Baofeng UV-5R Mini -- Little Radio Goes Big!
I'm going to come right out and say it: The Baofeng UV-5R mini is going to do more for ham radio than any other product or entity in the past 5 years, if not longer. This is a controversial opinion on an already controversial radio... but stick with me and I think I'll sell you on just why these are game changers.
Products In This Review:
- Pair of Baofeng UV-5R mini Radios - $37
- If you really just want one, get the Singular Baofeng UV-5R mini - $22
- Programming Cable - $8
- NOTE: Recommended, but included with the $35 UV-22 radio so consider getting that instead and you get a killer compact radio to go with your Baofeng for just $27 extra.
- Baofeng External Mic - $13
- Chest Holsters (pair) - $18 (killer for light duty carry with acces)
- Chest Bag - $23 (I like mine, highly optional)
Why The Baofeng UV-5R Mini Changed The Game & Belongs In Your Kit
Baofeng gets a lot of flak for being cheap and low priced handhelds... and to be honest, many reviews of past models weren't wrong. Heck the UV-22 I got recently required repair to work. With the UV-5R mini though, Baofeng paved not just a new road, but a superhighway. They paved the way by putting just the esentials into a simple, easy to use, operate and program radio. Multiply those amazing quality by the Baofeng UV-5R minis durability, expoentially increase it's rating by how good it is for the price... and you've got a contentdor for best handheld out there.
First, let's start off with the size. There is no programmable handheld radio out there that is more compact than the UV-5R mini. Then, add in the dual monitor, the exceptionall easy to work with ui on a reasonably sized screen with no crazy menu archeology to master... long channel names than most other brands... these are undeniably featherweight brawlers punching well above their weight class. Top it off with these having proven thesmelves operating in sopping wet snow out in the open for a full ski day operating on a volcano... It's safe to say these radios don't just put to shame radios at 10x their cost, it has both created and dominated an entire new segment of handheld radios.
Now do the Baofeng UV-5R Minis have all the latest newfangled digital or APRS or GPS functionality? Nope... and honestly Baofeng was right to skip that. They just went right to the meat of what a person needs, knocked just that out of the park, and left the bells and whistles behind. Add in that these Baofeng UV-5R minis do GMRS* channels right out of the box while also being able to operate on HAM VHF/UFH frequencies... and these are an amazing combination where a novice can get these, operate on GMRS with friends*, scan and listen to local HAM frequencies, and eventually graduate to those frequency themselves... this radio is going to kickstart more folks into ham radio than anything any organization has done in the past 20 years for ham radio.
Combine all of this excellence with USB-C charging capabilty... these really have a user focused build that is with the times and honestly would beat my Yeasu FT-5DR in an emergency situation.
Just how Compact is the UV-5R mini
Pictured above is the Baofeng UV-5R mini next to the two competitors that I think come the closest in size and friendly UI: The Yaesu FT-5DR and the Baofeng UV-22. There is of course one other heavyweight contendor notably absent however, the Yaesu VX-6R, which is in theory smaller... but with it's width it feels quite chunky and it's UI was dated back when it was release in 2004... over 21 years ago. Suffice it to say... these are the main competitors, and the UV-5R is pretty darn small and MUCH cheaper.
Just how much smaller and cheaper though? Welp, here's a chart of the primary competitors out there for for the UV-5R mini. These are all generally small with decent screens and good UI's... excluding the UV-5R as it's menu/ui is garbage by comparison, but we can't not reference the UV-5R minis supposed predecssor!
| Model | Height (mm) | Width (mm) | Thickness (mm) | Volume (mm³) | % Larger than UV-5R Mini | Price (USD) | Price % Above UV-5R Mini |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baofeng UV-5R Mini | 100 | 52 | 32 | 166,400 | Baseline (0%) | $17 | Baseline (0%) |
| Yaesu VX-6R | 89 | 58 | 28 | 144,536 | -13% | $250 | +1370% |
| Baofeng UV-5R | 110 | 58 | 32 | 204,160 | +23% | $25 | +47% |
| Yaesu FT-5DR | 100 | 62 | 34 | 210,800 | +27% | $450 | +2547% |
| TYT UV-88 | 113 | 61 | 34 | 234,322 | +41% | $60 | +253% |
| Baofeng UV-22 | 118 | 60 | 37 | 261,960 | +57% | $35 | +106% |
| Wouxun KG-UV9PX | 124 | 61 | 38 | 287,192 | +73% | $180 | +959% |
| BTECH GMRS-PRO | 127 | 61 | 38 | 294,386 | +77% | $170 | +900% |
As you can see from the chart, the UV-5R comes in way below most of the other options out there for size, the one radio that beats it has a UI that was dated 21+ years ago when it was released, and that radio costs 1370% more at the time of us publishing this. Needless to say... the UV-5R doesn't just win on price to quality ratio... it obliterates the competition and sets a whole new standard.
Still don't believe me? here's the side by side view of the Baofeng UV-5R mini, the Baofeng UV-22 and the Yaesu FT-5DR mini. It's really obvious taht the UV-5R mini is much smaller, and while the UV-22 looks huge by comparison it's still night and day better than the competiton! While the Yaesui FT-5DR looks smaller here... it's a very stout and wide radio.
My Experience With & Why I Still Love the Baofeng UV-5R Mini
So I own a variety of handheld radios ranging from bubble wrap FRS & GMRS radios onwards to the rather pricey Yaesu FT5DR. They've all generally got their purpose, some more specialized than others, and some that failed at their purpose but found other purposes in the quiver The UV-5R remains one of the most used radios in my handheld stable, and has a track record of success for myself and many friends.
Need help backing up your trailer, possibly at night? Having a set of 2x UV-5R minis ready to go in the glove box has helped my friend with this, and I'm going to stash two myself as well.
Want comms with your kid while skiing? We tested our radios at Timberline and were able to broadcast from nearly anywhere on the mountain to anywhere else. With the addition of a local repeater we can hit in the area we have been able to communicate between ski areas in the region without issue.
Are the radios durable, water resistant and able to hang? We've taken ours out in in a sopping wet snowstorm where a foot of snow fell while we were out. While the microphone ports would clog on our handheld from all the moisture... a few whacks of the handheld would clear the mic port out and we'd be right back in business. After the snow storm the radio continues to work.
I got my first contacts on ham frequencies with my UV-5R mini. I've been able to reach quite distant repeaters without issue, some as far as 40 miles away. While I have to admit the audio quality of my Yaesu FT5DR is vastly superior and the radio I default to... at 10x the price, it's not even 2x better. I also expect in situations where I worry about the radio getting stolen or danaged... I'm going to grab the UV-5R mini and not sweat what happens to it.
In conclusion: The UV-5R mini objectively wins nearly any category out there that matters to the vast majority of folks. SHTF? Light, easy to charge, capable with no battery draining bells and whistles? Practical use? It'll do amatuer frequencies, it'll do GMRS* and can be handed to friends, it's got gobs of use cases. Durability? It's proven durable, and at the price you'd need to break 20 of them before you've caught up to the Yasu FT5DR.
Now mark my words and industry be warned... if Baofeng makes a submersible capable version of this radio... they will dominate this sector of the market and sell billions of these radios.