Vhf radio

Buy your VHF radio from West Marine.  They have a good return policy just in case you break it down the road.

Good idea. Just don't buy West Marine brand. They suck. I've had two and they both crapped out in less than a year. Thanks to West Marine's return policy, I was able to return them both and buy the Icomm...

I have a West Marine brand that is over 10 years old & still going on orig. battery.  I think it was made by SH for them.  I think their new stuff is made by Uniden.

I have a West Marine brand that is over 10 years old & still going on orig. battery.  I think it was made by SH for them.  I think their new stuff is made by Uniden.

I have one too  not as old  ..beat the hell out of it last year  ..still works...

I have a West Marine brand that is over 10 years old & still going on orig. battery.  I think it was made by SH for them.  I think their new stuff is made by Uniden.

Both of mine crapped out about 1.5 year ago or something like that. Both antennas corroded up inside the rubber cover and stopped working properly. Always rinsed them off...

Just don't make em like they used to I guess...

I have a West Marine brand that is over 10 years old & still going on orig. battery.  I think it was made by SH for them.  I think their new stuff is made by Uniden.

Both of mine crapped out about 1.5 year ago or something like that. Both antennas corroded up inside the rubber cover and stopped working properly. Always rinsed them off...

Just don't make em like they used to I guess...

Ain't that the story of life

I was planning on the cobra but I found a standard horizon hx300 for 120 on Amazon. Does anyone have this model?

It works good for me.

Mine works as expected too.

I get clear reception on my Uniden MHS235.

This is the West Marine radio I had issues with, if anyone is curious:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--vhf85-handheld-vhf-radio--11954328

This is the West Marine radio I had issues with, if anyone is curious:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--vhf85-handheld-vhf-radio--11954328

LoL same radio I had, went back to WM when it died last year, asked them to look up my extended warranty and they were all "sorry our pos system went down awhile back everything was lost, can't help you" Pissed off I went and ordered one off Cabela's. It figures a few weeks later I find my extended warranty in a screen shot on the computer. Looks like I bought in 2011, so I guess I got a few years of operation from it. I won't, however be shopping at West Marine in the future, they just weren't that friendly and could care less about the replacement of their branded product, shame too I like their stores.

I say buy once, cry once. Get a reputable brand like Icom or Standard Horizon. I've been using my Icom M-72 for 5-6 years now and haven't had any issues with it. It was recommended by Mooch back then. Standard Horizon are a little bulkier.

Just got the standard Horizon hx300 in and just came from West marine in Marin, size is great not bulky and pretty light I was looking at 1 of the icoms which are also compact but have more weight to them. That one was out of my budget at 250 maybe if this doesn't work out so good I will try an icon next but hopefully it doesn't come to that. Appreciate all the info you guys are giving me this site definitely has helped me in knowing what gear to get.

I have 2 Uniden MHS75 that I've been using for years. I think they were $80 on sale. Small enough to fit in my pfd pocket and transmit 5wts.

Buy your VHF radio from West Marine.  They have a good return policy just in case you break it down the road.

Good idea. Just don't buy West Marine brand. They suck. I've had two and they both crapped out in less than a year. Thanks to West Marine's return policy, I was able to return them both and buy the Icomm...

+1

I had a WM brand, dropped it about 6 inches onto the deck of my kayak and the latch holding the battery snapped off. Really poor design, IMHO. WM was great---never had anything but awesome customer service there.