If you are 2 way radios using your walkie talkies on a climb up a tough mountain or in a sand-and-water situation, you probably ought to pay more because you are asking the radio to give you hazardous duty performance. if you just need something to entertain the kids as they play motorola two way radios in the backyard or you need to keep in touch while you and your radios family members are in different ends of the mall, the less expensive units will do. so the first thing to consider is "what will my radios be used for?" the radios i might need would probably cost $1,000.00 apiece. my own portable walkie talkies were bought to help mountain climbers on moderate mountains communicate with each other, so i bought units that cost about $250.00 apiece. but you can get perfectly servicable portable 2-way radios for light duty at 1/10 of that cost. so need/price is the first thing to think about.

the advent of the family radio service and grms has opened a whole new possibility for reliable short-range communications, and depending on your needs they may just fill the bill --or they 2 may not. understand that any means way of radio communication can save lives, exchange information and simply be fun, so that is endorsement enough. most of these radios operate on frequencies just above the 70 cm amateur radios bands...somewhere around 462-467 mhz. the major players all produce satisfactory equipment with similar standards so, for the price conscious, dollars can be saved if you know what to look for. first look at the specifications; 2 the more watts of power out, the further your signal will travel. beginners note that 700mw (milliwatts) is less than 1w (watt). more watts, more power, more distance. the manufacturer''s range claims are not fraudulent or specious, but they can be misleading unless you are in clear country, the ideal conditions for distance communications. don''t expect a two mile range in heavy terrain, you won''t get it...sometimes you won''t get way 200 yards. but for inner-mall talking with your kids and radios family members, most of them 2 are ok. i''ve also way used them on fly fishing trips where we have seldom been more than a quarter mile from camp and they were fine radios.