The 7 Best Small VHF Marine radios (2023 reviews)

We consider a small vhf 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.

Our review process: Show/Hide

Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Uniden Great Radio READ REVIEW

Best For deer woods: Buy: Cobra VHF Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For Marine VHF Radio: Buy: Standard Small VHF Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For kayak: Buy: Standard Horizon FM broadcast band READ REVIEW

Best User friendly Radio: Buy: Standard Horizon Small VHF Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best For Marine Use of any size boat: Buy: Cobra Small VHF Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best Feature: Easy To install: Buy: Uniden Small VHF Marine Radio READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Uniden Great Radio

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If you want nothing short of the optimal radio for your regular usage, this uniden great radio is certainly a wise investment. It is a waterproof handheld 2-way vhf marine radio. It features a floating design, and is submersible for up to 30 minutes at five feet. It has the ability to monitor Dual or Triple Channels including 9 and 16 along with Weather Alert channel. The keypad is easy to navigate to choose different settings. The sound quality is nice and loud, and the squelch works well.

This is for boat usage, so it would come with a DC (cigarette adapter) charger. It comes with an aaa battery pack as an alternative to the charger.

• Works well on large inland water reservoir
• Bright display and easy to use
• Come in very handy during small storms that come up
• Broadcast sounds clear when sending and receiving transmissions

Best For deer woods: Cobra VHF Marine Radio

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Cobra line of radio come in a pretty wide variety of styles, so you can definitely find one that suits your individual preferences and needs. Antenna is much longer on this one than the hh350 models, and that bugger is stiff. It works great, light weight and stays on channel when turning on and off. It can be charged with the 110V AC charge cradle that is included with the model. It uses three AAA batteries that are rechargeable. It includes all of the core features like noise canceling microphone, jis7/ipx7 rated submersible, tri-watch, memory channels, memory scan and burp. The speaker is good as radio checks come in loud and clear.

This radio provides the ability to customize your conversations when there are days you spend on the water further from shore. The case allows you to operate all the controls and you can receive and transmit just fine.

• Terrain will greatly effect your max distance
• Good investment for long term

Best For Marine VHF Radio: Standard Small VHF Marine Radio

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The standard small vhf marine radio's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This is a perfect line of sight radio for the job and the battery lasts for days. It features smooth and easy and it is an extremely compact 5w floating handheld vhf. It can see even better at night. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, including marine navigation and traffic control, summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours, locks, bridges and marinas. It's small, tough, totally submersible, and easy to use.

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 does require recharging frequently. It is easy to use, light weight and charges quickly when a charge is needed. It can be used by the radio to remain the same wherever you go.

• Perfect alternative for a vhf radio
• Lift bottom of battery door up
• One of the new comers and featured product

Best For kayak: Standard Horizon FM broadcast band

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Not everyone likes to purchase radio for their daily purpose, but the standard horizon fm broadcast band would be an anomoly. It can only communicate with other marine vhs radios. It will receive FM broadcast bands between 76 mhz to 108 mhz. It has a 600 yard to one mile range in thick woods. It does have a clip that can place on a belt loop. It will also play the radio if you want. It features a compact case design and it is easy to operate menu system.

The strobe can be reconfigured to flash on and off, flash SOS, or set to stay on continuously.

• Good size for a handheld radio
• High capacity 1850 mah li-ion battery
• Easy to operate, long battery life
• Excellent hand held vhf marine radio

Best User friendly Radio: Standard Horizon Small VHF Marine Radio

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The features department is where standard horizon small vhf marine radio truly manages to shine. 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 a 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. It has the wires to add an external speaker. There is a aux speaker wire on the wire harness.

It is made by standard also.

• Very nice has a volume adjustment on it
• You can hook up external speakers
• Additional calls that can be made are individual, urgency, safety, position report and send
• Very good layer of safety for very easy install and cost

Best For Marine Use of any size boat: Cobra Small VHF Marine Radio

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The cobra small vhf marine radio's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This radio comes with the capability to operate in usa, canada and other international destinations. Whether its short range or long distance, the selectable 3-watt vhf options can reach a wide range of distances with quality connection. It is designed to withstand the elements, this radio is rated submersible to an industry standard jis7 which gives you 30 minutes of protection at one-meter depth. It offers a compatible speaker/mic accessory on the cobra website.

It is a great small cobra vhf for general use aboard ship or in harbour. It comes with a battery charger, with cradle. It comes with only a small wrist strap. The unit has an excellent battery charger.

• Instant access to national hazards and weather information, 24 hours a day
• Great radio and compact, perfect for pwcs, kayaks etc
• You will feel confident in your communication no matter the destination
• Produces 1, 3 or 6 watts of output power for near or distant calling

Best Feature: Easy To install: Uniden Small VHF Marine Radio

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The uniden small vhf marine radio should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. It works just fine and is waterproof. It is compatible with the uniden mrn-gpsk gps receiver. The Completely submersible design is equipped to handle the weather and the waves, while remaining your fail-proof lifeline for the information and communication that keeps you safe at Sea. It has an internal speaker on the left side, no speaker jack for an external. It comes with a connector and 15ft cable. It works very well and it has a size that fits almost anywhere for installation.

The unit switches over to a channel list using very small fonts that require the use of reading glasses. It can only be used in Marine applications only.

• Low end transceiver does the job
• Good sound, clear and also worked really well still even in -5 to
• Minimum impedance of 4 ohms & minimum power handling of 10 watts