BAOFENG UV-5R+ Plus Dual Band Walkie Talkie - Long Range Rechargeable Two Way Radio for Adults with Earpiece (144-148MHz & 420-450MHz) - Qualette Series in Flame Red - Perfect for Outdoor Adventures, Hiking, Camping & Emergency Communication

Pros: Solid build and feel / good audio quality / inexpensive for its capabilities / great battery shelf lifeCons: None so far, will update if things changeI preface this review with the fact that I am a tech geek but radio newb. Pretty much bought the radio to futz around with. Not as easy to use as a pre-programmed FRS radio but has far better sound quality and capability. Technically not legal to use in the FRS range but we'll get into that later. Highly recommend reading up on programming its features or watching a few Youtube videos before using it to keep from getting yourself into *serious* trouble. Lots of controversy surrounding this unit but most of it is about how it is marketed and sold. If you don't have a ham license, you can still legally use the radio for monitoring, just don't press the PTT button. The radio can pickup FM as well as local NOAA and emergency channels. You can google and find the frequencies for your county. As far as using this radio as a traditional 'walkie talkie' (FRS band) - it's not legal according to FCC regulations. However, while I'm not advocating this, the radio can easily be programmed to work with any of the FRS frequencies. As long as you set the power to low, you probably won't get a visit from the Feds or the angry ham guy down the street. If you made mix tapes or burned audio CD's or copied MP3's for friends or gone 70 mph in the 55 zone, you might be comfortable with the risk of using this radio in an FRS frequency. Otherwise, stick to using it as a monitor and stay off the air waves because getting caught breaking the law usually means fines or jail.Now, back to studying for my ham license so I can be the angry guy down the street.