The second thing I would think about in portable walkie talkies is quality. If my life depends on something and other people are depending on my life to continue, I tend to go with the best equipment I can get. Will the radio still work if it gets wet in a storm or dropped into a fishpond or the ocean? How likely is it to break if it accidentally gets dropped on a pile of rocks on a mountain or a sidewalk in a city? What''s the guarantee cover? Remember: you want something you can depend on in times when you really need to communicate. Don''t be penny-wise and pound foolish. Don''t get vertex radio a toy. get what works and will work under stress.

a few years ago when we were experimenting with these low-power radios, we purchased a simple mast and tripod from vertex and put up a small ground plain vertical antenna at our base camp at an elevation of about 16 feet above ground--that installation vastly improved the quality of our audio and the distance of the communication. here are some questions and tips to consider if you plan to get frs radios: how often do you plan to use the radios for? if it is only vertex going to be used for limited purposes, you might save some money and get a scaled down model. if however you plan to use them extensively, a few extra bucks up front may make you a happier camper. for extensive users, also consider the battery used to power the frs radio - you might want to get a model that uses rechargeable batteries, otherwise you will spend some extra money for batteries.