[Paddlewise] 2 Way Radios

I have 3 FRS radios - 2 Cobras and a Motorola.  I bought them after we went on
a big extended family camping trip, and I saw how useful they were for my
brother in law and his two kids - aged about 8 and 11.  He also had three -
one for each child and one for himself.  The kids could stray away from camp
and feel independent, and yet he could check on them when he wanted, or they
could ask him to bring a soda down to the river from camp.  We also used them
several times that week while caravaning many family members in more than one
car.  The kids had fun just chatting, but they were also handy to discuss
where to turn, etc.

I've used mine for all sorts of things, including

1) Checking on my kids when they were out trick-or-treating
2) Allowing them to go "into town" and hang out by themselves when we were
camping on Catalina Island and the campground was 1/4 mile from camp
3) Convoying more than one car on trips - notifying when one had to make a pit
stop, discussing where to stop for lunch, telling my daughter to "check out
this Hummer that's about to pass you" (she thinks they're hot; I think they're
horrific.)
4) Having my daughter's varsity and junior varsity coaches check out each
other's progress at a high school soccer match.
5) On hikes with my class (I'm a 6th grade teacher) I have to be up in front,
so I give a walkie talkie to a kid and have him/her stay toward the back, so I
can check on their progress if they get out of eyeshot.

I haven't used them much on the water.  I do use my cell phone a lot while
paddling, however.  Usually it's to stay in touch so my wife or kids can call
me and say, "When are you coming home?"  Sometimes it's to let them know I
won't be coming home for 2 more hours.

While paddling with large groups a couple of times, the group has splintered
into two or more subgroups, separated by quite a bit of distance.  In those
instances there were people with VHF radios communicating back and forth.  FRS
radios would have worked well, if we hadn't had the VHFs.
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