I've been doing some research into marine vhf radios. I'm looking for something submersible and easy enough to attach to my PFD. Both of those features are must haves for me.

From the chatter I picked up, Icom's M88 seems to be the gold standard. Long battery life. Compact. Submersible. So dependable that users say it doesn't fail. And it costs about $250.

Icom also offers the M72. It costs just a bit less than $200. It costs less because it doesn't offer some of the radio frequencies (for land use) that the M88 offers. It also isn't as compact. But it has a feature that literally shakes the water away from the speaker. I didn't find much on that one because it's relatively new. I wonder if I can assume it has the same reliability as the M88.

To add to the choices, I found the new M34. It floats. That may not seem like a big deal. But I'm not graced with a great deal of dexterity. This could be a deal breaker. It's battery life is much less than in the M88 or M72. It has the AquaQuake feature of the M72 and looks like it's the same size.

I found some unflattering remarks about the Standard Horizon models. Nothing on the Unidens. Nor any comments on the West Marine brands.

So I'm wondering if you have used any of these marine radios - especially the new models. Let us know what you think.

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