Excellent small tri-band radio! As advertised, this handheld transceiver has a large, easy to read screen with selectable colours, a strong speaker, and low drain on the standard battery. I gave this five stars because it was well worth the cost. That said, there are just a few modifications that would make this the perfect small tri-bander: 1), that the on/off volume knob have either a little more resistance against accidental change or have a notch-type ratchet movement, and 2) that the included dual band and 220-only band antennas have some marking to distinguish them APART from the inscription that is hidden when the antenna is installed. If you are careless, or if someone else changes the antenna without your knowledge, you could be transmitting with the wrong antenna. Otherwise, the radio itself is excellent.

It's not a Yaesu or an Icom or a Kenwood, but for the price it's well worth it for those on a budget.

great ht for low price

As advertised. I did buy the dual antenna after using the 2 antenna that it came with. Haven't had it very long but I am able to get multiple repeaters in my area. Am very pleased so far

Update- 7/17/19- one star added, it’s a sturdy unit and I haven’t had any problems. Battery lasts a long time between charges. If you have questions don’t bother posting them here. You won’t likely get help other than, “get a book and learn how to do it”. Anyone asking a novice question is assumed to be not licensed.This is a very complicated piece of equipment. I’m a complete newbie and assumed the “chirp” program would be easy to use. IT IS NOT! Do not assume it is as easy as input a number and you can listen, there is a bunch of other things that need to be set. The device itself seems good and the battery lasts a long time. Bottom line- if you know what you’re doing-it’s great. If you you’re not into ham radio, be prepared to work! It’s worth the price.

The radio programmed easily, good range and clarity. I haven't used it extensively yet but so far works great.

Con: still falls over on the coffee table , the standard I use to judge a HT....but on the plus side this is a 3 band radio , but you can only listen or use one at a time ...only one audio output or volume control. not two like my true dual band ht the kenwood 79..but good for the price and programming it with chirp and usb was great.BTECH UV-5X3 5 Watt Tri-Band Radio:...I use sync mode to lock the bands together and one line of the display shows the frequency and the other shows the repeater name/location.

Great value for money so far.

This is probably my new favorite Chinese radio. It’s not so much the 3 bands but Baofeng finally added a display sync option so you can choose to have the upper line display the alpha name and the lower line display the frequency or channel number instead of being stuck with the fake "dual watch" format of all the previous models with only one line for the active channel.You also press and hold the 3 key (Scan) and in VFO mode the radio will prompt you for a frequency range (to the nearest Mhz). So if you want to say scan 144 to 148 Mhz you just enter 144148 and it will scan from 144.0000 to 148.9875 (subject to the default step size configured). There are few other improvements as well. It works with the free CHIRP software (look under BTECH not Baofeng).This also supposedly uses the latest chipset and RF design. I get better audio reports and the receiver seems somewhat less prone to intermod and desense issues.It does work with all the same UV-5R accessories including batteries, battery eliminators/AA packs, antennas, programming cable, headphones/microphones, etc. It comes with the supposedly "improved" 2m/70cm antenna that's a bit longer than the original UV-5R antenna. In testing I don't really notice much difference. Get a genuine Nagoya if you want a real upgrade.I measured it at 4 watts actual output on high into an ideal 50 ohm load with a reasonably fresh battery. This is similar to all the other "5 watt" Baofengs.Why only 4 stars? Because it still has many of the same annoyances as the UV-5R and the confusing plethora of previous similar models. For example the "BAND" button isn't needed and indeed was omitted from the BF-F8HP. In VFO mode you can enter any frequency in any of the 3 bands and the radio automatically chooses the correct band. In Memory/Channel mode, the BAND button does nothing. It still has the annoying alarm function that can be triggered by mistake. And you still can't power or charge the radio via a power connector on the radio. It has to be placed in the charging base. And the scanning is still on the slow side.It's also annoying and potentially destructive it doesn't ship with a tri-band antenna. So you have to haul around an extra antenna and remember to swap them around if you plan to use the 220 Mhz band and either of the other bands. If you forget which one is on the radio, and transmit on the wrong band, you could damage the radio due to high SWR.Overall, this is the first Baofeng radio I think might worth paying extra for compared to the UV-5R. It's a more refined version of the UV-5R with some potentially useful added features. Even though it's about twice the price It's still a good value compared to many alternatives. All the radios designed in China have issues but this one at least has fewer than most.

Good price for the item