I bought a pair of these for a Wednesday-to-Friday trip to Disneyland in May 2000. I felt it would be a good "acid test" since there might be enough interference from other FRS radios and all the structures at the  park. The TalkAbout performed surprisingly well; but I also realized that  it lacked some features which I needed. Here's my best breakdown of the  issues. RANGE: Exceeded my expectations. I was able to get a clear  reception from outside the Candy Cane Inn (Harbour and Katella) to the area  just outside Small World. I haven't calculated the distance but I think  it's about 0.5 miles (you may want to check this). We got a bit of static  from the Disneyland Hotel monorail station to the Matterhorn. CLARITY: I  can't really compare this model to other FRS radios (haven't tried them)  but the only time we had problems understanding one another was when we  would get "stepped-on" by less-considerate FRS-users on the same  channel and code. The CTCSS codes (aka "privacy codes") were  effective in squelching out other transmissions. I recall only receiving  two calls from other parties on Friday when the park was really crowded.  The microphone was remarkably sensitive. I had the unit clipped to my  camera bag strap which ran across my chest (about 5-6 inches under my chin)  and was able to talk normally while depressing the transmit button with my  index finger. POWER CONSUMPTION: The Kirkland (Costco) alkalines lasted  about 29 hours until early Friday. (Yes. You turn them on and leave them on  in standby mode.) The battery power indicator was helpful. We probably  spent 20% of our time transmitting and the rest on standby. STURDINESS: I  dropped one on the concrete and it landed on its bottom. It was fine. The  antenna and case are ruggedized but likely not indestructible. EASE OF USE:  Even the technically-challenged members of our party had no problem  "guessing" how the controls worked. Motorola's button layout is  one of the better ones (but I could imagine having some problems with the  smaller buttons if you were skiing and had gloves). PROBLEMS: The only  problem we had was that there was a lot of channel congestion on Friday at  the park. The park can swell up to 77k guests in a day so the 532  combinations can get used up fast. SUMMARY AND WISHLIST: Am happy overall  but I think I'll be returning these to get a more expensive unit which  vibrates when receiving incoming calls (for those more quiet environments).  I'd also prefer a real splash-resistant unit if I was out on a rainy day. I  don't think I need a smaller palm-sized unit as this size fit me just fine.  The TalkAbout performed well enough that other members of our group decided  to buy FRS radios for themselves in preparation for the next family reunion  at the mouse-house. We also found these useful for exchanging driving  directions when leaving the park for some fancy restaurants in Orange  County.