Hey everyone!
I am kinda new to the whole two-way radio thing & Want advice from the more experienced folks here. I have gotten into hiking with a couple of friends & we thought it would be smart to carry two-way radios in case we split up on the trail or lose cell signal.
I have seen a bunch of options online—some from Midland, BaoFeng & Motorola but I have no clue what I should be looking for. We are not doing anything super extreme, just weekend hikes in the mountains and forests.
Main things I care about: decent range, clear audio, battery life & something that won’t break the bank.
Also i have check this post Best two way radio for Canada Fishing tripcspo course Any suggestions or personal experiences would be super appreciated! 
Thank you.
Well first off are you licensed for ham or GMRS? If no then that cuts down some of the choices. Next where do you live and where will you be hiking and doing your outdoor activities? Locations matter due to different radio regulations in different countries. Third how far do you need/plan to communicate?
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The simple answer is that most radios are very similar in performance, so the department store kids radios may well be little different from very expensive ones. Range is always short. So worst case is that ten minutes walking in opposite directions may be too far!
What is crucial is battery life. Bigger radios usually mean more battery life, so 8 hours is OK. A few are bigger sized and higher capacity, but even then the ratio of listen to talk is important. Having a busy fifteen minute chat eats the batteries up. On receive, a few days between charges can be common.
Every country now seems to have simple licence free systems, and then licensed versions. Differences are quite subtle. Cheap ones have little privacy because everyone shares a few channels. Miles from anywhere, there is no-one else! In a city, it can be chaos. Some more expensive ones can be waterprooof, dirt cheap ones are not. Some can charge from a usb cable, so power banks are possible. Others have a dedicated mains power charger. It really is practical stuff like that. Radios for radio hams usually have loads of gadgets, gizmos and need operator skill, and of course an exam! Radios for a restaurant work out of the box, cover a few hundred yards and are cheap.