Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio Review: Expensive, but Worth It

You probably have a household and also you prefer to be outdoors, you must have walkie-talkies. In a number of locations the place cell protection is spotty, you want a greater approach of conserving monitor of one another than operating forwards and backwards and yelling. Youngsters love walkie-talkies. There’s nothing that my 9-year-old likes higher than signaling again to base camp, “Are available, are available, make me cinnamon toast, over,” when she’s midway by her hike.

I do know this isn’t essentially the meant use case for the Rocky Talkie, the super-popular and super-rugged backcountry radio that my buddies use for backcountry snowboarding and ascending multi-pitch climbs. However children are lots more durable on gear than many adults. We’ve been testing the Rocky Talkies on weekend journeys all summer season, dropping them whereas clipped to my backpack and operating round within the rain.

We’ve tried walkie-talkies from a number of different manufacturers, together with cheap ones from Amazon and the standard Midland walkies, however the Rocky Talkies are my favourite, even when—and doubtless as a result of—they’re much dearer than different choices.

Loud and Clear

The Rocky Talkie is available in two completely different configurations. The Mountain Radio that we examined makes use of the FRS, or Household Radio Service band that the Federal Communications Fee reserves for many leisure walkie-talkie customers. Because of this you don’t normally decide up radio stations or large rig CB conversations in your walkie-talkie (though I’ve discovered that you just nonetheless can in the event you attempt)

{Photograph}: Adrienne So

It additionally is available in a more powerful GMRS version that has IP67 submersible waterproofing and barely longer battery life. Technically, you additionally want a license to function the GMRS model, which I had little interest in procuring for my 9-year-old and 7-year-old. The Mountain Radio, alternatively, is straightforward sufficient that my children opened the field, turned them on, and began operating round utilizing them with out me. Which, to be clear, is nice!

In all probability the obvious distinction between the Rocky Talkie and different radios is that a number of two-way radios are simply handhelds or use gator clips to clip onto your clothes or backpack straps, however the Rocky Talkie has an ultralight carabiner. I beloved this. I’ve little pockets and put on little shorts. If I stroll round with a walkie-talkie clipped onto my garments, the walkie typically slips off after I sit down and I lose them within the rocks. I like realizing that neither my family members nor I are going to lose or drop these.