Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOTE: This is a rave review. And legit. I bought these and held my breath — but I'm happy to report my breath wasn't wasted. If you've done any walkie-talkie research, you'll know there are tons of 2-way options at various price points. Many have impressive 4.5/5-star reviews – except when you read the reviews, suspicion ensues. Many 2-ways have limited features, useless features, or fatal flaws (I include proprietary batteries as a fatal flaw.) My mission was simple: find a low-cost, longish-range walkie-talkie set for the kids when we go hiking, or when they go bike-riding around the block. I was leaning strongly to Motorola, or Raveis, or the other lookalike Chinese models with funky names. But then I saw these and took a shot. Glad I did. UPSIDES: • I can hear my kids all the way around the block. And far enough in the woods. (I haven't done a rigorous distance test yet, but I'm pleased so far.) • At $39.99, that's $10 per walkie-talkie. Beat that. • AAA battery power. I use rechargeables. • The battery cover doesn't fall off. • EASY customization and programming. • The belt clip works. • Headset jack (I bought inexpensive IFREQTECH earbud/mic set at 2/$12) • Vox-activated option • 22 channels with many privacy codes within each channel. • Easy-to-understand instructions. • It has a wee flashlight feature. And a light-up screen. • Somehow, the kids all remember their individually-programmed personal call-signal tone. • Pick your color! • They're cheap enough that when one or two go missing or bricked, no hard feelings. I'll just buy another. DOWNSIDES: • There are a few annoyances that are too minor to mention here. • I don't think it's waterproof, but we haven't dunked any yet. • IF these go south, I'll post an update. SUMMARY: • If you're a hiker, biker, parent, student, adventurer and don't want to spend tedious hours cross-checking the walkie-talkie section here on Amazon, just buy these. The price is right and the quality is adequate — probably more than adequate. • Five stars.