterys. I have used others but they cant touch the motorola. Unless you spend $100 on some big power ones. Best Buy and Office Max seem to have the best prices but at times Home Depot and Radio Shack run good buys.

[Tom Linderholm]

I've been watching them on hsolist, seems you can get really nice Midland "10 mile" for around 60 bucks. That is the route I will probably go when the time comes.

[MinnesotaMuskie]

I have the Cobra 8 Mile radios. They are rechargeable and very easy to use. We use them in a heavily wooded area for deer hunting and they carried a legitmate 4 miles with exceptionaly clarity.

Remember the mile rating is done over water...you can expect about half to three-quarters the range in the woods.

I paid 60 bucks for a 2 pack @ Sportsman Whse...that was over a year ago.

[wall eyell be]

If you can find ones that FLOAT, that would make them worth twice the price of the ones that you would have to replace anyway as soon as OL' DAVEY JONES' LOCKER claims 'em.

I'm Wall Eye'll Be and I endorse this message based on firsthand personal experience.

[IceBound]

There are a lot of different vendors on the internet that have some great radios pretty cheap. I just ordered the Midland GXT400 (the actual model number is GXT400VP4)from shallowpockets, these are 4w of power with a 10 mile range. Two radios, two ear piece/microphones, 2 battery packs and a charger for around $73 (shipping included). They had a number of different brands, but this fit into the budget with some nice accesories. Good Luck....