so i just passed my technician exam last week (finally) and now im trying to figure out what handheld to actually buy. everyone keeps saying different things and i've been going down rabbit holes on youtube for like three days straight. some people swear by the baofengs as a starter radio and others act like you suggested kicking a puppy if you mention one.

i mostly want to be able to hit the local repeaters and maybe do some simplex stuff with a buddy who also just got licensed. we're not doing anything crazy. budget is probably around $100 give or take but i could stretch a little if it actually makes sense to. is there a middle ground option that wont make the old timers cringe but also isnt like a $300 yaesu or whatever

also does the number of watts even matter that much for just hitting a nearby repeater? the one we want to use is maybe 8 miles away and i live on kind of a flat area with some trees but nothing crazy hilly

congrats on the ticket, welcome to the hobby. honestly for what you're describing the Baofeng hate is a little overblown — they work fine for hitting local repeaters and learning the ropes. the UV-5R has been around forever and there's tons of documentation on programming it. that said if you want something that's just a little more solid feeling and the menus make more sense, the Yaesu FT-65 or even the older FT-60 if you can find one used are really nice radios without being crazy expensive. the FT-65 new is usually right around your budget or just under.

as for wattage, 5 watts is more than enough for 8 miles to a repeater in flat terrain assuming the repeater has decent coverage. i've hit repeaters way farther than that on low power just because the repeater itself does the heavy lifting. what matters more is having a decent antenna — the rubber duck that comes stock on most HTs is pretty mediocre, a cheap nagoya NA-771 makes a noticeable difference and costs like 12 bucks.

i was in the exact same spot about a year ago and ended up getting the Radioddity GD-77 which is DMR capable so i could grow into digital modes if i wanted to. not sure if that matters to you but just throwing it out there. local club members ended up helping me program it which made things way easier than fighting the software alone lol