A Review & Comparison of The Top Ham Radios For a Preppers and Survivalists
Written by John Wren|
Being able to communicate in an emergency is a “must have” if you want to be able to protect yourself and your family when TSHTF. As a “survivalist” or “prepper” as we’re being called now, we cannot simply grab a cheap handheld GMRS/FRS r
Key takeaways
- You do not need a license to buy one of these ham radios.
- You do need a license to legally talk on them.
- Commercial VHF
- Commercial UHF
A ham radio that still helps in a blackout is a license you already sat, a handheld you have already keyed across town, and a spare battery you charged — not a catalog “50-watt survival” brick you mailed because a listing said SHTF. The short answer: study for Technician, buy a pair you will still talk on legally, and treat FRS/GMRS as a different service with different rules.
Short version. Ski radios is the GMRS pair page. A 72-hour kit if the other bin is already water. Pair with a filter. Check live prices.
You do not need a license to buy an amateur handheld. You do need an amateur license to transmit on ham frequencies. A Walmart blister-pack FRS toy is not ham. This page is the license sit, a GMRS pair if that is already your service, a waterproof FRS/GMRS pair for weather, a filter and a lamp so the radio is not the only tool in the bin.
The license is the radio. A blister pack is a toy.
Do: a Technician exam from a club that still gives it. Don’t: a forum that says skip the test because the night is already dark. Ownership thinking scales to a transmitter: the rule is the tool. Study two evenings. Pass. Then key.
ARRL getting licensed — the exam is the on-ramp
A ham club will still talk antennas. A YouTube “prepper frequency” list is how people meet a complaint. Write your call. Write a simplex frequency you already practiced with one other person.
GMRS is not ham. Name the service before you name the miles.
The Midland GXT1000VP4 is the live 50-channel GMRS pair we named if you already hold the GMRS license your country wants. Confirm the pair. Advertised miles are a parking-lot story. Check live prices.
The Motorola T600 Talkabout pair is the live waterproof pair we named if the radio might see snowmelt or a dunk. FRS channels on a blister pack still want a check at the car. Check live prices.
Do: same channel at the house. Don’t: a “35-mile” flyer as a plan. Ski walkie-talkies is the longer pair card. A ham HT from a dealer is the amateur path once the call sign is already yours.
A Yaesu or Icom handheld stays a dealer you can still return
Amazon ham listings drift and clone. Sit at a shop that will still talk a programming cable.
DX Engineering and ham shops that still talk HTs
Do: a spare battery you have discharged and charged. Don’t: a 50-watt mobile as a first radio in an apartment. The 72-hour kit wants water and a lamp before it wants a third radio.
Water and a lamp so the radio is not the whole plan
The Sawyer Mini is the live filter we named if the other bin is already a blackout. Check live prices.
The Petzl Tikka is the live lamp we named. Same pocket. Check live prices.
A 150-piece mini kit covers a blister and a bleed. Open it at the table. Check live prices.
M0-Piece Mini First Aid KitCheck price on Amazon| Want | Honest tool |
|---|---|
| Ham transmit | Technician license, then a dealer HT |
| GMRS you already licensed | Midland GXT1000VP4 we named |
| A dunk and a hike | Motorola T600 pair |
| The rest of the bin | Sawyer Mini, Tikka, 150-piece mini kit |
Practice across town. Check live prices.
Range is terrain. A mountain is not a brochure.
Do: a test with one other person on a Saturday. Don’t: a rubber duck through a canyon as a family plan. First aid. Leave some gas. A meeting place still beats a radio you cannot hear.
A license, a pair you practiced, a filter, a lamp
That is a prepper radio Saturday. Check live prices. Come home with a contact you heard, not a 50-watt brick you feared.
Guests will try to skip the exam because the listing said survival
Say the rule at the house: study, pass, then key. If the answer is a 50-watt brick and a laugh, sit. A ham sit. A 72-hour kit.
The Midland GXT1000VP4 we named still wants a GMRS license if that is the service. Check live prices. Ski radios.
The Motorola T600 we named still wants a check at the car. Check live prices. Miles are a parking lot.
A ham HT stays a dealer. Amazon clones drift. A ham sit.
Range is terrain. A canyon is not a brochure.
Do: a Saturday test with one other person. Don’t: a rubber duck as a family plan. A ham sit. First aid.
The Sawyer Mini we named still wants the other bin. Check live prices. A filter.
The Tikka we named still wants the same pocket. Check live prices. A tactical headlamp. Snow kit.
A meeting place still beats a frequency you never practiced. Leave some gas.
Charge the spare. A dead pack is a sculpture.
Do: discharge and charge at the table. Don’t: a mobile in an apartment as year one. A ham sit. A 72-hour kit.
The 150-piece mini kit we named still wants an open. Check live prices. First aid.
Ownership thinking scales to a transmitter: the rule is the tool.
FRS is not ham. Name the service. Ski radios.
Write the call. Write the simplex. Dry the radio.
Last line: license, practiced pair, filter, lamp. A ham sit. A 72-hour kit. Check live prices.
A filter. Snow kit. Storage thinking scales to a bin.
Nature days. An adventurer day. That is enough.
The 50-watt brick can wait. This year’s exam cannot. Check live prices. Leave some gas.
Thursday is the same channel if you already forgot it
Do: the same card. Don’t: a new clone every Thursday. A ham sit. Ski radios.
The Midland we named. The T600 we named. Check live prices. A filter. A tactical headlamp.
A YouTube frequency list is a complaint. A club is a cable. A ham sit.
Come home with a contact you heard. A mood hour. Leave some gas. That is a radio.
Two evenings. Then the test. Then key.
Do: a club that still gives the exam. Don’t: a forum skip. A ham sit. A 72-hour kit.
You do not need a license to buy. You need one to transmit. Ownership.
The Midland we named still wants GMRS if that is the service. Check live prices. Ski radios.
The T600 we named still wants a check at the car. Check live prices.
Write one frequency. Practice with one person.
A YouTube list is a complaint. A ham sit. First aid.
The Sawyer Mini we named still wants the other bin. Check live prices. A filter.
The Tikka we named still wants the same pocket. Check live prices. A tactical headlamp.
A meeting place still beats a radio you cannot hear. Leave some gas.
Amazon ham clones drift. Sit at a shop.
A Yaesu or Icom stays a dealer you can still return. A ham sit.
A 50-watt mobile is not year one in an apartment. A 72-hour kit.
The 150-piece mini kit we named still wants an open. Check live prices. First aid.
Snow kit. Water and a lamp before a third radio.
Miles on a box are a parking lot
Ski radios. Same channel at the house. A ham sit.
FRS is not ham. Name the service. Ski radios.
A filter. A tactical headlamp. Check live prices.
A mood hour. A Saturday test still counts.
Write the call. Dry the radio. Charge the spare.
Last line: license, practiced pair, filter, lamp. A ham sit. Check live prices.
A 72-hour kit. A filter. Snow kit.
The 50-watt brick can wait. This year’s exam cannot. Leave some gas.
Come home with a contact you heard. A ham sit. That is enough.
A club talks antennas. A YouTube list is a complaint
A ham sit. Ownership. Study two evenings.
The Midland we named still wants the service you actually licensed. Check live prices. Ski radios.
The T600 we named still wants weather. Check live prices.
A ham HT stays a dealer. A ham sit.
Water and a lamp before a third radio
The Sawyer Mini we named still wants the bin. Check live prices. A filter. A 72-hour kit.
The Tikka we named still wants the same pocket. Check live prices. A tactical headlamp.
The 150-piece mini kit we named still wants an open. Check live prices. First aid.
Snow kit. A blackout is more than a handheld.
Across town on a Saturday. Then you know.
A ham sit. Terrain is range. Leave some gas.
A meeting place still beats a frequency. First aid.
Ski radios. Same channel at the house.
A mood hour. A contact you heard is the score.
Discharge and charge the spare at the table
A dead pack is a sculpture. A ham sit. A 72-hour kit.
A 50-watt mobile is not year one in an apartment. A ham sit.
A filter. A tactical headlamp. Check live prices.
Ownership. The rule is the tool.
A license, a pair you practiced, a filter, a lamp
Last line. A ham sit. Check live prices.
A 72-hour kit. Ski radios. A filter.
The 50-watt brick can wait. Leave some gas. A mood hour.
Come home with a contact. A ham sit. That is enough.
Name the service. FRS is not ham. GMRS is not ham
A ham sit. Ski radios. The Midland we named still wants a GMRS license if that is the job. Check live prices.
The T600 we named still wants a dunk you already planned. Check live prices.
A Technician call is the amateur path. Sit the exam. Ownership. A 72-hour kit.
Amazon clones drift. A Yaesu stays a dealer. A ham sit.
A meeting place still beats a rubber duck
A ham sit. First aid. Practice across town.
The Sawyer Mini we named still wants the bin. Check live prices. A filter. Snow kit.
The Tikka we named still wants the same pocket. Check live prices. A tactical headlamp.
Leave some gas. A cancel is allowed. A mood hour.
A license, a pair you practiced, a filter, a lamp
Last line. A ham sit. Check live prices.
A 72-hour kit. Ski radios. A filter.
The 50-watt brick can wait. Leave some gas. A mood hour.
Come home with a contact you heard. A ham sit. That is enough.
Also in the magazine
Keep going with ski radios, a 72-hour kit, a filter, and snow kit. Check live prices.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ham radio for preppers?
A Technician license, then a handheld from a shop that will still talk a cable. GMRS is a different service.
Do I need a license to buy a ham radio?
No. You need an amateur license to transmit on ham frequencies. Buy, study, pass, then key.
Is a Walmart walkie-talkie ham?
No. That is FRS. Motorola T600 we named is a waterproof pair, not an amateur HT.
What GMRS pair?
Midland GXT1000VP4 we named if you already license GMRS. Miles on the box are a parking lot.
Should the kit be only radios?
No. Sawyer Mini, Petzl Tikka, and a 150-piece mini kit we named still belong in the bin.
Can I skip the exam in an emergency?
The exam is how you learn the radio. A meeting place still beats a frequency you never practiced.