I assume you are talking UHF?

I've used them for hunting and the more watts the better.  We used to use 5W units.

Uniden and Rhino make good gear.

Where are you skiing - I presume somewhere without mobile phone signal?

Theres a few UHF/PRS (CB) threads about.

UHF is line of sight, and .5W will do you for a Km or so direct line comfortably. 5W, well you could reach repeaters from up there :)

We will be skiing at Mt Ruapehu.  Whilst there is cellphone signal, it is easier to teach the kids to use radios than cellphones, and they are more appropriate for their age than cellphones.  On top of which they are easier to use in the cold, they are a one off cost as opposed to an ongoing one, and we will use them when camping, tramping and cycling.  It also means everyone in the family group can hear, so we all know what's going on rather than having to relay messages from one to another via cellphone. 

jasonwaiheke:

 

We will be skiing at Mt Ruapehu.  Whilst there is cellphone signal, it is easier to teach the kids to use radios than cellphones, and they are more appropriate for their age than cellphones.  On top of which they are easier to use in the cold, they are a one off cost as opposed to an ongoing one, and we will use them when camping, tramping and cycling.  It also means everyone in the family group can hear, so we all know what's going on rather than having to relay messages from one to another via cellphone. 

 

I tried a couple of the cheaper UHF PRS skiing a couple of years ago and found the biggest problem is actually hearing them "ring"

Even in a chest pocket unless you are riding a lift its really hard to hear the pickup call....

Wearing them externally is one solution, but the cold hammers the battery life...

Thanks wellygary, I didn't think it was that much noisier on the slope than it was on the chairlift, I know it can be noisier around the motor getting on.  I was looking at the UH515-2 which seems reasonable price and feature wise...  Hopefully if it is set loud enough we could hear it then turn it down for the conversation, but I don't know.  But they will be for more than skiing when we get them.

I am trying to workout if I need one with a 1.5W TX output power rating (UH515-2) or if I can get away with something lower like a 1.0Watt or 0.5Watt.  The range is from 3Km+ at the lower end to 10Km+ at the higher end.