I need some new HT's for my family. We use 2m every day. Because we're all mobile (the kids are driving) and we only have one 'phone,' 2-meter is the backbone of our family communication. We're all licensed. We have mobile units in all the cars. We also have excellent repeater coverage, and we use 2m for hiking, bicycling, when walking the dog, backpacking, hunting, paddling, backcountry skiing and more.
For the past 12 years, we've been using Kenwood TH-K20A handhelds. They've met all our expectations. They're simple, easy to program, easy to clone configurations (we use 100 memories). The battery life has stayed decent. That's remarkable after 12 years. Because the NiMH batteries are returned the charger every day and they don't calendar age like Li-Ion. Well, apparently, they're discontinued.
I could try to buy them on eBay, classifieds or whatever second-hand. Or I could replace them with something new. I'd buy at least a pair of new ones and then another pair if they met all my expectations. I'd continue to use the remaining Kenwoods while I could.
I don't want expensive ($400-600) HT's with a lot of colorful features I don't use and that cost me too much if I lose one. We've lost one over the last 12 years. I am willing to pay for quality, durability, protection, power, and battery capacity. I don't mind Li-Ion as long as I can replace the batteries every few years with new ones, not NOS, and they still make them after 10 years.
Dual-band doesn't add anything for me. I just don't use 70cm or anything but 2m on an HT. I realize though that the better radios often are dual or more.
The Kenwoods are 7 oz. and small enough. I don't want anything bigger or much heavier or over 12 oz. Those old die cast Motorola beasts are great for tire chocks, but I don't want to carry one everyday.
Yaesu FT-4XR -- a little shorter, not too heavy at 8.8oz, with a more powerful battery, more audio power, low price. But looks like it doesn't even have IP54 rating. I don't need a particular specification, but I do need ruggedness. If one bites the dust, it's cheap to replace, but I'd hate to have it fail when I needed it backpacking or on a bicycle tour. It's also a direct conversion receiver. Is that the fad because of SDR or because of cheap Chinese radios?
Yaesu VX-6R -- claimed to be more rugged, IP67 rated, but $250. A Double-conversion Super-heterodyne receiver.
ICOM IC-V80 -- IP54 rated HT with a powerful battery. The Sport AA-battery version is super cheap, but the Li-ION battery pack doubles the price. This is double super het.
ICOM IC-T10 -- no general receive? direct conversion? This could have been an excellent Japanese-made HT with IP67 rating, but I want to receive Sheriff, Fire, and SAR frequencies.
ICOM IC-V86 -- another direct conversion receiver? Can we call this the Baofeng effect? It's got power and battery capacity, but does it perform?
Unless I learn something I don't know now, I'm leaning towards collecting more TH-K20A's from the classifieds or upgrading to the VX-6R. The newer models have some attraction, but I'm concerned they're built for profit margins rather than the pride of craftsmanship that used to be characteristic of amateur radio.