Industry Standard VHF Radio?

Im starting my ocean kayaking career this rockfish season and I need a radio. Is there a industry standard for radios? I just want a basic, affordable, functional, reliable radio if there is one. Like using an ugly stik or 870 shotgun...

I bought the Cobra MRHH125.  Waste of money.  It was fine as long as I kept it dry, but a couple splashes on it and one dunk and it was toast. 

I decided to spend more money and buy the Standard Horizon HX300. It's coming this week.  I have a feeling it will be worlds better than the cobra.

David

I bought the Cobra MRHH125.  Waste of money.  It was fine as long as I kept it dry, but a couple splashes on it and one dunk and it was toast. 

I decided to spend more money and buy the Standard Horizon HX300. It's coming this week.  I have a feeling it will be worlds better than the cobra.

David

+1.

That's a great radio.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Standard Horizon or Icom. You can get a floating model but I tether mine to my pfd so that's no bfd for me...

Even if it floats tie it on to your PFD. Do not fasten it to your kayak.

Standard horizon. Still on the same one I bought used in 2010.

Even if it floats tie it on to your PFD. Do not fasten it to your kayak.

Standard horizon. Still on the same one I bought used in 2010.

 I wish I had your luck. I have gone through at least half a dozen radios since 2010

I've been really happy with my Icomm m73. It doesn't float, so I keep it leashed to my PFD's key clip with a short piece of shock cord. (Like others said, keep it leashed even if it DOES float.)

Keep in mind that the floating radios will typically have shorter battery life. (They shave weight by using smaller batteries).

It's VERY important to rinse your radio thoroughly after each saltwater trip. If you get corrosion between the unit and the antenna, it's toast...

Stay away from West Marine brand radios... I had several before switching to Icomm, and they all died prematurely.




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Another +1 for the Standard horizon HX300! Great radio!

Even if it floats tie it on to your PFD. Do not fasten it to your kayak.

Standard horizon. Still on the same one I bought used in 2010.

 I wish I had your luck. I have gone through at least half a dozen radios since 2010

Well, if you treat your radio like the new bait mobile I know why they don't last.

My HX  300 is still workin Great!!!
3 yrs and counting!


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I bought the Cobra MRHH125.  Waste of money.  It was fine as long as I kept it dry, but a couple splashes on it and one dunk and it was toast. 

I agree with David that the Cobra MRHH125 is low end and will fail if you dunk it, but you can score two of these for $89!  And they work very well for close communication that we're doing 98% of the time on the water.  I've gone through a few of these, and I think a HUGE consideration is how having redundancy in VHF's (as well as GPS and compass) is very important.  I've heard some of the best kayakers in this club admit that their battery was dead so they had no VHF that day while offshore.

Review:  Cobras work fine but keep them dry.  Redundancy in key equipment is HUGE.  $89 is worth it at least for a backup unit and one for a friend.

Getting a Standard Horizon or other higher end brand for your primary is a great call, but keep redundancy in mind.

Best of luck. 

BigJim used to like Cobras    I've been much happier with Standard Horizon than Icom personally.  The ICOM seems to be less powerful than the SH in my experience.  I have two HX600's bought used on Ebay, still good 4 years later and I rarely do more than give it a quick rinse one in a while.

Even if it floats tie it on to your PFD. Do not fasten it to your kayak.

Standard horizon. Still on the same one I bought used in 2010.

 I wish I had your luck. I have gone through at least half a dozen radios since 2010

Well, if you treat your radio like the new bait mobile I know why they don't last.

After my second or third radio I started taking are of them...Rinse etc. Maybe I just have bad luck with radios.

It would seem that a radio that fails when wet would be worse than useless, perhaps giving one a false sense of security until you really need it.

Be careful about tethering a radio to the front of a pfd where it can be a hindrance to re-entry.  And my final advice is get some dielectric grease and lube the shit out of it.

Keep in mind that the floating radios will typically have shorter battery life. (They shave weight by using smaller batteries).

It's VERY important to rinse your radio thoroughly after each saltwater trip. If you get corrosion between the unit and the antenna, it's toast...

Stay away from West Marine brand radios... I had several before switching to Icomm, and they all died prematurely.

I too had a bad experience with the West Marine brand. In my case, the latch holding the battery broke. I use Standard Horizon now, and they are way better made.

However, I'd recommend a floating model. I seem to recall that somebody got forcefully ejected from their kayak (presumably due to a shark), and their radio came unlatched from their pfd. It could happen under a less dramatic scenario too. The only down side I can see to the floating models is that they are slightly bulkier.