Great GMRS radio! I use this for car club driving tours and it works great. The battery lasts all day and is easy to charge with the USB-C plug. Range has been more than sufficient for my use and no complaints on the sound quality by other people. Yeah if you are a hardcore radio geek I'm sure you can find something you don't like but for the features, quality and especially price, these can't be beat!

Due to having a gift card from a generous friend, I decided to get the Baofeng UV-5G Plus, preprogrammed for GMRS frequencies. I already own a pair of UV-5R radios, and can program those, but may use those for other frequencies since they are not hard to program with external software. I like the features on these radios, and even better the display on the UV-5G. If you are familiar with CHIRP, get the programming cable and plug it into the USB connection of your PC. CHIRP is a useful program for the UV-5R, but as of this writing is not yet compatible with the UV-5G model. No problem, Baofeng offers software that can be run on Windows 10, and will read the radio without a problem, in a similar grid format to CHIRP.I happened to buy what I think of as a companion guide to this model, called "The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio." Handy info in this book, such as what to toggle on/off if OPSEC/COMSEC is a consideration for your particular locale. Otherwise, for simple operation and feature explanation, the user guide included with the radio should be sufficient.Aside from GMRS, the radio will scan local weather frequencies, as well as commercial FM. I press the top side key, and I immediately hear my favorite local FM station.I gave this radio five stars, and recommend it for GMRS use, or whatever else you may want to program in addition. Note that you will need a license to transmit, and it's easy to get. Just apply for it on the FCC website and pay a small fee.

I ordered these radios as a two-pack in April, 2024. At the time this meant that you got a couple of bonuses: a longer whip style antenna for each radio in addition to the stock one, and a programming cable. It was a better deal than the one-pack radios which did not include these items.I have put these radios to work and they are in regular use. They're great if you have a good GMRS repeater in your area. In Metro Detroit, I can tap into repeaters which extend my signal across town, which is a very substantial area in terms of geographic size (25 mile radius from the repeater, approximately). Radio to radio, without repeaters, the range in our tree-lined, urbanized neck of the woods is about 2.5 to 3 miles, which is pretty good considering. For your local repeater list, check out MyGMRS.com.The radios themselves are a design improvement over the previous UV-5R-based design. They're more powerful, have better screens, and have better battery life. These are CHIRP programmable, as of this writing using the GM-5RH CHIRP profile. Transmit and receive audio quality are very good. Battery life depends on how much transmitting you do, but can be more than a day.Ease of use for non-technical people is a minor concern. My experience, after having introduced them to our 30-member CERT team is that, while many of the features will never be used, most people can pick up on the basics after some instruction. These are capable units that can be programmed to use repeaters, which is best done using CHIRP. They are not Midland radios, which, while simple to use, are in my opinion less capable, and overpriced too. I think Baofeng could make these a little easier to use than they are, but they are absolutely perfectly functional. I've deducted 1 star for ease of use for newcomers to GMRS.The quality of these radios is pretty high, considering that they're cheap Chinese radios, which generally can be substandard, and not infrequently are counterfeit. Out of the 35 or so radios I have personally encountered, not one was a counterfeit. Wish I could say the same for the UV-5R radios we previously ordered; several of them were counterfeit, running bad firmware. We've had 0 out-of-the-box issues, and so far everyone's radio is working great.Overall, for the price and utility, these are hard to beat. If one gets destroyed on a CERT mission, it's not the end of the world, ~$35-$40 will replace it. They communicate clearly and well, and new GMRS users can pick up on them after being shown how to use them (there are YouTube videos out there which will show you the basics.) Users WILL need a GMRS license from the FCC, which is the most difficult part of the process of getting up on GMRS, but at least they're priced right at $35/family for 10 years as of 2024. (You might get away with illegal, unlicensed use, but you'll be rejected by most repeater operators and thus will lose a lot of the capability of these radios. Just spend the $35.)

I recently purchased the BAOFENG UV-5G Plus GMRS Handheld Radio, and it has been a fantastic addition to my GMRS radios. The radio is packed with features that make it incredibly versatile and user-friendly.Pros: Long Battery Life: The 2500mAh battery lasts a long time, even with heavy use. The USB-C charging port is a convenient upgrade, allowing for easy charging on the go. Clear Communication: The 5W power output ensures clear and stable communication over long distances, which is perfect for outdoor adventures. Your results may vary depending on conditions. Customizable Channels: With 969 fully customizable channels, I can easily set up the radio to suit my needs. The frequency copy feature is a game-changer, making programming a breeze. I wish my more expensive GMRS radios had this feature. Durable Design: The build quality is excellent, and the radio feels sturdy and durable. The larger 1.9" color display is easy to read, even in bright sunlight. I love the bright color display! Previous GMRS radios I've purchased didn't have a bright color display and are hard to view in bright sunlight. NOAA Weather Alerts: The built-in NOAA receiver is a great safety feature, providing timely weather updates during outdoor activities. CH 1-30 are pre-programmed GMRS channels, and CH 31-999 empty channels are fully modifiable and can be programmed for GMRS channels (RX & TX) and VHF/UHF (RX only). (Chirp compatible.)Cons: Learning Curve: There is a bit of a learning curve to fully utilize all the features, but the user manual is helpful, and there are plenty of online resources available. It's Chirp compatible which makes it easier to program frequencies, even using a Mac.Overall, I recommend the BAOFENG UV-5G Plus for anyone in need of a reliable and feature-rich handheld radio. It’s a great value for the price and has exceeded my expectations in every way.