In addition to all the comments made in general about the use of VHF radios, I'll make a few points specifically about the Standard 350S. I purchased one about 3 years ago--after returning another manufacturer's radio that did not work in cold temperatures. "Cold" for me is a large part of my paddling year, although it has been moderate so far this year--I live in Milwaukee Wisconsin and paddle with a group year-round on Lake Michigan, even when the water is more like a snow cone from the fair. The 350S has performed very well in all conditions. I wear it clipped by the "belt clip" to the pocket of my PFD and tethered to a D-ring in the pocket. Sometimes after rolling or taking direct hits from waves I need to shake the water out of the speaker, but it always comes back to life. I have had some minor problems with breaks in the reception when in a "scan" mode. I've been in contact with the manufacturer and they gave me a couple of suggestions that I'll try this weekend. Last weekend one of our group showed up with the newer Standard 460S--much smaller than the 350S, which is very nice for stowing on/in the PFD. One paddler took one look at it and had to have one, even though he already owned a submersible VHF from another manufacturer--that did not work when the temperature reached 40 degrees! (Problem there has to do with the contraction of the battery pack resulting in the loss of contact with the contacts.) I did some testing of his radio and mine--12 hours in the freezer, brought them out and my 350S came on immediately, his took approx. 15 minutes to power on. Though he had owned this radio for 2.5 years, he returned it to Boat US and without any hassle, they took it back and he bought the 460S, paying the difference in purchase price of the original and the 460S. The 350S comes complete for around $250. The 460S costs $300 but does not come with the alkaline battery pack ($32), which is only important if tripping or otherwise not convenient to recharge the litium-ion battery. A VHF radio is a very important piece of safety gear, but does no good if it does not work in the conditions you paddle in or is stowed away in a hatch--so get one, test it, and tether it to your PFD. And, of course always wear your PFD. Several members of the group I paddle with have talked about buying a GPS, yet they don't have a reliable VHF--I tell them that they will at least know where they die if something were to happen and they needed help. As was mentioned in previous posts, "Deep Trouble" has several of those stories, and it continues to happen even to "experienced" sea kayakers (two sea kayakers died in Lake Michigan, June 2000--had a GPS but no VHF radio). I have no connection with Standard Communications (www.standardhorizon.com) or Boat US--just a satisfied customer. John Browning wildernessconnection.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:26 PDT