Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio Review

Article by Jeff Valliere

Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio $110 (every)

Introduction:  I not too long ago discovered of Rocky Talkie radios whereas out on a run with some mates and we had been all sharing current tales of nerve wracking, if not scary tales of (briefly) shedding a member of the family within the wilderness previously yr or two.  Irrespective of how cautious we’re to stay collectively, generally brief and seemingly benign separations can snowball right into a state of affairs.  I had some walkie talkies means again, however they had been solely OK, with not so nice battery life, mediocre reception, delicate to chilly temperatures and a not so safe attachment level.  

Enter the Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio, with lengthy vary reception, a rugged design with a shatterproof display, carabiner attachment, additional again up leash, 5 day battery life, straightforward USB-C charging and a variety of temperature tolerances.  

They’re very intuitive and straightforward to make use of, dependable and made for outside adventures.

Professionals:  Nice vary and robust reception, rugged design, straightforward to make use of, cheap dimension/weight, nice battery life, straightforward USB-C charging, operate in vast temperature vary

Cons: The button to vary channel is a bit too straightforward to inadvertently bump (so be sure you lock it!)

Options/Specs:

Radio Service: FRS (no license required)

Energy: 2 Watt

Vary:

Line-of-sight: 25+ miles

Mountains: as much as 5 miles

Forest & Hills: as much as 3 miles

Metropolis: as much as 1 miles

Waterproofing: IP56 (Splashproof/Snowproof, not submergible)

Weight: Radio Solely: 4.8 oz, Full System: 7.9 oz

Dimension: 16.2 x 5.9 x 2.7 cm

Attachment System: Ultralight Carabiner

Battery Life: 3 – 5 days, Rechargeable 1550 mAh Li-ion

Working Temperature: -20°F to 120°F

Charging Temperature: 10°F to 100°F

Charging Sort: USB-C (Charger included)

Headset Port: K1 (twin pin 3.5mm-2.5mm) sort

Base Features:

Privateness Codes

Channel Lock

Excessive/Low Energy Modes

Scan Mode

TX Beep

Headset Connector: M3 Waterproof Connector

Suitable Equipment (not included): Waterproof Hand Mic, Rocky Talkie Further Battery

The Mountain Radio has a transparent, crisp, shatterproof display that shows the channel, mode, battery share, lock icon (when locked), and many others….  Under that’s the speaker/mic.  

On high is the facility button and scan/lock button.  Whereas the scan/lock button is recessed, it might nonetheless simply be by chance bumped, so be sure that every one customers in your occasion know to lock it and in addition know which channel you might be on earlier than utilizing (sounds apparent, however we had a small mishap with this throughout our first hike).

On the left aspect is the big and straightforward to set off (even with gloves) push to speak button, then the amount up/down button, with the amount down button doubling to set privateness codes.  

The amount settings vary from 0 (silent) to 10 (very loud).  I preserve them at 5 and that’s a lot loud and appears becoming for many situations, except you might be in a whole raging storm.

The USB-C cost port is on the backside with a rubber door.  Charging the 1550 mAh Li-ion battery is straightforward and appears to not take too lengthy al(although I’ll admit that I’ve by no means worn the battery fully out).

On the fitting aspect are ports for a hand mic (offered individually)

A lot of the Mountain Radio has a rubberized outer casing (other than the entrance speaker/display) so as to add sturdiness and grip in your hand.  Additionally on the again is the attachment level for the included Trango biner to clip it onto your pack.  On the backside is a backup leash simply in case.  The antenna is 3” lengthy and never detachable, however sturdy and helps present glorious vary.

Efficiency/Conclusions: 

The Mountain Radios are superb!  They’re tremendous intuitive, straightforward to make use of and I really like the simplicity and rugged design and development. 

 It’s clear that the designers know what they’re doing and developed the Mountain Radio with plenty of actual world expertise and testing behind the scenes, as they’ve coated each element and they’re very function constructed.  

Waterproofing is IP56, so not fully waterproof, however very waterproof.  

Battery life is superb, with 3-5 days of use underneath regular use and are straightforward to recharge.  As I discussed, I’ve not but worn the battery down (and it’s unlikely that I’ll, as my use is generally day use and I’m good about recharging, however it’s good to know that battery life is there if I do take an prolonged journey or simply occur to overlook in the future.  

Out of the field, they’re extremely straightforward to determine, I mainly simply turned them on and began utilizing them, with solely a look on the handbook days later.  The twin attachment factors are an incredible concept, as I don’t worry shedding the Mountain Radio, which all the time appeared like an actual risk with different radios that I’ve used previously.  

At simply 8 ounces (with the additional leash, or 6.5oz. with out), the burden may be very cheap and straightforward to justify given how critically useful they are often.  

The vary is great and nearly as good as you should buy with out having to improve to GRMS radios that require a license from the FCC.  Rocky Talkie lists 35+ miles line of sight, 1-5 miles within the mountains, .5 – 3 miles in Forest/Hills, or as much as 1 mile within the metropolis.  Whereas I’ve not gone deep to copy these numbers, I can attest that on the mountain climbs that we’ve got carried out, we’ve got examined splitting up and getting a long way aside and we’ve got not had any points, with crystal clear audio.  

On a September climb of Pikes Peak, we acquired very far aside above the treeline and it was superb to have the ability to talk about climate issues, plans and summit intentions.  

You will need to word nevertheless that radio waves don’t transmit by way of hills/mountain/rock, so if there are vital geographic options in between, you’ll not have reception.  Once I arrived on the summit of Pikes, I checked in with my spouse, however since she was out of view and over the curler a number of hundred toes under the summit, I acquired no response.  As quickly as she acquired to the summit nevertheless, she was in a position to talk, which was amazingly useful, because the summit is a little bit of a zoo of vacationers, visitors and the Pikes Peak Marathon was occurring that day, so it will have been a problem to search out each other in any other case.  

Provided that we do plenty of excessive mountain winter outings, I additionally actually recognize that they’re so impervious to the chilly and may function reliably with out extreme battery degradation. 

 I might extremely advocate the Mountain Radio to anybody who participates in (non water based mostly) outside sports activities, like mountaineering, climbing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, backpacking, and many others…, they’re by far essentially the most function based mostly, best to make use of, most sturdy, mild and lengthy battery life two means radios out there.  $110 is just not low cost, particularly when it’s a must to purchase two or extra, however the value may be very truthful contemplating you might be getting the very best high quality radio.

Rocky Talkie Radios

ROCKY TALKIE

SHOP HERE

AMAZON 

SHOP HERE

Jeff Valliere likes to run and discover the mountains of Colorado, the steeper and extra technical the higher. He has summited all the 14ers within the state, many 13ers and different peaks in Colorado and past, plus, he has summited his native Inexperienced Mountain over 2,100 instances previously 20 years.   He could be discovered on mountain trails each day, irrespective of the climate, season, situations or whether or not there’s daylight or not.  On the aspect he likes to ski (all kinds) bike and hike, usually together with his household, as he introduces his twin daughters to the outside. Jeff was born and raised in New Hampshire, however has known as Colorado residence for over 25 years. He’s 5’9” and 145 lbs.

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