Legalities aside... you can get handheld CB radios like Realistic TRC-216 on fleebay for next to nothing these days. Heavier, but you probably get most km/range per dollar.
Update: Just came back from a moose trip where I compared my TRC-216 with a pair of Midland GXT1000 ("36 Mile Range").
Midland worked good within less than 1km in a hilly landscape. At 1.0 km with a hill in between, Midland set on HI power would be able to receive only some cracks and a calling sound, but no spoken communication was possible - not one word came thru. Then I pulled my CB radios and they worked loud and clear while set on LOW power. Nuff said.
I also watched the Baofeng UV-5R short Youtube presentation. Assuming the range is there, the radio offers tons of options with programming and third party programming tools involved. If you are up to it the radio looks like a winner. However I doubt if you would be able to explain the radio features to your non-HAM buddy hunter, while out in the field, and do it successfully under 10 second as I did yesterday with the CB.
Cheers
So you would recommend the trc-216 ? I have CB's in my trucks and an old cobra base station at home. I'd like to get a couple/few handhelds
What is the rationale for Canada limiting the wattage to 2 ?
I thought it had more to do with limited / crowded frequencies and interference with Bushiness and Ham channels near byWhat is the rationale for Canada limiting the wattage to 2 ?
I have a couple sets of Baofeng UV-82 and they work very well. Get a programming cable and download CHIRP and they are easy to program. I programmed mine with all the FRS/GMRS, NOAA, and MURS. I am also going to put in the marine frequencies as well. If using the FRS/GMRS you will need to set the proper tone/squelch if you want to use the privacy channels, otherwise you will be transmitting and receiving anyone else that happens to be using the same channel.
Keep in mind that using VHF/UHF frequencies on these types of radios requires an amateur radio (ham) license to transmit.