UPDATE: My radio's built-in microphone died after a week. Suddenly nobody could hear me. After double-checking my settings and a bit of troubleshooting, I plugged in an external mic and it worked. I contacted the seller via Amazon and a replacement was shipped immediately. Hopefully this new one holds up better. I'll let you know if it doesn't.-------------------------------------------------If you liked the UV-5R radios, you'll like this one too. It's a generally improved remodel, not a big departure. I have a UV-5R, a UV-5RE+ and now a BF-F8HP. They are essentially interchangeable. BaoFeng makes a LOT of very similar models. I suspect they will put a custom model # sticker on any slight variation for anyone who is willing to order a significant number of them. But I digress...I program all of these, as well as several other "UV-5R" variations owned by friends using CHIRP. They have various different firmware versions, so when sharing programs it will complain about not changing certain system settings, but they accept the same programming and change all the frequency presets etc. just fine, which is all most people will be concerned with.If you are unlicensed and not a big radio geek, these are still far superior to "blister pack" radios available at Wal-Mart or the sporting goods store. While they are certainly not as easy to use, if you have someone in your group who can manage to download and install CHIRP and spend 5 minutes googling for the appropriate frequencies, you can use some of the 128 memory channels to store all the FRS, GMRS and MURS channels (there are still some restrictions here), plus NOAA, your favorite country music station and any other channels that might be of interest, at least for listening. Radios like this DO come with more responsibility though. Because they have a bit more power and the ability to transmit on licensed or private/restricted frequencies, YOU need to make sure you understand what you are doing and follow the rules. Transmitting on the wrong frequencies can have an impact ranging from slightly annoying to genuine danger (talking over police/EMS dispatch or railroad dispatch etc.)For a beginning ham, this is a great option. Does 8 watts make a significant difference in performance over 4-5? Nope. Not for most people. You'd be better off buying the UV-5R and putting the savings into a better antenna, like a Nagoya NA-711. Standing on a step ladder will probably do more for your ability to hit distant stations than a couple extra watts. But, if an extra $30 isn't a big deal to you, why not get the extra power, extra battery capacity AND a real antenna? This radio has all of the features needed for most users, good build quality (especially for the money), good interoperability with other similar models and performance that meets or exceeds all the manufacturers claims.