Hand held radio

Hi - a major Adelaide retailer of these units recommends a Uniden UH078.
I want a powerful unit - this is 5W. It comes with a 12v car charger and a second battery at $479.00 For this I get one radio!

I want to use this for monitoring traffic whilst travelling and for my wife and I to carry with us when we leave our (fairly remote) campsite for a hike.

2 radios would be good - if I go off on my own my wife could have one back at camp to allow us to keep in touch.

If we are out walking together we could (possibly) call for assisitance in the event of one of us twisting an ankle etc etc etc. I do realise that these radios are limited and that sat phones and HF etc are better - I've discounted those.

Any comments on these units from users would be welcome.

[I can attach an external aerial to this model when in the car thus extending its effective range]

Cheers
Geo