Wow, there’s a lot of products out there and I have no idea what’s important in a handheld VHF. This is something I’ll keep on the boat but probably not use that often so don’t want to spend too much $. Don’t really take my boat too far offshore but want to have something when we do occasionally get out of site of land.
Thanks
2014 Key West 203DFS
1987 Landau
I would recommend a mounted vhf with an antenna. They cost about the same amount, and they are a lot more reliable.
The range is much further too.
I had a hand held unit when I was fishing my last boat, then added a T Top and mounted unit. That long antenna is so much better.
Key West 2300cc Mercury 225 optimax “Fish Tale”
x2 for muddywater. A mounted unit can be purchased for about the same money but has much more range. You don’t have to spend a lot.
Seafox 246 w 300 Yamaha
x3… The cost is about the same and the power output on a standard vhf radio is about 5 times the output on a handheld.
Worse case, if you don’t want to mount a radio and antenna, carry along a standard
radio with a couple of battery clips on the power cable and carry along an 8’ antenna
to hook up should you have to make an
emergency call. For best results, get the
tallest person on board to hold it up. 
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Is this for a primary VHF, or just a backup?
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Buy an Icom whether you go fixed mount or handheld. The real world difference (vs other brands) is VERY significant.
Remember that VHF is line of sight. When you’re out of sight of land, you won’t be able to talk to boats in the harbor. High rise VHF’s of seatow, towboatUS and the USCG will still hear you, somewhat though, but when you only have handheld power, they will have trouble hearing you, if at all.
Handhelds are usually 1W/5W output. Some are 7 or 8W at most. Higher power makes your transmission come across more clearly. By comparison, most fixed mounts are 5W/25W. There is an incredible difference between the two even with a 4ft whip antenna being what your fixed mount is using.
I have used everything offshore from a cheap handheld to a high end Icom with an antenna on top of a boom above a tuna tower. The Icoms are just better across the board, and
you should not be relying on a handheld as your primary radio if you want to fish out of sight of land.
Cheap is not the most important factor to use when your life may depend upon something. It is worth it… literally… to get what is minimally adequate. A handheld should be in a ditch bag for when you may have to leave your boat and people are looking for you. A plane or helo can hear you talking on a handheld VHF as they fly over you.
You’re talking about $80.00 for a cheapo handheld, $150 for a good waterproof floating Icom handheld, $225 for a low end icom fixed mount and 4ft whip, and $240 for a low end icom fixed mount and 8ft antenna.
You can buy a splitter for your 8ft antenna and pick up FM radio much better offshore also…
Another thing about handhelds… the cheap ones typically have unreliable rechargeable battery backs. If you go cheap, go with one that takes alkaline batteries so that you can keep a brand new set of batteries in the ditch bag along with the radio. You will have whatever life you get out of the batteries in the radio as well as life from a brand new backup set then.
The battery syst
Standard Horizon is respectable as well. SH or Icom would be my choice. I recently purchased a Standard Horizon HX290 and am very pleased. It is my primary radio currently, but this is also a little inshore boat.
You also can connect a fix mount VHF to your GPS. If you use DCS, you can send your GPS location to fishing buddies and others especially if your in distress.
There are also handheld VHFs now with built in GPS receivers and DSC feature, all that can be had for $200 or less. SH HX851, Simrad HH36, Lowrance Link2 for example. SH HX870 and Icom M92D are also DSC handhelds but will set you back more than $200. Great ditch bag radios for offshore boats. Great primary radios for a flats/inshore boat. I was about to buy an HX851 instead of my HX290, but I already carry a PLB onboard and pinched pennies on my radio.
FYI Uniden makes radios for West Marine. A uniden radio with the West Marine name on it.