It has been a long time since people used to go to sea only for earning a living. In recent times sailing, kayaking, jet skiing has become a hobby for the enthusiast group of people. The canoeists and kayakers don't stop until they go further and further out to sea.
Planning for living this type of adventurous life one should also ensure safety for living long enough to continue this passion. And for the safety, the first and foremost thing is a VHF marine radio. VHF radios are must-have safety tool for the mariner, sailor, jet skier, sea kayaker space cruiser or RIBS or whoever venture out on the sea or water, whether it's offshore or on inland waterways.
It is going to be the only way of contacting if you find yourself in difficulty or problem on the sea. And in this article, you will get some help to decide which VHF radio you need to buy and how much you will have to spend for it.
Best Pick
While handhelds are comparatively less costly Uniden MHS75 is the BEST Handheld VHF radio for the money.
Budget Pick
Standard Horizon GX1700W has stood out among all the radios to be the BEST buy VHF marine radio. It may cost a bit more than others, but the quality and features are definitely worth the money.
Quick Comparison Between Top 6 Best VHF Marine Radios Reviews
| Product Name | Grade |
|---|---|
| Uniden MHS75 | A |
| Cobra MR F45-D | A |
| Standard Horizon HX870 | A |
| STANDARD HORIZON GX1700W | A+ |
| STANDARD HORIZON HX300 | A |
| Uniden Atlantis 270 Handheld | A |
1. Uniden MHS75
Highlighted Features
This VHF radio can do all the hard work and still give you the best transmission and long time battery life. It can stay submerged up to 5 feet for 30minutes. It keeps the user up to date with all the latest marine activity.
The LCD screen is easy to read watch operation functionality is great, and the lithium Ion battery is included with the product. You are going to get the radio pre-programmed with NOAA weather channels. It will allow the user to know about any national emergencies and also alerts for severe weather. It has the option to choose 1/2.5/5-watt transmit power which ultimately saves battery life.
Watch operation lets you monitor more than one channel. For say, at a time you will be getting information from 4 channels when the radio is on quad watch mode. Memory channel scan let you scan the programmed channels automatically. The process is it starts from lowest to the highest channel, and when it finds an active channel it stops there. In most cases when you are near the other stations you don't need a 5watt transmission.
When the range is short, it is convenient to use 1 watt because it will consume less battery. And when it seems like that other stations are far away then you can increase it. But the main advantage is you can control it with this model. Uniden MHS75 is a radio full of necessary features to be your best companion on water.
2. Cobra MR F45-D
Highlighted Features
The Cobra MR F45-D is built for the ease of the user. It is both convenient and affordable for the user. It reaches upto 20 nautical miles with its highest power transmit and the GPS cable is included with it.
It has class D DSC option, both class A and D radios can send and receive DS calls on channel 70 which is used only for digital communications. But the category A radios have two separate receivers with one constantly tuned to channel 70.
Class A radios are therefore more flexible. The station which will hear the call will call your radio on channel 1 or the coast guard will process to bring you the help that you need. Noise canceling microphones often comes handy when you are in crowd environment.
It also has the feature of the auto-weather band so you can always have it on your boat in case engine dies or if there is any bad news to inform about. It works well without an external antenna. One little drawback that it has is that the display fades due to sunlight.
3. STANDARD HORIZON HX870
Highlighted Features
Another name of Standard Horizon HX870 can be 'the best partner in trouble VHF radio'. The reason behind naming it differently is that this lightweight model can not only float but also it's strobe light turns on automatically which makes it super easy to find if it drops in the water.
It has integrated 66 channels WAAS GPS receiver and in addition a USB port as well. GPS shows current location, course and speed can be displayed in a numerical or compass style. The interface is intuitive and super easy to understand. And noise canceling function eliminates annoying continuous sounds. All in all, it is the safe, comfortable and easy to use VHF radio.
4. STANDARD HORIZON GX1700W
Highlighted Features
When the best quality VHF radios are discussed the name 'standard horizon' always comes in the list. It has built various qualities of radios in the past years.
Standard Horizon GX1700W is also their one of the best quality VHF radio. It has a lot of features which are not included in any other models and thus it costs a little more as well. The large 3" LCD screen makes the impression better at the first sight.
Standard Horizon GX1700W makes DSC easy because with this model you won't have to do all the hassle for wiring the radio to a GPS for DSC. Because there are internal 12 channel GPS built into the front panel.
It is also capable of saving and entering up to 100 waypoints which will be selected and navigated by using a navigation compass display. The display shows the vessels SOG, COG, BRG (Bearing) and DST (Distance) to the waypoint. Mounting radio is easy with this VHF radio because it is ultra thin.
