Home > Consumer Reviews > Cobra MR HH125 Compact Waterproof Marine Handheld VHF Radio with 1 or 3 Watts, All Weather Channels, and Weather Alert (Black)

This is a short-term review, as it has only been in use for less than a month. I also have a Uniden MHS350 radio, which is a much heavier duty VHF radio that this Cobra model.


Comparison between the two:


The Cobra is about 1/2 the cost

Cobra is about 1/2 the weight, and smaller in size - much easier to clip to your PFD or jacket/belt while on the water.

Cobra is "splash resistant" while Uniden is "water proof - submersible" which means that you probably should carry the Uniden unit in a plastic baggie if you are using it on a kayak (where things tend to get wet frequently).

battery life is moderate - using AAA batteries, it lasts for a full day or so before needing fresh batteries. The MHS350 on the other hand, will last a week or more of all-day use with its NMh battery pack, and it includes a back-up battery and dual-slot charger.


Feature-wise the Cobra does a good job of covering the basics - a full channel selection for all VHF channels, plus NOAA weather. The squelch is not infinitely adjustable, but has a couple of "steps" controlled by a single button. There is no scan feature (unlike the Uniden, which will scan as many channels as you choose in memory on a continuous basis).

Bottom line, if you want to add the safety of having a VHF radio with you while you kayak, I recommend the Cobra unit based on its price and its small size and weight. I would not recommend it for heavier usage (like daily on a boat) because it is definitely made from cheaper materials, and will also not go very long on a charge/set of batteries.

Update 9/29/09:
I just got another one of these for a friend, and after the second outing, it started acting up (it would operate fine for about 10 minutes, then "lock up" and would not respond to any commands or inputs from the buttons. The unit has been sent back to Cobra, and based on past experience, I am hopeful that they will replace the unit without any fuss. I'll update the review when I hear back from them.

Overall it's a decent Handheld. Decent range and sound. The problem however is that it comes only with a 12V car charger. In other words you can't charge it @ home. New cars don't charge if they are not on and the initial charge is 10 to 12 hours.. I don't know how they expect us to charge it??? Leave it on the boat or in the car???? I bought a four battery Ray-O-Vac charger but this device comes with Five batteries and chargers usually charge in pair.. So you are left with one uncharged battery. One needs to buy a 110-6V adapter & it seems and Cobra Does not sell one ( I checked their website). So major glitch and thus I do not recommend to buy this unit except if you have a better idea or if you keep it on the boat "plugged"..

Kept on Scan fully charged batteries would last 8 hours no more...

It's small, compact and works very well, It fits in my boat carry on bag on my boat or any boat I'M on. Weather channels are handy no matter if I'M going boating, diving or for a motorcycle ride. Very good product at a good price.

I got this for my PWC (jet ski) as I'm on the great lakes and off-shore. For the price I found this radio to be perfect for basic communications with my other boating friends as well as piece of mind for emergency use.

Worked well talking with other boats, NOAH weather radio comes in fine, clear sound. I like the fact that you can scan multiple channels. For example channel 16 is the general hail and emergency channel, whereas in my area channel 68 is the general `chat' channel. With a single push of a button I listen to my normal chat channel and also scan the emergency bands.

Waterproof is not an issue. Some others seem to have issues, but I have not. Looking at the radio it seems to be generally waterproof. Mine did get dunked a bit, and constantly gets splashed. No issues so far (two months of use). Don't put this in the water 3 feet under for 30 min to see if it still works, but with some common sense you should not have any issues. Although it is rated to be underwater like that, I don't suggest doing that. If this is only for emergency use, then keep it and the 12V charger in a plastic zip lock.

Easy to use, I did not need to read the manual, but you should if you don't know marine radio etiquette (when to say `over' and when to say `out' and don't talk on 16 unless it's an emergency).

I did a ton of research on the different models and brands - and in the end wanted a best value/point handheld marine radio - mostly for emergency , but also for light use - I did not need high end. This cobra is what I found and after two months of use am happy with it.

On the negative side I wish it could transmit at 5 watts

Picked up one for the kayak and it worked great until it got dunked in 2ft of water for 10 seconds. Came up dead. Set it back to Cobra and they sent a replacement witch didn't work out of the box. Wrote the unit off and bought a high-end handheld. Don't take a chance with this if it might get wet.