Anyone use a marine radio on larger bodies of water? What do you like?

i am trying to find something also
there are a lot of choices

We have one we use for the salt, i forget the brand but i recall it was around 100 bucks.

I've been researching this as well and nearly every forum topic I've said to go with either Icom or Standard Horizon. There are the two I have my eye on: Icom IC-M25 and Standard Horizon HX300

I have two waterproof Uniden MHS75s. Got two of them for under $160 several years back
Work perfectly on the smaller, under 1500 acre lakes I fish (5watt setting)
Impressively long battery life
Did a pool noodle mod (65lb braid to 1foot of noodle) so they float

Ive been considering two radios so far. One is the standard Horizon 870 and the other is the Cobra H660. Both have an emergency button which uses dsc to transmitt your current location and boat discription etc with the push of a single button.

I own Icom for Ham radio and they make quality stuff. Even though the Fish locator has GPS, a handheld with GPS is good insurance. Another activity that I participate in says 1 is none, 2 is better and three back ups you have something.

so do you need ham & VHF ?
do any radios have both?
i have studied on line
&
in Cabelas the other day
i am more confused than ever

I-COM

Ham radio's have frequency bands. VHF, UHF,and HF. Without in depth explaining, all you need is a MARINE VHF . An I-COM is a great radio.I have one in the house and in my boat. The radio contains a variety of Channels and each have it's own purpose. For the recreational boater, you may operate on a couple channels to shoot the breeze...boat to boat etc. Channel 16 is a contact channel and can be monitored all the time, usually a distress channel where everyone can hear, even the Coast Guard monitor this channel for that very purpose. Google is your best friend and can go into detail on these radios. BTW: there are different types of antennas you can use, ex: a 3 foot SS one or maybe a 6 to 8' fiberglass... a VHF antenna. and mounting hardware. A VHF MARINE radio requires no license to operate, a HAM radio does.

For me, I'm just shopping for a Marine radio. I mention that I have an Icom for ham radio use just to say that I am familiar with that brand.

As a kayak angler, I am shopping for a handheld so that it can always be mounted on my vest. Even if I go over, I want the radio attached to me and not the boat.

I got the same. They are well made. I dont use braid and noodle on mine but so far... I have not dropped it in the water.

Our other buddy got a like model but by Uniden but his floats. It does not have a squelch on it though which is odd to me... But it seems to work fine.

Standard horizon and Icomm are both good quality - I have friends who used Cobra brad saying it's not as solid as the other two aforementioned brands.
In the 100$ range, Standard horizon HX300 is pretty bulky compared to Icomm M25.
Icomm M25 is easier to be attached to you PDF but it is more expensive than the HX300.
I went with with cheaper one- and I just place it in one of the front pocket of chinook PFD.

I've been using a couple of Standard Horizon HX290's for the last few years.

Ask the techs at the local radio repair shop. They�ll have current info.