handheld v.h.f. advise

lookin to purchase one as soon as possable but wanted to get some advice on what units you guys have and how you like/dislike them.advice appreciated

IMO, purchasing a vhf is a WISE decision.

I bought mine here:
http://www.planetgps.net/vhf-handheld-radio-standard-horizon.html

SH has a good reputation in the marine industry and overall, several of their models were rated very high in an article I had found while researching the topic.

I have the hx270s.
Pros:  Cheap (because I lose things)
Cons:  1.  A little bulky 2.  Has a Ni battery vs Li

Stuart

Uniden Voyager has served me very well.  You'll want to fill the microphone port with silicone to keep water out of there and put a little silicone grease on the knobs to keep them working effortlessly.  Very durable... very very good battery life and as good of reception as any of them.  Good warranty service through Uniden as well. 

EK

Like Erik, I chose the Uniden....small, light and very dependable.

I third the Unidens. mine runs on Li ion or double AA's and gives the WX. Add's to the wifes peace of mind also.

I have a Cobra. Works fine but it is bulky. Eric's attaches conveniently to his vest where mine is just too bulky for that.
If I ever need to replace mine it will be the kind Eric and Mooch have.

Uniden Voyager $139.99 + $12.75 shipping

Standard Horizon 460 love it Standrad has a life time fixed replacement program, best Guarantee in the business.

I use the Standard Horizon HX471S.  It is small and compact and has both VHF and FRS Bands (as well as MURS, FM, AM and NOAA).  The avantage of the FRS would be, say if you wanted to have contact with a shore based party, such as your family back at the camp site.  If they had a FRS radio (like the two way sets you see from Cobra and Motorola) you could switch to that band and talk with them, then use the VHF to maintain contact with other kayakers on the water.  You could also use it if the other kayakers only had FRS radios.  Only problem is FRS radios need to be in dry bags to be safe, but on calm lakes etc., they would probably be OK for just communication, just not reliable as a safety item.

Been very happy with mine but lately developed a problem with transmitting clearly so I have it in for servicing.  It has a 3 year warranty and then after that a flat $65 repair charge for life.

My ICOM  IC-MiV has worked well, but the one thing that bugs me about it is the vol and squelch are knobs, not up and down buttons, which,  since I keep it in a mini-dry bag on my shoulder, makes it hard to adjust.

    And if it didn't cost much more, I'd get one with am/fm for when I get tired of listening to the commercial guys bitching, generally in a language I don't understand and when I want to listen to the ball game.

 Someday we all ought to try our various radios out to see if there's any real difference in how far the signal travels.

I have a standard horizon from the site stuart showed.

seems to work well enough but I wish there was a 'lock' on the buttons so
it doesn't change channels when I bump it.

it has 3 levels of transmit strength. have no real idea how far each goes.

J

Uniden Atlantis 250.  Just under $100.  Shop around - I think they've come down in price across the board in the last several months.  I went ahead and spent an extra $20 or so for an "Aquapac" dry bag designed for a VHF even though my Uniden is rated for submersion - so I'm doubled up on security that it'll work if I'm in the drink...  

I wish there was a 'lock' on the buttons so
it doesn't change channels when I bump it.

What model? my 460 has a lock feature

thanks guys,i ended up getting the horizon 600s.a little more than i wanted to spend but had features i wanted.now im just trying to figure out mounting for the finder,anchor set up, and ram mounts on my outback.