Cobra TrailBlazer 250 GMRS 2-Way Radio Pair, Orange and Black

When my Trailblazer 250 radios arrived, I was delighted to see that they were packaged in an elegant and ingenious origami of recyclable cardboard using an absolute minimum of plastics. Not only is the packaging friendly to the environment, the design was so elegant that it was a joy to unpack the radios and the few accessories. I particularly liked the little handle tabs that made it obvious and easy to pull out whatever piece was next. I had to use those tabs several times each looking for the printed manual which I expected to find. Sadly, the only hint of a manual is a QR code that leads you to a quick start guide. I'm old school enough to really miss a good manual. All the same, I dutifully got out my smart phone and used the QR code to get to the quick start guide. There it told me to insert and charge the batteries. That wasn't really useful information. I could figure that much out for myself. What I want from a manual is to let me know HOW LONG it should take to fully charge the batteries. And the Quick Start Guide mentions that the battery icon flashes while charging. I can see that as soon as I plug in the charger. What I want the guide to tell me is what will be the indication when it is fully charged? No help there at all. I have to wait for it to fully charge and just see what changes, I guess. So far, the quick-start guide has been less than helpful. Even before charging, I can say a few things about the radios themselves. The overall feel of the radio is good. It fits comfortably in the hand, and the controls are easy to access. The belt clip is slightly cumbersome to slide onto the belt and a little too easy to slide OFF. There's no ramp to help guide the clip over the belt, so I have to use a finger to pry the clip away from the radio to get it onto my belt. Conversely, when I sit in the car, the radio can easily be pushed off my belt by the car seat. Not ideal, but not a big issue, either. I can understand that without a headset, the user will have to remove the radio from the belt for each use, so I get why you'd want to make it easy to slide off, but why not have the clip sloped so that it's east to slide on also? The package contains two radios, two sets of batteries that need to be charged, and exactly ONE USB-C to USB-C charging cord. So, apparently Cobra believes we all want to charge our radios one at a time, waiting overnight for two nights before being able to use our new toys to the fullest. *sigh* I went and found another charging cord so I could charge the two radios in parallel. To my mind, the second cord should have been included in the package. Not a big deal for us Android phone users, but could be a problem for the iPhone crowd with their special charging cords, they're less likely to have extra USB-C cables about. After waiting overnight, the charging indication shows no change, so I waited another six hours - still no change. I removed the radios from their chargers and upon turning them on, saw that they indicated a full charge. Plugged back into the charger and still the same charging indication. So, apparently, while charging the user is given no indication of the charging progress. That's a disappointment. But, my radios are fully charged, so I can sally forth and give them a try. We were able to get out to do a field test of the TB250s today. One radio remained in a fixed location, while the other was carried during a two mile walk through a residential neighborhood. Talking alternated between the two radios at about 1 minute intervals with each radio experiencing about 50% talk time, which is quite a bit higher usage than would be typical. The fixed location was in an office with two typical desktop computers. The local noise from the computers became an issue for receiving at the fixed location when the other radio went beyond 300 yards away, with communication being unusable at 320 yards and beyond. This receive performance was compared to a competitor's GMRS radio with very similar results, so I suspect that this kind of interference from home computers is quite typical. At this point, the fixed radio was moved to a room away from the computers. Communication was solid throughout most of the rest of the walk, experiencing noted mobile flutter only at the furthest portions of the walk, between 1000 and 1100 yards from the house. All testing was done on GMRS channel 1 as the provided information gives no reason to select any other channel. Both radios showed three of four bars of battery after this 50 minute heavy usage test. At one point, we discovered that the radio includes a time-out-timer feature. At about 1 minute and 50 seconds, the radio starts emitting short beeps for ten seconds, then a continuous beep at 2 minutes until PTT is released. I didn't see any way in the menu to alter the TOT settings. It's a nice feature, though. Both users found the PTT button to be undersized, causing finger or thumb fatigue after using it for just a few minutes. The pressure required to activate the center of the switch is not unreasonable, but the button is so small that the finger needs to press on the edges as well and the overall force required to keep the button pressed is therefore a little too much. Users who would use PTT a lot throughout the day would be wise to use a headset with an easier PTT switch. The walking test was followed up with a driving test, with the radio handheld inside a car. Note that in many states, it is illegal for the driver to operate a handheld communication device while driving, so check your local laws, or have a passenger manage the radio. We found that we had reliable communication within a radius of about 0. 8 miles, or about 1400 yards. This is more than adequate for any scenario that we expect to need the radios for and we were quite pleased with the results. Although the TB250 supports a myriad of available privacy code systems to mitigate co-channel interference from other users, during our tests we encountered no other GMRS signals, so the opportunity to try those out simply wasn't present. These features will be more important to users in more highly populated areas, such as near city centers. After completing our testing, I perused the Quick Start Guide one last time, looking for a mention of the Time-Out-Timer feature, and discovered a link to a full user's manual. The user's manual online is well written, and explained some menu features for me, including the Roger Beep, which is off by default, but a handy feature. There is no mention in the User's Manual of the Time-Out-Timer feature, so I presume there is no way to adjust the timer duration. My conclusions. The TB250 radios performed admirably and are comfortable, easy to use, and rugged. They should provide excellent communication in ranges under 1/2 mile in most conditions, but beware of local noise sources like home computers which might cut that range to a few hundred yards. Pros are: Very easy to use and understand, rugged and lightweight, making them easy to carry. Cons: PTT switch a bit too small for regular heavy usage, and belt clip a little cumbersome at times. Overall an excellent radio for anyone wanting to use the GMRS radio frequencies for person to person or group communications.

I am not a pro climber, just go hiking and camping with friends some times. We go to Rocky Mountains last month, and I bought the TrailBlazer 250 radios before my trip. Wow—very good choice! Radio is easy to use. Just charge, turn on, and talk. We're not expert people, but we figure out quick. Signal is strong, even when my friend far away, other side of big hill. Sound is clear, no scratch noise or drop signal. Weather got bad one day, wind and snow, but radio still work like normal. I drop mine one time on a rock, but no problem. Very strong build. Battery last long too—3 days no charge and still working! Make trip feel more safe. We talk easy, check where people are, no worry. I feel more like real hiker with this radio :smile: If you go hiking or camp far from people, I really think you should buy TrailBlazer 250. It's not a toy—this is a strong radio, works very well. I give it a 5 out of 5!

Works as described. Ergonomically satisfactory. Needs improved clip. Needs rubber or ruggedized protective additions to outer shell to protect against drop and shock events.

My husband and I do a ton in the backcountry and these radios work great! Super durable and great range. We also love the water resistant feature since we use them on the mountain when it’s snowing and on the river

Pleased with the quality and range.

I recently used the Cobra Trailblazer 250 two-way radios on an RV trip to Sedona, and they were a great addition to our gear. We relied on them during hikes and around the campsite, especially in areas with limited to no cell service, and the clarity was consistently impressive. They were easy to use and dependable throughout the trip. The range was solid for all our needs, from winding trails and while being spread-out throughout camping areas/town. The backlit screen and built-in flashlight were especially handy at night around the campsite, making them even more versatile. Setup was quick and hassle-free, which made getting started a breeze. It was a bonus that they came with batteries to be able to use right out of the box. Highly recommend for outdoor adventures!

I am a little disappointed with these radios and with Cobra in general. As per the instructions, I put both of them on a charger for the 12 hours that they specified. They charged for a lot more than 12 hours and the battery indicator never stopped moving to indicate a full charge. Next, I found that the lock button also disabled the call button. I have had several sets of radios, and none of them disabled the call button with the lock turned on. This is important when family members use the radio. You need to lock the channel but still have full use of the call feature. I called Cobra about both of these issues, and they offered no solutions to these concerns. Lastly, I expected the radios to be orange, just not putrid burnt orange. I suspect that the designer is an alumnus of a certain university here in Texas. On the positive side, these are the most powerful handheld radios that I have owned, and the range seems to be at least fair. That said, I do not recommend these radios and would not buy them again.