The 7 Best 6 Watt Handheld Marine radios (2023 reviews)

We consider a 6 watt handheld marine radio to be a worthy investment in the long run. We are here to help you choose the right one for your purposes from all the best available products in market today.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Standard Horizon FM broadcast band READ REVIEW

Best For cigar: Buy: Uniden Great Radio READ REVIEW

Best For hunting: Buy: Uniden 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For kayak: Buy: Standard Horizon 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For recreational boaters: Buy: Cobra VHF Radio READ REVIEW

Best For Marine Use: Buy: Icom 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For The money: Buy: Cobra 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Standard Horizon FM broadcast band

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The look and feel of this radios are consistent with the high quality we're used to from the rest of Standard Horizon's lineup. Like all VHF radios, it’s range is “line of sight.” The signal will not go thru islands or mountains. This gives the radio a much smaller case design yet light enough to float face up if dropped in the water. It has great battery life and good reception for a handheld. The strobe can be reconfigured to flash on and off, flash SOS, or set to stay on continuously. It comes with a charging base.

This one holds a charge and charge indicator is accurate. It can be used with some external devices. These menus are also easy to remember.

• Can listen to commercial fm radio broadcasts and weather
• Water resistant, easy to use, good battery life
• Good choice for a handheld radio

Best For cigar: Uniden Great Radio

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Best part: uniden great radio costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This compact, well built, rugged handheld marine radio is rated jis8 / ipx8 submersible and is packed with outstanding features. It features a floating design, and is submersible for up to 30 minutes at five feet. It comes preprogrammed with noaa weather channels. The battery life is phenomenal and the reception is very good. This radio is suitable for recreational vessels involved in racing and coastal cruising.

This is for boat usage, so it would come with a DC (cigarette adapter) charger. The equipment is fairly affordable. The sound quality is nice and loud, and the squelch works well.

• Simple and necessary radio for all boats
• Bright display and easy to use
• Broadcast sounds clear when sending and receiving transmissions
• Has great range and battery life

Best For hunting: Uniden 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio

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The best radio for a boat would be one that can be installed in a boat with the long antenna. It comes equipped with a tone to clear water from the speaker cavity when the radio has been submerged, meaning this radio will be ready when you need it the most. It comes with the largest LCD screen in its class 25mm (h) x 40mm (w), and paper white backlight display for day time and red backlight display for night time, so it’s the radio you won’t leave shore without.

These radios transmit approximately 25 Watts and will provide better coverage. It has a nice large screen. The antenna has a screw mount. The battery will last a few days if you're not transmitting and just monitoring the Chromophone cavity when the radio has been submerged, meaning this radio will be ready when you need it the most. It comes with a charging cradle and needs to be plugged into a wall or car lighter socket.

• Delivers what they promise
• Good brand reputation

Best For kayak: Standard Horizon 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio

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The standard horizon 6 watt handheld marine radio should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. It is good range for a handheld vhf unit. It will receive FM broadcast bands between 76 mhz to 108 mhz. This gives the radio a much smaller case design yet light enough to float face up if dropped in the water. It does have a clip that can place on a belt loop. It can only communicate with other marine vhs radios.

It is easy to operate, has all the buttons well placed for on-handed operation. The strobe can be reconfigured to flash on and off, flash SOS, or set to stay on continuously. This is a great basic radio, and the radio lasts forever.

• Good sound, very easy to read scree
• 12 vdc and 110vac charging cables and charging cradle included
• Easy to set up and easy to use

Best For recreational boaters: Cobra VHF Radio

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This handheld VHF radio is ideal for recreational boaters and as a backup radio for large commercial vessels. It is a floating handheld vHF radio with built-in gps. It comes with a built-in gps receiver, see your gps coordinates on screen and automatically send your exact location with dsc calls. There's a guarded distress button on the right side of the unit that you can activate.

This is a two way radio, it can transmit and receive. It is used for "dsc" (digital selective calling) which is kind of like calling another radio using a phone number. It is easy to set up and can’t wait to try out more of the features. These are approximate kitchen table calculations.

• Floats, high visibility colors, and water resistant
• Lot of satisfied buyers

Best For Marine Use: Icom 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio

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The icom 6 watt handheld marine radio's superior materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This is a nice easy to operate radio. It offers bright, easy to read characters. It's cold, briney, windy, deeply foggy and hostile to anything electronic. It has been tested to survive after being submersed in 1.5m (4.9ft) depth of water for 30 minutes. It is great for a kayak or canoe. It is needed at night and you'll need a flashlight. This radio is under salt water for 22 hours.

• You can plug in the optional speaker/mic
• Good size for handling and ease to operate
• Delivers what they promise

Best For The money: Cobra 6 Watt Handheld Marine Radio

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The cobra 6 watt handheld marine radio's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. It is perfect for kayak or boating. It allows AAC batteries additionally works really well as a radio. It will work on manual mode where you press the talk button to talk on your phone and have the conversation like a radio conversation. It also features Cobra's exclusive Rewind-Say-Again digital voice recorder so you will never miss a VHF radio call.

This radio is small, with a large, readable screen that can fit in a pocket. The purpose of the Bluetooth feature is basically to be able to answer calls when you are on the boat and to keep your phone under deck and not to be exposed to rain and seawater. It is great to hear what is happening around you so the students can be prepared.

• You can hook up your phone to play music to answer phone calls
• Connects to phone great, can receive calls etc
• Great reception at distance up to line-of-sight