Long-range communications are what separates the civilized from the barbarians, especially when the espresso is on the stove.
You don't need a license to use FRS - Family Radio Service - radios, which are the modern equivilent to the walkie-talkies of years past. FRS radios will work over a short distance, typically no more than 2 miles (3 km).
They're best suited for activities which take people out of sight or earshot, whether in an urban mall or wilderness campsite. FRS radios tend to be small and rugged; children can use them.
FRS radios have 14 channels, each with 38 subchannels. FRS radios, regardless of brand, can communicate with each other. Some manufacturers add privacy or voice scrambling features. They're free to use, and allowed everywhere in the USA. I've seen American tourists use them overseas, but I suspect these run afoul of the letter of the other country's laws.
Technically, FRS radios generate a half-watt power output and transmit FM signals at 460 MHz, which is in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) portion of the radio frequency spectrum.
Because of my excellent experiences with the Kenwood TH-78a handheld ham radio I was open to using a Kenwood FRS, as was recomended by my favorite desert gear queen.
It's an FRS radio, so it has the standard 14 channels with 38 sub-channels, which Kenwood calls "talk groups".
Some impressive features of this radio are:
My only criticisms of the UBZ-LF14 radios are
And there you have it. A few blemishes, but a solid all-around satisfying radio.
What is FRS? 
The Kenwood UBZ-LF14 FRS handheld transceiver was my solution to a vexing outdoors problem: how to communicate with campmates when we're out of earshot? I'm a licensed ham but not everyone was so certified. The Family Radio Service is the perfect fix to this problem: no licensing is required.
