Midland GXT67 GMRS 5-Watt 2-Way Radios

I remember once as a child, my brother and I sending Morse code messages through our walkie talkies. We thought we were quite funny until my father who was listening called us out. Long gone are the days of cheap two-way radios, at least for me anyways. In today’s market there are many great two-way radio options and today I bring you a new one. In the interests of a hunting tool in remote country, I wanted a quality radio set we could use in the big country of the Rocky Mountains. Something we could use during road trips, fishing trips and such where immediate communication coincides with little to no phone service. Today’s subject is the Midland GXT67 GMRS 5-Watt 2-Way Radios.

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Specifications

5 Watts of Power: Maximize two-way Midland radio range
Repeater Capable: Communicate across further distances with 8 repeater-capable GMRS channels.
Heavy Duty: IP67 waterproof and dustproof to withstand all the elements like rain and dust.
Long Lasting: 16-hour battery life with up to 4 days in standby and rapid radios 4-hour rapid charge with included desktop charger, AC wall adapter, 6ft USB-C charging cable, and snap-on DC vehicle charger.
NOAA Weather Alert Radio: Prioritize safety with the latest weather radio information straight from the National Weather Service.

midland, walkie talkies, two-way radios, GXT67, GMRS, 5-Watt, case, — each radio comes in a nice zippered soft case with all these accessories

Features

Repeater capable
5 Watts
IP67 waterproof and dustproof
4-hour rapid charge
Up to 4-day battery life
Intuitive menu interface
Up to 99 GMRS/FRS channels
22 standard GMRS/FRS channels
8 GMRS repeater channels and split tones
28 preset privacy code channels
Up to 49 user-defined channels
142 privacy codes and group mode
38 CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System)
104 DCS (Digital Coded Squelch)
10 groups, 143 group codes
Microphone Automatic Noise Canceling (ANC)
NOAA Weather Alert Radio
Channel scan and Dual Watch Pro scan
Optional interface customization with AVP34 cable
Soft-shell carrying case
Narrow and wideband operation
VOX hands free (4 levels)
10 call alerts
Vibrate alert
SOS siren
Silent operation
Whisper talk
Keypad lock
Headphone jack
3-year warranty

Controls and Menus

By far my favorite feature off these radios is to turn off all the sounds. One thing I always hated about other walkie talkies is the inability to mute the call sounds. Nothing worse when you are trying to sneak through the forest undetected and hear someone key the mic for a startling sound.

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Aside from turning off noises you can also customize functions with vibration notifications and changing colors of the display. You can select Dual Watch function to monitor multiple channels if needed, and you can also select a whisper mode which should come in handy in the fall.

midland, walkie talkies, two-way radios, GXT67, GMRS, 5-Watt, microphone, attachment, — here you can attach a remote microphone, you can see the robust cover even has a rubber gasket to keep out water

While charging the screen turns red, and shows a battery icon and charge status. Once the battery is fully charged, the screen changes to green, making it very quick to determine if a radio is ready for action.

Accessories

The radios come with a belt-clip you can snap into the back, this will keep the radio in place when you are on the move. The Midland shoulder mic is another handy accessory you can attach to the GXT67 radios.

midland, walkie talkies, two-way radios, GXT67, GMRS, 5-Watt, charger, charging, — the red screen indicates it is charging, the screen turns green when fully charged

In the Field

Whether you plan on using these in an urban environment or in the wild country outdoors, there is something for you. While using the GTX67 radios in the city, I found it didn’t take long to find somebody on my same channel. Luckily it wasn’t hard to find the privacy features and set a privacy code.

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I was hoping they would reach a little further up front. I was in a thick city environment, flat ground, with nothing but buildings and such. It turned out to give me around 1.5 miles before losing contact. This was on the medium power setting, with the high power setting they would reach further to around 2-3 miles. The battery power was great lasting easily through an 8 hour work day speaking occasionally. Keeping them charged was easy using either the 120v charging station, or the 12v charger that plugs into your cigarette lighter.

While visiting more remote parts of the country, I found there was much less radio traffic. And in the wide open spaces of the desert we could speak to each other as far as 4 miles away. I found the NOAA weather report by accident while pushing buttons. This turned out to be a happy accident, and we sat and listened to the weather report.

Hiking around through backcountry we were able to keep in touch easily. To be honest I wouldn’t want to be much further away from the rest of my party than these radios will reach. They don’t weigh much which is nice, especially if you are going deep into the mountains. And the repeater function allows a greater distance connections among a group. Midland also sells a repeater module you can mount in the area of use, for better communication.

midland, walkie talkies, two-way radios, GXT67, GMRS, 5-Watt, mountains — the radios were great for communicating in the backcountry

Conclusion

These are definitely a step up from the inexpensive radios you’d buy your kids for a camping trip. They bring professional features and durable batteries and construction for those who need it. They are definitely good enough for my purposes, keeping in touch with those in my hunting party in these big mountains.