Cobra PR-190-2 VP Micotalk 10-Mile Range 2-Way Radio - 2 Pack

Had to return these after giving them a try around my house and in my neighborhood. We could hear each other when in the house, but when one of us was about .5 miles away, we either couldn't contact each other at all or it was fuzzy. We tried multiples times over a few days. Also tried every single channel and tried different batteries. Finally gave up in frustration and returned them.
If they had worked, I would have enjoyed the small size of the radios themselves and also of the charger. They wouldn't have taken much room at all in my suitcase.

As an inexpensive pair of "walkie talkies", these are fine for kids. As a previous reviewer noted, the very fine print states that you indeed need an FCC license to use most channels ("A user must be licensed prior to operating on Channels 1 thorough 7 or 15 through 22, which comprise the GMRS channels of this radio"). My biggest complaint, however, lies with the made-in-China rechargeable batteries--at least half of them would not recharge, and yes, I did try them in different combinations and in both handsets and with both leads of the charger. The units chew through battery life so quickly that you definitely will want rechargeable batteries. Consequently, I have more than doubled the cost of the units by purchasing quality rechargeable batteries (you need a total of 6).

While they are really nice walkie talkies for very short distances, like between cars on a road trip, like i use them for, their range is absolutely terrible. They stop working completely at under a mile in an average suburb, let alone a city. Possibly I got defective ones but i bought six of them and they all function the same...so not likely. They are very nice and cheap, and I love the size and simplicity and that they come with a charger and rechargable batteries, but the distance is like i said, terrible.

We live in the hills of TN, where my husband & sons traverse & hunt regularly, these little babies do what they say, no problems getting a clear signal over/under hills, hollows & ridges! They work just fine!
As a matter of fact, I believe this is the same set my husband had me re-order for a monthly give away for the kids youngsportsman.com website for the month of August '08 see then here: http://www.youngsportsman.com/

I haven't tested this for range yet, but wanted to add comments about the battery charging. The Low Battery Icon does NOT measure the amount of charge left on the battery. After charging the batteries, this icon will appear, and it looks like it didn't take a full charge. It's only when the Low Battery Icon FLASHES does it mean that the batteries are low. I called Cobra to ask about this because I didn't think the batteries were charging. The instructions don't tell you this. Will add more comments later after I've used it more.

What I especially liked about these two-way radios is that you can use alkaline batteries if the rechargeable batteries are too low to use. That's a real plus.