The Best Emergency Radios, GearJunkie Tested

It would be hard to find an emergency radio that provides more bang for your buck. The RunningSnail Solar Crank NOAA Weather Radio ($36) provides pretty much all of the features of name-brand radios but at a lower price. The fit and finish aren’t quite there, but after a few years of use now, we haven’t been able to find a weak spot.

The radio tunes in to all of the NOAA weather stations and AM/FM radio. Plus, it can be set to alert you to severe weather, hurricanes, and tornadoes in your area. The slight downside here is that the radio receiver is an analog one — which is common for lower-end radios but is less refined than digital options and more difficult to tune into exact frequencies.

Even still, we were able to hit our local NOAA stations with no problem, and when the weather does hit, an SOS alarm with a flashing red light lets others know that you need help. The 3-mode LED flashlight (spot, flood, and combo) brightens up dark areas, and the USB port lets you charge smartphones and other small devices.

Inside this radio is a 4,000 mAh battery, which has been upgraded since the first iteration we tested and is now one of the biggest available today — which is wild considering the price. This is more than enough to fully charge modern cell phones and keep your radio running for a few days of intermittent listening.

Compared to the solar cells on other emergency radios, we can tell that the version on this radio is of lesser quality, and side-by-side solar charging from dead flat seemed to confirm that. Instead, we recommend recharging this radio by either using the Micro-USB input, replacing the rechargeable cells with three AAA batteries, or, as a last resort, turning the hand crank.

The RunningSnail’s low price provides a great entry into the emergency radio world, with a mixed focus on weather and creature comforts.

With a tough ABS plastic case clad in over-molded rubber bumpers, the Kaito KA500 Voyager Emergency Radio ($50) is a rugged little unit that packs in functionality. Even after dropping it down our cellar staircase, the KA500 kept chugging along, making this our top pick for a rugged emergency radio.

The tradeoff for the tough build is the nearly 1.5-pound weight, but if you need something that won’t break the first time it gets absent-mindedly knocked off the table, this is the radio to consider. In addition, this radio sports the most recharging ability of any radio on our list, including the internal battery pack, solar panel, hand crank, AA battery compatibility, and an optional AC wall plug.

The radio sports a range of band reception that includes AM, FM, and NOAA weather stations, with all seven NOAA channels pre-programmed. Another outsized feature is the ability to receive shortwave radio, which is broadcast globally and brings you news from around the world. In testing, we were able to pick up transmissions from Radio Romania in the evening, as well as the BBC World Service, transmitting from the Ascension Isles off Africa.

The 14.5-inch telescoping antenna increases reception. And the LED signal strength indicator lets you dial in your tuning. It also offers an “Alert” mode, which automatically turns the radio on when it receives emergency weather alerts from NOAA weather stations. Don’t expect a powerful battery for charging other devices, though — the 600 mAh cell is about the smallest we’ve seen. You may want to rely on a portable power bank for that task. 

The KA500 radio literally shines as well, with its included reading lamp, flashlight, and red blinking emergency light. We think that the Midland ER210 is a better all-around option (mostly due to the smaller form factor), but if durability is your top concern, this might be the best emergency radio for you.

The Midland ER310 Emergency Radio ($70) sports a variety of charging options — rechargeable and disposable batteries, solar power, and hand cranks — when wall charging isn’t an option. This variety gives the battery plenty of versatility, even if the whopping 2,600 mAh battery will last for up to 32 hours before you need to use secondary charging options.

It’s mainly that ability to use six AA batteries to power this radio that separates it from the ER210, but there are a few other differences as well that help explain the added $20 expense. The rechargeable battery is slightly bigger, as well, which translates to around 5-6 additional hours of run time in our testing.

The ultrasonic dog whistle — a subaudible tone that rescue dogs can hone in on — may also make the difference in a serious survival situation. We’ve obviously not had the opportunity to test this with real-deal rescue hounds, but our own dogs certainly recognize the noise. An SOS strobe beacon will also assist in the search, and the CREE LEDs powering it are super bright.

When the radio goes down, the efficient hand crank sports a 10:1 listening-to-cranking ratio. This means you’ll get an hour of listening after 10 minutes of crank time. The larger profile compared to the ER210 also means that the solar panel is a bit larger, which translates to quicker charging.

The ER310 lets you listen to AM/FM radio and all seven NOAA weather channels, with an automatic scan feature that finds the strongest weather channel to get emergency information for your location. It also has a handy alert feature that sounds an alarm to indicate severe weather risks in your area.

The ER310’s added expense comes with the added versatility it offers in powering, and if that’s essential for you, going with this radio compared to the Midland ER210 can make a lot of sense.

Considering that it’s about the size of a smartphone, the amount of features that the FosPower Emergency Solar Hand Crank Radio ($40) has packed into this radio is impressive. The 2,000 mAh battery provides close to a full charge to smartphones, and a four-LED reading light and zoomable flashlight keep the dark at bay.

While not quite pocket-sized, this radio is danged close, and we greatly appreciated that when looking for an option we could toss in our glove boxes. Packed size should be highly considered when deciding on an emergency radio, as bulky kit tends to get left behind, and you want to keep your emergency equipment as compact as you can manage.

This radio is more than its compact size, however: It tunes in to standard AM/FM radio and NOAA stations, and it provides emergency alerts when severe weather is approaching. The ergonomic shape makes it easy to grip when turning the crank or using it as a flashlight. We carried this radio in our truck as a backup for a few months and actually needed to employ the light during a late-night tire change — where it worked great.

We loved the FosPower for its water resistance as well. Its IPX3 rating makes it resistant to rain, making it ideal for storms and flooding emergencies (as long as you don’t submerge it). Surprisingly, most emergency radios aren’t waterproof, so you’ll need to care for them as such, but even the splash resistance puts this radio ahead of most.

The solar panel is of similar quality to those seen on the Kaito KA500 or RunningSnail radios, and while it works, we found it lagged behind other options like the Eton Odyssey when attempting to recharge from dead-flat. Even still, if you’re after a slimmed-down emergency radio that still retains a good amount of functionality, the FosPower radio is a great option.

Made to act as a base station emergency radio, the Midland WR210 NOAA Weather Alert Radio ($40) can be mounted to your wall and powered by an AC adapter, making it the ideal home alert system.

While all the radios in our lineup feature NOAA Weather Alert reception, the WR210 takes it one step further with S.A.M.E. localized reception capabilities, which allows it to filter out alerts from areas that don’t affect you. You’ll need to program in your unique county code, but once you’re set-up, this radio will alert you to over 60 different kinds of weather hazards and emergencies in your area.

Made to be powered from a wall outlet, this radio also hosts backup battery power for when the grid is down and has ports for an additional antenna and external alerts such as a strobe. The radio display hosts color-coded alert indicators and can even be toggled through three different languages — English, Spanish, or French.

When an alert comes through, we can confirm that it will get your attention! The 90-decibel tone alert can easily be heard throughout a home. Besides the ability to monitor for specific NOAA weather alerts, the alert volume is one of the biggest reasons that we think a radio like the WR210 is a better scanner than the Baofeng BF-F8HP. You’ll trade sheer ability for user-friendliness, but for most people, this is ideal.

While this radio won’t receive AM/FM frequencies, it does bundle in an alarm clock, and will provide you with a weather alert whenever you’d like with the push of a button. For folks who live in areas that are often frequented by tornados or other severe weather, the WR210 is a wise choice.

With almost everything you could want in an emergency radio, the Eton Odyssey All Band Weather Radio ($80) gives the Midland ER210 a run for its money. While technological advancement isn’t quick with emergency radios, the Odyssey nails a future-forward design with choices like USB-C recharging, multiple power sources, and Bluetooth speaker functionality we’ve yet to see in any other option.

The ‘All-Band’ in the title isn’t joking around on this rig — the Odyssey is like the C.Crane Skywave 2 and Kaito KA500 Voyager in that it tunes into AM/FM, NOAA channels, and shortwave radio, meaning you’ll be pulling in channels from around the globe. The speaker on the radio is also linked up with Bluetooth, so you can bring in your own tunes. We haven’t seen this feature in any other radio to date, so it’s a novel addition.

Powering the Odyssey depends on a multitude of sources, including the rechargeable 2,000 mAh Li-ion cells, hand crank, solar panel, or subbing in your own AAA batteries. It’s this versatility that hedges your bets in an emergency situation, and will keep the radio plugging along for hours on end. We also appreciate the USB output on this unit, which will ‘dump charge’ to your device at a higher than normal rate to top off your phone faster.

All emergency radios look a little utilitarian, and the Odyssey is no different with a rubberized exterior that absorbs bumps and a generous grab handle for clipping off to your pack. At around a pound and a half, the Odyssey is also a bit on the heavier side. For most people, we think that the Midland ER210 has everything you need and is $30 cheaper.

But with the number of features this radio packs in, if you’re after a radio that does it all, the Odyssey should be on your shortlist.

With 70 hours of runtime on two AA batteries, 400 memory presets, and ultralight weight, there are plenty of reasons to love the C.Crane Skywave 2 Pocket Radio ($80). But its ability to tune in to the aviation band makes this radio really stand out.

The aviation band lets you listen to nearby aviation personnel: commercial and general aviation pilots, ground crew, and air traffic controllers as they perform their high-pressure duties. In addition to the aviation band setting, the Skywave 2 tunes in to AM/FM stations, shortwave radio stations, and weather alerts.

A lighted digital LCD display and presets let you dial in your preferred stations quickly and accurately, and the auto-scan feature finds the clearest stations for you. This is the benefit of going with a digital radio receiver compared to the analog receivers in the RunningSnail, Kaito, and FosPower radios, but you do pay more for the hardware upgrade.

Besides access to the weather bands, the Skywave 2 doesn’t offer many emergency features (no flashlight or beacon lights), but it does offer weather alerts and excellent NOAA weather radio reception. With no alternative power sources, you’ll need to have access to batteries. This makes the option land more on the radio side of emergency radios, but with the enhanced reception, we could argue its utility is just different.

Still, if you’re after a through-and-through emergency option, you’ll likely be better served by one of the Midland radios or at least something with backup power generation abilities like the Kaito KA500. Or, to lean even further into radio nerdery, consider the Baofeng BF-F8HP — a real-deal radio that retains some emergency features.

Fair warning: the Baofeng BF-F8HP ($63) isn’t your typical user-friendly emergency radio, nor is it for everyone. This is a fully functional dual-band radio that requires a license from the FCC to broadcast. Still, its broad frequency reception range makes it a popular scanner for those wanting to listen to not only the NOAA weather bands but also local emergency services. Just don’t hit the big button if you’re not licensed.

While this radio certainly won’t be as easy to navigate or operate as turn-key emergency radios like the Midland ER210, the trade-off is pure ability. The 136-174 and 400-520 MHz range is broad enough to receive all of the NOAA stations, AM/FM stations, marine VHF, and local EMS and search and rescue frequencies. You’ll need to search out these channels and plug them into the radio, but a channel memory functionality means you can save your favorites.

Our licensed amateur radio operator uses this radio for backcountry travel and frequently scans the NOAA weather bands during extended stays outdoors. “Not the easiest radio to learn to use, but dang functional,” he said. “I’ve listened to ski patrol organize rescues and caught wind of incoming storms that snuck up on us.” 

Besides the impressive reception ability, the BF-F8HP also plugs in a few additional emergency features. A single LED provides enough light to rummage through your garage to find your fusebox should the power go out. There’s also an alarm mode that flashes and emits a tone to hail help. To be sure, this isn’t your standard emergency radio, and those looking for one would be better served by the Midland ER210 or Eton Odyssey.

The radio itself is powered by a 2,000 mAh rechargeable battery pack, and while it doesn’t come equipped to also be powered by AA batteries, an alternate battery pack is available. If you fancy yourself tech-savvy and have the desire to be able to receive more than the average emergency radio, the customizable BF-F8HP has the chops to do so.

Designed in collaboration with the American Red Cross, the Eton FRX3+ Emergency NOAA Weather Radio ($70) uses a slightly different form factor to create an emergency radio built around the hand crank dynamo. Gripping from above provides a better position, and we could really build up some juice after a few minutes.

Besides the dynamo, there’s also a solar cell to keep this radio topped up, and the 2,600 mAh battery is above average. The radio receives AM/FM stations with digital tuning as well as all seven NOAA weather bands. And the alert function will let you know if severe weather is heading your way.

An LED flashlight on the side of the radio is useful if your headlamp goes out, and the red flashing LED beacon makes you visible to search-and-rescue teams.

For the money, we’d place this radio in the same vein as the Midland ER310 — a slight upgrade over the standard option, with a bit more versatility. If you place a high value on the ease of hand-powering the radio, the Eton makes a lot of sense. In the end, it’s tough to go wrong either way.

The FRX3+ is larger than most of the radios we’ve seen, but the rugged build and carrying handle make it a worthy trade-off. The glow-in-the-dark indicator is also such a head-slappingly simple feature, but it’s a lifesaver when you’re groping around in the dark looking for your radio.

One look at the Sangean MMR-88 Emergency Radio ($70) and you can see that it’s built to take a beating. The black rubber bumpers on the sides protect from drops and bumps, and the IPX3 rating makes it water-resistant, which is handy during the occasional downpour. This Public Alert-certified radio sports a digital AM/FM tuner, receives all seven NOAA stations, and has 19 preset stations.

While not as powerful as some of the other radios on the list, the 850 mAh lithium-ion battery can be recharged via solar or hand-crank power (one minute of cranking gives you 5 minutes of listening time), and the auto-off feature turns the radio off after 90 minutes of play to help stretch its battery life.

Besides the radio’s durability, we also like the emergency features. The triple LED light has four available patterns — low, high, blinking, and SOS — while the loudspeaker and emergency buzzer reveal your location to search parties.

The only drawback we’ve found other than the small battery life is that it doesn’t take standard disposable batteries. But you can swap out the rechargeable battery for other lithium-ion batteries, so you can still double or triple the radio’s life before you need to start cranking away.

For the money, we’d quicker recommend the Midland ER210 to most folks, which, while not specifically overbuilt, can still take some abuse and continue working. It’s also $20 cheaper. That said, if you want a rugged radio (that isn’t as big as the Kaito KA500), the MMR-88 Emergency Radio can be a great choice.