The 9 Best Compact VHF Marine radios (2023 reviews)

Not everyone likes to purchase radio for their regular usage, but the uniden great radio would be an anomoly. It is nice to have a piece of mind in a small boat in a big lake. The MHS75 covers all usa, international, and canadian marine channels, keeping you up-to-date with all the latest marine activity. It comes with a charging cord that you plug into the cigarette lighter in your car. The battery lasts a long time as well and the audio sounds very clear and the mic picks up everything very clearly.

This radio is suitable for recreational vessels involved in racing and coastal cruising. It is great backup radio for bigger boats, or primary for smaller boats without a fixed antenna / radio system. The Range is adequate if you have clear sight with limited obstacles like islands and trees. The battery in the radio has excellent life and it operates great.

Why We Like This:

Works well on large inland water reservoir
Simple and necessary radio for all boats
Bright display and easy to use
Battery life is very good about 12 hours on full charge

Best For deer woods: Cobra Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

Not everyone likes to purchase radio for their daily purpose, but the cobra compact vhf marine radio would be an anomoly. If you are looking for a gps handheld marine radio, the cobra hh600 handheld marine radio gives you a gps location. It features 6 watts of power for longer range communications, full access to noaa weather channels and alarm tones for emergencies, jis7/ipx7 rated submersible, tri-watch, memory channels and burp. It can be charged with the 110V AC charge cradle that is included with the model.

This floating radio has an orange core for higher visibility and is easy to retrieve if dropped overboard. It is backlit and has an easy-to-read orange display for higher visibility in all conditions. The clip also opens very wide making it easy to pull off connected to a pants pocket or jacket pocket. It works great, light weight and stays on channel when turning on and off. It uses three aaa batteries that are rechargeable.

Why We Like This:

Feature & gmrs channel dual-band functionality
Terrain will greatly effect your max distance
Good for emergency and light use

Best For kayak: Uniden Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

If you are looking for a suitable radio for your regular usage, you cannot go wrong with the uniden compact vhf marine radio. For small-craft and casual boaters, this is all the VHF radio you need. 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 can also run on tripple batteries which is a plus.

There is no charging cradle for this unit, but it does come with the needed cigarette cord. The battery charge lasts for several days. There is a sturdy, small opening built into the back edge of the case.

Why We Like This:

Rechargeable batteries or regular batteries, is the best
You can make distress calls to the coast guard
Good brand reputation

Best For hunting: Standard Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

Not everyone likes to purchase radio for their daily usage, but the standard compact vhf marine radio would be an anomoly. It features smooth and easy and it is an extremely compact 5w floating handheld vhf. It can be used by outfitters when severe weather approaches. It's quick and easy to do so with the HX. The Reception is clear, squelch and volume are quick and crisp, and there is a clip plus lanyard to put on your life jacket or belt. It can be used by the radio to remain the same wherever you go.

The quality of the radio is less than a heavy duty Standard. It's small, tough, totally submersible, and easy to use. More makers need to be doing USB charging.

Why We Like This:

Small, portable, and has excellent battery life
Will pick up canadian weather broadcasts as well if you enter canadian waters
Battery life is greater than four hours
Best charging design of all marine only radios

Best With DSC: Yaesu Mounting bracket

Buy on Amazon

If you often find yourself scrambling for appropriate and satisfactory radio, yaesu mounting bracket is your end point. This radio will NOT operate as a stand alone transceiver. It allows dsc calls to be received even when listening to communications. It is easy to install and you have the choice to pick a place. It's a great radio, small and light. The external speaker is for amplifying the signal coming through to hear over the wind or outside noises or for a clearer receiving voice which is most common because it can be hard to understand.

This has an auto volume feature. It will work on any 12v dc supply. The mounting bracket can be attached facing up for overhead mounting.

Why We Like This:

Affordable ultra compact class d fixed mount vhf radio
Programmable scan, priority scan, and dual watch
Replaces older eclipse+ and eclipse dsc models
Automatically poll the gps position of up to 4 ships using dsc

Best For Handheld VHF Unit: Standard Horizon FM broadcast band

Buy on Amazon

Standard Horizon line of radio come in a pretty wide variety of styles, so you can definitely find one that suits your individual preferences and needs. It has a 600 yard to one mile range in thick woods. It can only be used while out on the water or when on the coast and talking to someone out on the water. It has an expanded receiver allowing the user to tune in to their favorite fm radio station.

The Compact, ergonomic case design is a result of the new internal, large capacity 1850 mAh Lithium Ion battery technology. It does have a clip that can place on a belt loop. It will also play the radio if you want. It is built better, it's backed better.

Why We Like This:

Excellent hand held vhf marine radio
Good size for a handheld radio
High resolution dot matrix lcd display

Best For The money: Standard Horizon Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention standard horizon compact vhf marine radio for daily purpose. This is a vhf marine radio and the vhf marine band lies between 156 and 158 mhz. It features smooth and easy and also it is easy to operate menu system. It allows dsc calls to be received even when listening to communications. The digital channel display is easy to read as you scroll through the channels. There is a aux speaker wire on the wire harness.

It has the wires to add an external speaker. It is made by standard also.

Why We Like This:

Very good layer of safety for very easy install and cost
Very nice has a volume adjustment on it
Affordable ultra compact class d fixed mount vhf radio
Built-in 66 channel waas gps receiver

Best Quality Product: Yaesu Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

Yaesu offers a variety of radio for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. The DSC DISTRESS function when activated transmits a digital MAYDAY including vessel identification, Latitude / Longitude and time (with GPS connected), to facilitate prompt response. It has to have an mmsi number or it will beep every 10 minutes. It features smooth and easy to add to that it is easy to operate menu system. The new one is easier to use, excellent reception and transmission. The high resolution dot matrix display makes navigating the radios smooth and easy. It allows dsc calls to be received even when listening to communications.

Why We Like This:

Replaces older eclipse+ and eclipse dsc models radio controls on the microphone
Automatically poll the gps position of up to 4 ships using dsc
Easy to install and looks great

Best For All recreational boats: Retevis Compact VHF Marine Radio

Buy on Amazon

The retevis compact vhf marine radio should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. The Retevis RM20 radio host is IP67 waterproof. It is an class d class marine radio with a separate channel 70 receiver, which allows dsc calls to be received even when listening to communications. It includes a large easy to read lcd with a dot-matrix display. The rugged handheld microphone lets you easily transmit from the steering wheel while keeping your attention on the water ahead.

The Marine coast guard radio uses high-power speakers. It can also ensure consistent sound quality. It is suitable for all recreational boats.

Why We Like This: