Baofeng UV-25 Dual-Band Radio Review

I always start with how the radio feels in the hand, and this one is actually pretty nice. Since it is obviously taller, but also wider and thicker, it fits in my large hands quite well. My index finger falls right on the oversized PTT button and there are no sharp edges anywhere near my grip. The only real issue is the fact that it weighs about 465g more than a UV-5R, that’s just over a pound.

I don’t find the weight of the Baofeng UV-25 to me too much of an issue unless I need to hold it for extended periods of time. Another issue with the weight is that while other radios may “disappear” when you clip them to your belt, you will never for a second forget this big guy is there.

They took advantage of the larger size by putting in larger buttons on the keypad. You are very unlikely to press two of these at the same time. They also feel really good and have a very nice tactile and audible click to them. This is true of the PTT button as well, but not so much for the side buttons that are a little muted and feel a little cheaper.

On top is the massively overdone power/volume knob. I am not sure what the person who designed that was thinking, but they must have a cyberpunk fetish and have a lot of influence with the company to get away with something that absurd. I should probably mention, I love it. Yes, it is stupid. Yes, it looks gaudy. No, there is absolutely no reason for the way it is designed, and that is what makes it so cool. It could be a little smoother, but I don’t care.

The Baofeng UV-25 uses the newer color screen setup which is mostly nice. I like the full color, I like the way the information is presented, I hate that it turns off after 5 seconds and there is no way to change that on the radio, and I hate that the menus are dark red on a black background making them very difficult to read. The good news is that the menu structure is basically the same as every other Baofeng out there so it is easy to navigate and understand.

When they thought about the battery, this is another overkill design. Most of the time I look at Chinese radio batteries and see the rated mAh and think, there is no way this little thing has that much power. This is the first battery, ever, that I have looked at the rating and said, no way, this thing has to be more power than that! It is rated at 2800mAh on the battery and is huge at 1″x2.25″x5.5″ and weighs 240g. Let me put that into perspective, this battery weighs 18% more than an entire UV-5R with it’s battery and antenna. In the ads though, they say 5200mAh, which seems closer to the truth.

The belt clip that comes on the Baofeng UV-25 is longer and wider than a typical Baofeng radio as well. It seems solid and had no issues staying on my belt. Keeping my pants up with this on my belt, well that’s a different story.

Programming the radio through the front panel is straight forward, the menu structure is, as I said, the same basic layout as most other Baofeng radios. The menu button (green on the left) gets you into the menu, the arrows move you around, the menu allows you to select a menu item for editing and saves when you are done, while the red button on the right is the exit button and backs you out of whatever you are in. Typical.

Programming the Baofeng UV-25 in CHIRP is typical, they even have an entry for it. If you don’t see it, update your CHIRP, as it is a fairly new addition. Of course, it uses the standard Baofeng programming cable, I used my really old one I got for my UV-5R back in the day.

Performance:

The Baofeng UV-25 puts its money where its, umm, speaker is by cranking out 9 watts on 2m and 7 watts on 70cm, more than any other Baofeng radio I have tested, by a lot. I know, they all claim 10w, 15w, 18w. The new thing is they show a picture of a power meter indicating 10.1w and the ad says “REAL 10 WATTS!!!”. Yeah, I have Photoshop too. This radio pushes a real 9 watts to its antenna.

Looking at that behemoth of an antenna on the chart shows the only thing it has going for it is size. The chart shows that it stinks at 2m, stinks at somewhere around 180-190MHz for some odd reason, and stinks at 70cm. I could tune a coat hanger to do better.

The spectrum analysis of the Baofeng UV-25 shows a pretty good signal coming out, for a few seconds, then it starts to fade a little and get a little inconsistent. Now, it isn’t bad anywhere on the chart, but it starts off very good and fairly quickly drops to good.

Transmitted audio is clear and only has a little sibilance, but it does not have one of the best noise floors I have heard lately. Overall though, it is still prefectly acceptable.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• Dual-band
• NOAA weather
• FM Radio
• USB-C charging
• CHIRP compatible
• 5200mAh battery
• Wireless copy feature
• Flashlight

In the box is the radio, battery, belt clip, antenna, manual, wrist strap, AC adapter and USB charging cable. Nothing special, but everything you need. It has terminals for a drop-in charger, but there is not one in the box. I should also mention that charging the battery takes a really long time, heh.

Conclusions

So would I recommend the radio? Sure! The power output is amazing, the screen is beautiful, the buttons are excellent, and I love that stupid gaudy knob at the top. For the price, you are getting a very capable basic radio with a battery that should keep you going for days, lol.

The downside is that it weighs a ton and has a garbage antenna.

You could get a better deal on something like the Baofeng 5RH Pro, which also has GPS and costs less. I still think I would take this one if just for the fun factor.

Here are some reviews of the Baofeng UV-25!