
You could also just stock up on batteries, depending on your power strategy for emergencies. Using rechargeable conventional batteries can be a good idea, so you have a renewable method to power your walkie-talkie. Battery Type, Battery Lifeīoth conventional batteries and rechargeable batteries can be found in walkie-talkies. Walkie talkies have an exceptional range if you are transmitting from the top of the mountain down into a valley, but in typical conditions, they work in under a few miles. Most of the ones we tested had 2W or less RF output. The range of a walkie-talkie is largely impacted by obstructions and terrain, and the output wattage.
#Walkie talkie lingo upgrade
Solid ABS plastic casings are common, and rubberized cases end up being a great upgrade for durability. A good survival walkie-talkie should take a beating and keep working.

In an emergency, you don’t want to worry about handling your gear and equipment with kids’ gloves to keep them from breaking, so durability is a high priority. Walkie-talkies take more of a beating than you might expect. There is a sweet spot where you get high value out of the best features with not-to-high of a price, which is where our top pick sits.

It’s better to diversify your communication and preparedness gear to make sure you are covered for a wide range of scenarios. You never want to spend too much money on one resource, especially something like walkie-talkies. There are few things as soul-sucking as having gear fail on you in an emergency.
#Walkie talkie lingo plus
Even the base model Baofeng didn’t perform that well with durability (that’s why we suggest the PLUS model as our budget pick), and it’s not the cheapest you could find in a bargain bin. On the flip side, you don’t want to go too cheap. Budget according to your risk and your needs rather than just spending lavishly. Having one is better than having none, but the same applies to other gear and supplies you may need for an emergency. The amount of money you spend on walkie-talkies shouldn’t blow out your budget unless you have special circumstances where separation in an emergency is very likely. Below, we break down what each of these features means for a truly dependable walkie talkie: Value: Cost vs. When you get the right blend of these, you can find a top-performing walkie-talkie that will keep you in touch with your crew in a stressful situation. The best walkie-talkies have several important features to look for. We’ll cover CB and HAM radios separately since they are important emergency communication tools in their own right. That helped us trim out plenty of irrelevant brands and models so we could focus on just the top-performing walkie-talkies that could get you through any emergency. We also did not consider CB or HAM radios, sticking with just the non-programmable FRS type for the most part. We obviously steered clear of recreational or walkie-talkies aimed towards kids, because the performance and the durability are not going to be where we need them.
#Walkie talkie lingo full
You can see our full list of review criteria below in the what to look for section, with an explanation for each. In a survival situation, you want your communication solutions to be dependable, so we focused quite a bit on durability and reliability. There are a lot of brands that make walkie-talkies these days with a wide range of prices and quality/durability. Our research narrowed the field down to the several walkie-talkie brands and types that we tested: Midland, Baofeng, DeWalt, Motorola, Retevis, Klein, Cobra, and more. If you are looking for the best survival walkie-talkie, you’ve found it in the Motorola T800.

One unique feature is the smartphone app, where you can use the T800 as a modem to transmit locations and messages using a smartphone. The practical range is about 2 miles, but one has been proven to transmit 35 miles in the best conditions. The T800 uses standard AA batteries, so it is easy to stock up on batteries or you can always use rechargeable batteries in it. It stays in FRS channel frequencies with 121 privacy codes you can pair, so there are a total of 2,662 combinations you can set to operate within to avoid other people. The T800 has added versatility with a built-in LED flashlight and 11 pre-programmed NOAA weather bands. Its compact size combined with the rugged casing makes it easy to take anywhere to reliably stay in touch with your friend and family. The Motorola T800 is the best value if you plan on relying on walkie-talkies during an emergency. *Price at time of publishing check for price changes or sales.
