{"id":25125,"date":"2016-08-06T16:51:54","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T23:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/offgridsurvival.com\/?p=25125"},"modified":"2023-07-28T14:09:38","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T21:09:38","slug":"baofenguv5rv2review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offgridsurvival.com\/baofenguv5rv2review\/","title":{"rendered":"Baofeng UV 5RV2+ Review: Why Baofeng Radios are a Bad Choice for Preppers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to emergency communications there\u2019s a lot of advice out there on what types of emergency radios you should carry in your bugout bags. But sadly, the recommendations are usually coming from people who have little to no experience in emergency communications – and most of them have no experience with ham radio.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a Licensed Ham Radio operator for over 20 years now, I\u2019ve had numerous radios and talked to people from around the globe; I\u2019ve done so on equipment that ranged from high-tech top of the line gear to cobbled together radio parts and antennas that looked like some sort of mad science fair project. I\u2019m not telling you this to brag, I just want you to know that when I recommend a product, or in this case tell you to stay away from a product, I do so from experience.<\/p>\n

The Preppers Radio: The Infamous Baofeng Ham Radio<\/h2>\n

\"Baofeng<\/p>\n

Baofeng Radios are infamous in the prepping community. Go to almost any prepping website and you will see read an article from someone telling you how you need these little radios in your bag, claiming they are the perfect prepping radio: BULLSHIT!<\/p>\n

Buying Preparedness gear isn\u2019t something that should be taken lightly, and counting on some cheaply made Chinese crap is only asking for trouble.<\/p>\n

Listen, I really wanted to like these radios; I mean who wouldn\u2019t want a radio that often times sells for a tenth of the price of the big boys? But when it comes to preparedness, price is often a reliable indicator of what you can expect.<\/p>\n

Baofeng Review from a Real Ham Radio Operator<\/h3>\n

I planned on doing a couple of videos showing real-world tests, showing you what you can expect from these radios during an emergency; but why bother? When you are shipped multiple units that won\u2019t even reliably hold the battery pack without duct taping it to the radio, is there really even a point to going any further? Is that a radio that you would really trust in an emergency situation?<\/p>\n

Baofeng has some of the worst quality control issues that I have ever seen. The radios are mass produced in China, and performance is really a crapshoot from radio to radio.<\/p>\n