UKH

What are your top suggestions for such devices? I use them a lot in the US where they're quite common on big walls and whatnot, and they make complete sense here on sea cliffs. 

Much obliged.

It’ll be PMR446 radios in the uk. Get something really cheap in case some idiot drops them. Which is something I’d never do. Oh no, definitely not. 

Every set I've had has had at least one intolerably infuriating feature, so buy cheap ready for the day they decide beeping at you is more important than functioning right at the moment you need them, and you find you have little sympathy for what happens to them next.

We bought some of the original Motorola Talkabouts just before Foot and Mouth and I have to say they they are pretty free of vice and have been reliable in Scotland, England, Wales and in the Alps over the 2 decades we have had them.  As well as being moderately shower proof.  They never did random frequency changes or bleeps like cheaper ones.

I have had to repair knobs and replace the antennas but that is because of decomposition of the plastic as they are still in use many years beyond the expected lifespan.

Cheap ones I've found crap and unreliable and less ergonomic.  With radios ergonomics durability and reliability are more important than cheapness

The first couple sets I bought weren't cheapies. They were very much mid range and came with good reviews, but nevertheless were programmed to do some really dumb stuff. If they're going to piss me off anyway I might as well not have paid much.

the trouble is that some reviewers might like bells and whistles and not have used them in challenging conditions.  Even the ability to be put in a pocket or rucsac and be locked against random button presses and frequency/CTCSS code changes seems to be neglected by some makers and such a simple thing is of prime importance.

It's more the stupid stuff they do without prompting that wasn't acceptable. I had one pair that would decide their battery was low all the damn time, even though they would go on to last a whole day in that state, and when they did their policy was to bleep every 20 seconds, which itself would be annoying though not that bad, but the bleeps cut you off when trying to talk, making them basically useless. That was a well reviewed and not cheap pair.

Motorola's all the way. we used some niche American military brand at work some years ago and the motorolas i bought for skiing with my kids are not far off as good for about a 20th of the price. i suppose that's tech.  I bought a quad pack of T82 s in sale for  £110. i ha ve also had cheap motorla copies for the kids to play with and the usual "pay peanuts get monkeys"  was definitely the case .

and this thread has made me remember to pop the batteries out tonight and pack them away with the ski gears as the more they stay out the more likely they will be to be misappropriated. 

I use fairly standard Motorola radios. The key for me was finding a way of carrying the radio so they are easily accessible, but out of the way. The answer for me was a running vest with shoulder pouches that neatly accommodate the radio just where you want it.

Clip it to a gear loop to climb, clip it to your helmet strap when you get to the belay.

Motorola T72s have worked well for me so far, and they're pretty cheap 

I've got Retevis RT45P for winter stuff. Waterproof, comes with rechargeable batteries (can be replaced with normal batteries too). The annoying "beep" noise can be switched off and comes with button lock - super useful in stopping accidental channel changes.

Only drawback to me was that the lanyard was connected to belt clip.. which I didn't want to use to save on bulk. So I removed the belt clip and drilled two small holes in the battery cover (the way it's constructed it still makes it waterproof) and threaded small tat so can attach carabiner to it.

These are also USB type-c chargeable. I'm well impressed. Used the whole day in winter and batteries lasted fine. Tho if planning on lots of talking in the cold.. maybe have a spare set of batteries available.

Yeah I have the T80s and they were brilliant. Saved the day on Hoy... (or at least made it sooo much easier)

I’ve been using the rockie Talkies in Canada this winter and have found them to be very good. Very user friendly and easy to use with gloves on a great range which is great for ski touring. Have been able to communicate clearly with parties over 3km away. Currently using them in Squamish and they’re holding up amazingly well clipped to the bag and being dragged over rocks and in chimneys etc. the clips are study and a super nice feature and make it a lot more difficult to drop them. 

Motorola T82 Extreme have a handy loop for clipping to a harness and are great quality. Not waterproof though - they're fine in the rain, but not for a prolonged soaking in the sea.

Unfortunately, the rocky talkies are not approved in Europe. Don’t know about UK. 

Neither of the Rocky Talkie models are legal to use in the UK as they aren't tied to the PMR446 frequencies and can transmit over the legal limit (2W as opposed to 0.5W).

I'd recommend buying a licence from OFCOM (£75 for 5 years) and then buying something with a bit of grunt. I quite like the Baofeng UV9R or UV5R for some simple and effective waterproof radios.

Just a point of information.

Galvin, later becoming Motorola, developed the original "Walkie Talkie" (not one you'd use on a crag, though I suspect they may have been used in mountain rescues by the military at some point in the guise of the British copy, the Wireless set 31 which I've had the joy of carrying on my back and using) so they have always produced professional and serious stuff.

https://www.kurrajongradiomuseum.com.au/bc1000.htm

Anyone who has seen the Sands of Iwo Jima, or 1000s of war films or Band of Brothers will be familiar with the original Walkie Talkie.

I can second the vote for Baofeng UV-5R's. 
The paragliding community uses them extensively these days and deliver as much as the name-brands do but at a fraction of the cost.

I find they have an annoying habit of turning on when inside a backpack (approaches, travelling etc), because they turn on by rotating the volume dial. I don't tend to use the case as it's really bulky, downside is occasionally hearing some beeps then having to rummage in my pack.

Agreed, problems with controls that alter when not wanted is very poor and unergonomic design.  My original Motorola TA200s are switched on by a button that requires firm action for a short period of time to switch on or off and that has never happened accidentally.

Another pitfall of poor design is dampness causing controls to operate spontaneously and unreliably.

as long as they are licensed

I have a Retevis RT85 which seems much better made than a Baofeng I had previously but the menu system is pretty horrible.  I believe programming frequencies is best done with a computer.  I have, however, noticed that the Retevis seems to get moisture/condensation inside the display window very easily when the air is damp.

I always have the irresistible urge to say “Broadsword calling Danny Boy” in a deep Welsh accent when using walkie talkies. 

yes, that was a radio that would have had a range of a mile or two on a good day (not night, too much interference, range could have been reduced to some hundreds of yards).  It or a very similar type featured in the episode "Come in Sunray Major" on Last of the Summer wine.

Not to condone that sort of behaviour, but what would happen if, hypothetically, one were to use a set anyway?

Probably nothing, but if you do happen to piss the wrong people off with it the penalties are no joke.

Absolutely nothing. There’s no way OFCOM would have the time or resources to hunt down transient use of a short range UHF radio even in the extremely unlikely event of someone noticing and being arsed to complain. 

I used to think that till I saw a technical article about how a wide bandwidth spectrum could be recorded from many locations simultaneously over time forming a 4D "EM Wavespace".

Reports of interference could then be identified by looking at recent data and using the geographical vs signal strength data to locate the signals

These days spare timers are tracing interference location using TDOA (time difference of arrival) software to analyse data captured by wideband software defined radio receivers (operated by other enthusiasts) accessible on the internet at diverse locations to determine where sigs come from.

For me the urge is to say "kkssssch Charlie Tango Teakettle Barbecue" in an Alexei Sayle voice.

Right, but would these spare timers then go on to cross-reference my UKC logbook to see that I was on Point Five Gully on the day they triangulated the signal to that location?

from OFCOM's UKFAT:

UK5.8 - Various frequencies allocated in the band 450 - 470 MHz for emergency services use.

So you might end up pissing off emergency services when using a Rocky Talkie in the UK. Not really a good look...

Last time I looked which was ages ago, the pilots' national association had agreed a few "safe" frequencies which they could use. I have a couple of Baofengs but don't use them much as I don't like the incessant chatter, and the phone works better on the ground. Switzerland is a nono - they drill holes in your radio; other places should be fine but check locally.

The OP could always get an OFCOM Foundation licence, and then they'll find out how to do it legally.

only if you'd been causing interference on a frequency of interest