I’m pretty big on radio gear… I am a licensed HAM and have mobile and handheld radios in the truck and have over 10+ years of experience with this stuff. HAM radio is literally the pinnacle of radio coms for the general populace. I’ve talked around the world with the equipment, and it’s amazing how much capability the FCC allows us. You can talk directly to the international space station with one just as an example.

I’ve used it for hobby, safety, emergency preparedness, long range and short range group communications, but it doesn’t come without challenges. Primary licensing and being familiar with your equipment and maintaining proficiency. Understanding frequency, tone, shift, and how to use and program it into your radios as you travel is also pretty important. Unless you are wheeling with a group of nerds, chances are most won’t be licensed. It’s the best radio tool for emergencies, but I rarely use it for car to car communications because most of my friends are not licensed.

MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) - I feel this is a lot better than GMRS. This is free and unlicensed, you can run more power with external antennas, and is very easy to use because once a radio is programed there is nothing else to do but use it. I carry a few of them in a Pelican case which I give out to others who I wheel with if they don’t have one. Perfect for talking on the trail, but crap for emergency use just like FRS and GMRS.



I still carry a HAM radio for emergency, but someone still needs to be on the other end of it to help. I also think in a true emergency I need absolute reliability. These days I carry a satellite communicator as a budget option to a sat phone. As much as I like radio, I absolutely LOVE this thing and feel it’s worth every penny. If you wheel outside of cell coverage, I really don’t think there is a better tool. What I like about it the most is that you can use it as a satellite modem and though the Garmin app, just text people from your smartphone. Friends or family can also track you live and keeps tabs on you too if you allow it. It also has an SOS button, which puts you in contact with GEOS (Emergency Response Coordination Center). Plus for $18/year extra, that includes $100k of search and rescue coverage. All your GPS data is automatically sent on all communications too.

Garmin inreach mini 2-way satellite communicator
(Global Coverage via Iridium satellite constellation)