Five radios, five jobs.
- Best overall (~£220): Standard Horizon HX890 — IPX8, GPS-DSC.
- Best premium (~£300): Icom IC-M94D — built-in AIS, the offshore pick.
- Best budget (~£100): Icom IC-M37 — no DSC but 14-hour battery, bombproof.
- Most compact (~£130): Standard Horizon HX320 — tiny, submersible.
- Spare (~£70): Cobra MR HH350W — cheap, floats.
Quick spec comparison.
The five picks, in detail.
Standard Horizon HX890
Best overallThe modern successor to the HX870 — the benchmark handheld DSC radio for cruising. Class-D DSC with built-in GPS, full submersibility, large backlit display.
If you want one handheld and never have to think about it again, this is it. Build, battery, audio, and feature set all top-tier without premium money.
No AIS receiver. If you sail busy commercial waters and want target overlay on a handheld, look at the IC-M94D.
Icom IC-M94D
Best premium (offshore)The only mainstream handheld with a built-in AIS receiver. Targets appear on the radio with CPA / TCPA — useful when your tablet dies or you're in the cockpit without the plotter.
Offshore and night-passage cruisers who want AIS at the helm regardless of which other systems are powered. The AIS alone justifies the gap over the HX890 for serious bluewater use.
Lower IPX (IPX7, not IPX8) and shorter battery than the HX890. The AIS receiver chews power if left running.
Icom IC-M37
Best budgetNo DSC, no GPS — but exceptionally well-built with a 14-hour battery that beats most premium handhelds. The honest workhorse: cheap, robust, reliable.
If you already have a fixed-mount DSC radio and want a handheld backup that won't break the bank, this is the pick. Battery life is excellent.
No DSC means no distress alert button — fine as a backup, not enough as a primary handheld offshore.
Standard Horizon HX320
Best compact / racingThe smallest fully-submersible handheld here. No DSC, no GPS — just a properly waterproof radio that fits in a pocket. Popular on racing dinghies and tenders.
Racing, dinghy use, tender comms — anywhere weight and pocketability matter more than feature count. Submersible at this size is impressive.
Small radio = small battery = shorter life on long passages. Not a primary radio.
Cobra MR HH350W
Ultra-budget backupAbout as cheap as a serious marine handheld gets in 2026. Floats. Built well enough. A secondary radio for the dinghy or grab bag.
Backup for the grab bag, dinghy, or a spare. At this price you can have one in the cockpit and one in the abandon-ship bag.
Don't use this as your only handheld offshore — no DSC, no GPS, and Cobra's long-term reliability sits below the Icom / Standard Horizon tier.
What to actually look for.
DSC — get it if you can afford it
A single press of the distress button transmits your MMSI, GPS position, and a distress signal to every DSC radio in range plus the Coastguard. Without DSC, distress is voice-only. If this is your only handheld, get DSC; if you have a fixed-mount DSC radio, a non-DSC handheld works as backup.
Built-in GPS — required for proper DSC
DSC alerts are only useful if they include your position. The good radios have an internal GPS. Without it, the button transmits "I'm in trouble somewhere" instead of "I'm in trouble at 50°48'N 1°08'W."
AIS receiver — luxury for coastal, useful offshore
Built-in AIS in a handheld is rare; the IC-M94D is the only mainstream example. Useful offshore where you don't want AIS tied to a tablet that might die — overkill for coastal hopping where the plotter already has AIS.
Waterproofing — IPX7 vs IPX8
IPX7 survives temporary submersion to 1 m for 30 min; IPX8 survives sustained submersion. Both are fine for a wet cockpit. Well-built IPX7 radios shrug off everything most cruisers throw at them.
Output power — 5 W or 6 W
6 W is the max on a handheld in most jurisdictions. Range is limited far more by antenna height than watts — a handheld at chart-table level gets 5–8 NM regardless of power, because VHF is line-of-sight. Don't pay extra for 6 W alone.
Battery life — overrated on premium, underrated on budget
Premium handhelds often have shorter batteries because they pack more features. The IC-M37's 14 hours is genuinely impressive. Over 10 hours covers a full day of intermittent listening. Carry a spare battery or 12 V lead offshore.
FAQ.
Does a handheld replace a fixed-mount radio?
No. A fixed-mount at the chart table wired to a masthead antenna gets ~25 NM; a handheld ~5–8 NM. The handheld is a backup, a cockpit-portable, and an abandon-ship radio — not a replacement. Every cruising boat should have both.
Do I need an SRC qualification?
In the UK, yes — operating a marine VHF requires the Short Range Certificate, and a Ship Radio Licence covers the radio. For the theory, our free VHF / SRC quizzes cover the exam content.
What about ATIS for inland waters?
ATIS is required on inland European waterways (Rhine, Danube). Most modern handhelds here support ATIS programming via the menu — check the spec sheet if inland use is your primary case.
Float vs sink — does it matter?
Some handhelds float (Cobra MR HH350W); a radio that floats and flashes when wet is useful if you drop it overboard. But floaters tend to be budget models — you trade DSC for buoyancy. A premium DSC radio on a tethered lanyard is the better answer.
How often should I replace it?
A good marine handheld lasts 7–10 years before salt and battery degradation catch up. Battery packs are replaceable on the Standard Horizon and Icom models, extending life; Cobra packs are harder to source.