If you’re carrying the Eton Sidekick by this handle, your knuckles may accidentally punch some of these buttons, which is a little annoying but hardly a dealbreaker. In our tests, the pivoting antenna on the ER310 made it easy for us to home in on radio signals everywhere, from a basement in Boston to the middle of the woods in Tompkins County, New York (although we did encounter some sparse patches in the Catskills). Also, the loop on the end makes it easy to fix onto a backpack and lets the solar panel soak up the sun during a hike.

If you’re looking for an emergency radio that’s extremely easy to use while providing a variety of useful bells and whistles, look no further than the Midland ER310, a solidly built weather alert radio that performed well on all of our tests and was simple to use — which means it’ll be there if you need it and you’ll have no problem operating it when you do.The radio relies on manual rather than digital tuning, but that can give you a little more control over finding the right frequency, especially if you use it in conjunction with the pivoting antenna. The Midland ER310 performed well in testing, providing an impressive 26 minutes of radio time after just 60 seconds of hand cranking. After testing more than a dozen models since 2017, we’re confident that the Midland ER310 is the best emergency radio for most people. The ER310 is loud and easy to hear whether you’re listening to music at your campsite or getting the latest NOAA report.

Like our other picks, the RunningSnail model has a USB port, as well, so you can use it to charge your phone. Otherwise, the ER210 is a great choice if you want a similarly powerful flashlight plus the same charging options, steady reception, and blaring weather alert as on the ER310 but prefer to have all of that in a sleeker package. A weather radio won’t be much use in an emergency if it can’t withstand the rain or a few short drops or collisions. Maybe you’re more concerned about tornados than flash-flooding, for example—with SAME alerts, you can program your Eton Sidekick to alert you only when there’s a tornado warning that might affect you. Plus, the hand-cranked battery generator actually worked as advertised (a frustratingly rare feat for weather radios).If you just need the basics of a weather radio with a built-in light, the RunningSnail MD-090P will get you through a camping trip or emergency without a problem. At just over 6 ounces, there’s no excuse not to take the CC Solar Observer with you when adventuring. Though it doesn’t have an LCD screen or NOAA alerts, the RunningSnail’s impressive radio reception, battery life, and multiple lighting options will still get you through a storm. More important, it can receive NOAA extreme-weather alerts, providing notifications that are both loud and readily visible so you won’t miss any warnings.

Those who live in areas frequented by dangerous weather events like flash floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes should absolutely have an emergency radio. The Eton Sidekick is the only portable emergency weather radio we’ve found that can receive Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) alerts, which you can custom-tailor to certain conditions that affect only your immediate area.It will take approximately 20 hours of full sun (outside) with the solar panel angled towards the sun (60 degree angle). Portable emergency radio has multiple power supply options like a mini solar panel, 2000mAh battery, hand crank, and a slot for 3x AAA battery (not included).