Baofeng UV-5R Mini

Bottom Line

The Baofeng UV-5R mini is ideal for nearly any radio operator. From a novice wanting an affordable price-point entry into the hobby that will be easy and intuitive to use, to the more seasoned Ham radio operator who wants to bring the radio with them off the beaten path, these radios take up no space and pack a large punch. Users who start with the UV-5R Mini and then "outgrow" it are still likely to keep the radio(s) around, as they're compact enough it's always worth having a few charged in your glove box!

Pros

• The most compact Handheld Radio offering out there operating on VHF and UHF.
• Can be had for as little as $34 a pair on Amazon. Less from some iffy direct from china websites.
• One of Baofengs better UI offerings, making it very easy to own and operate.
• Proven Durable and Water resistant in outdoor environments.
• Works on GMRS frequencies out of the box.
• USB-C charging, in our opinion mandatory these days.
• Dual monitor, though not a true dual monitor.

Cons

• Audio can be a bit quiet per many user reports, so just plan on talking louder and knowing where the mic port is.
• Not actually waterproof rated, but per our testing beats most radios claiming they are waterproof.
• No bank/zone support, but can be circumvented but doing 0-99 as one channel, 100-199 as another, etc etc.
• Buttons can be a bit small for those with reduced dexterity, or trying to operate with gloves.
• A single channel mode that shows both frequency and channel would be amazing.
• A "scan session ignore" or "temporary skip" feature would help improve scanning immensely.

Who This Is For

The Baofeng UV-5R Mini has a use case for everyone, which is why we sing it's praises. For novices, the easy UI and cheap price-point make it a great entry into the field. From there, if a user out grows it as their primary radio, it'll always have a use in your life. From coordinating backing up a trailer, to comms on a roadtrip, to all sorts of fun outdoor adventures... these radios will always have a use in your life. Many folks start with these radios, and while they move on to other primary radios, find they wind up owning 4 of these or more.

Testing Notes

As with most handhelds we test, we focused on the functionality of this radio out and about. From car to car communications when road tripping, to around race trick pits, to keeping groups in touch while skiing, these radios were all about highly mobile use. While this can be used as a good first radio at home or in less adventurous settings like your shop, it's compact form factor is best judged in an active envrionment.

Measured Wattage and SWR

NOTE: This test was absurdly funny to perform as the SWR and power meter is significantly larger than the radio itself, haha. Take the SWR readings with a massive grain of salt.

Claimed Wattage: 5W
Measuring Device: Inline Surecom SW-102

***measuring SWR with an inline device is imperfect, but has some value especially as we test every handheld radio the exact same way.

Detailed Review

Let's start off with the size of the UV-5R minis. 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.

Here is the UV-5R mini next to two other competitor radios. The UV-22 (which we've reviewed) and the Yaesu FT-5DR. All outdoor focused radios with fairly modern UIs... and as you can see the UV-5R mini is notably smaller than the other radios.

Here's a side view of the same radios, and you can really see how the Baofeng UV-5R Mini outshines nearly any other radio out there in the compact category!

So by now you're probably saying "We get it, the radio is small, but how does it function!" and let us tell you, it's impressive! We took it skiing on Mt Hood for most of the 2025/26 ski season and utilized it for group comms amongst our group of friends. From making sure we didn't lose each other, to checking in when the group split up, we used the UV-5R mini's up and down the mountain with great success.

Here you can see us using the radio, with me rocking the radio on a chest pack, while my wife has hers on a shoulder sling setup. I also utilized the external microphone, which funny enough is nearly the same size as the UV-5R mini, but it sure does work. Not only were we able to work simplex with our group, but we were able to utilize nearby repeaters with great success, and we were able to work other mountain top repeaters to get extreme range and consistently good signal reports!

So one area that I think a lot of reviews fail to cover is the channel name length on radios. Longer channel names help you convey more meaning quickly. For example look at the top channel. That's a repeater in Hazeldell, UHF frequency to separate it from the other VHF repeater. You can go even simpler and go RV-INFOFORU, which would be short for Repeater Vhf followed by any distinguishing details to help you remember what the repeater is about. VHF? RU-INFOFORU! GMRS repeater? GR-INFOFORU!

We really just sing enough praises for this radio. We own 4 of them and they continue to be extremely useful in daily life. We simply can't endorse these enough, which is why we'e given the Baofeng UV-5R Mini one of our highest ratings ever for a Handheld. It's create a new sub compact category all of it's own, and it competes favorably outside of that category as well.

Accessories we recommend

We picked up these simple over the shoulder compact radio holders as our first holster for the UV-5R mini. They're decent for moderate movement activities like hiking, casual skiing, etc etc... but where they really shined was for when we wanted a radio for group coordination where we also sometimes wanted our hands free. Some examples were helping back up a trailer, walking down to the pit wall at a race to coordinate taking tire temperatures hot off the track... any situation where you needed a radio but also would need your hands free this was a very convenient holster. So convenient infact we ordered two sets of these, and one set lives with our extra set of UV-5R minis in our Ram 3500.

We really like this tactical chest pack for taking the radio on outdoors adventures with us. You can stash cliff bars and other essentials in it, attach a radio to the front with an external mic for ease of communications, and in general just enjoy being able to have comms available to you while being hands free. While the picture above has a handgun in it, when we go skiing off piste we primarily fill ours with medical essentials such as tourniquets, splints, and other such things that you might need in a pinch Mountain biking? Pack a spare tube and some other mild repair supplies!

This waterproof Mic is both affordable and high quality. The mic has worked exceptionally well for us in any condition. We can also attest for certain that the radio is waterproof and has no issues being utilized on a wet and heavy storm day on Mt. hood. Simply chuck the UV-5R in a zip lock bag and run your comms out to this mic. The only way we were able to get the mic to struggle was if it was packed full of snow... and at that point any mic is going to suffer, so this is a option!

You're going to need a cable to program your radio. If you didn't select a radio set of UV-5R minis that comes with a cable, you can purchase just the cable for a vest modest $8, or borrow a cable from a friend or another person in your local ham radio community. This will let you program the radio via CHIRP or any other software you may choose to utilize.

So we found the included "Rubber ducky" antenna included with the radio just fine, and we also found the included extra long antenna to really work for us... but if you want a high performance antenna that is a known and tested quantity, the Nagoya NA-717 dual band antenna is the heavyweight champion of HT antennas.

Other Fun Uses Of the UV5R Mini

The UV-5R mini finds itself in all sorts of unique places due to it's compact size and larger than life capabilities. Here you can see a roll bar mount designed by Shred Jesse for utilizing the UV-5R mini for comms in a race car while at the track. Other folks utilizes these with their hand gilder setups, and in general in robust outdoor situations these radios are frequently utilized!

Final Verdict

The UV-5R radio is probably the most popular radio of 2025 and 2026 by sales numbers and commentary on the internet. The UV-5R mini radio is finding it's way into all sorts of users hands and bringing many users, new and old, together. We gave the radio high marks for it's amazing capabilities relative to it's size and cost, and we simply cannot endorse it enough. If you don't have one, don't get one, GET TWO!