Home > Consumer Reviews > Cobra LI 6500-2 WX VP 20-Mile GMRS/FRS 2-Way Radio (Twin Pack)

I've owned GMRS radios from several different manufacturers in the last few years. This is my first Cobra set. What surprised me at first was the construction of this unit. It appears to be 'built to last'. It's obvious that there is a higher degree of quality that goes into this radio than in some other manufacturer's radios. The buttons are designed to greatly minimize accidental 'pushing'. For each button, you have to depress the soft rubbery outer button cover with purpose to effect the change. Speaker sound quality is excellent as well. This particular model has about as many different functions as you'll find in any GMRS radio today (although voice scramble would be a nice addition)! I have not tested this radio at full advertised distance because I will probably never use it under fully optimal transmit/receive conditions anyway. Beware, the picture for these radios on Amazon.com is slightly deceptive. They do not have a flat bottom so they will not stand up on their own. All in all they are well worth the money!!

I bought a pair of Midland radios for use while fishing in Alaska, but they died from condensation build-up. I was totally disappointed in them, but these little Cobras do the job. So far, they've survived a couple of fishing trips, being banged around in a backpack, and various other mild torture tests including my two-year old son.

They seem much more suitably built for outdoor use then the other radios I've had or looked at. They are tight and solid feeling. Range varies, as with all radios in this class. Sound clarity could be a little better, but it's not bad. Battery life is good but not great and they take a while to recharge. The buttons are designed a little funny and can be annoying to push one-handed, and it has a step-volume rather then a knob which I would prefer, but overall I think these are good little radios. I would recommend them.

These definitely outperform motorola equivalents. As expected the real range is a very dependable 2 miles under normal circumstances. Voice is clear. The auto squelch is a bit too agreesive, eliminating fairly strong signals so you need to occationally turn it off - which is easy to do.

Do to their small size these are good alternatives for use on cruise ships or in Europe where roaming charges will eat you alive...

The Cobra LI 6500-2 WX VP 20-Mile GMRS/FRS 2-Way Radios work great. I especially like the small size and clear audio.

The distance is far from 20 miles but I know enough to realize that is a theoretical specification that would require nothing in between the line of sight of the two units. I never actually measured the distance but am happy with the performance. In our lake community where we use them I easily get several miles with houses, power lines, trees and hills between the two units.

I feel these radios are feature packed and a good value and I would buy again.

With the exception of the range reception, this is a fine radio set. They are compact, and easy to use, the vibration feature is also appreciated. The best set of four that we have used. We always find that Cobra seems better than other makes. The problem of reception was encountered on a 700 mile trip, when we were in two cars. The reception was only good for a distance up to 4 or 5 miles between the cars on an Interstate flat non mountainous highway. However in open land out in the country they seem to work fine, but we are unable to vouch for distant reception there.