Customer reviews from midlandusa.com
Midland - ER10 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio
Average customer rating
4.2
(28 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 28 reviews
5 Stars
17
4 Stars
5
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
2
1 Star
2
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
20 out of
23)
Customer Reviews for Midland - ER10 Portable Emergency Weather Alert Radio
Customer Rating
4
Smart addition to your gear
on February 17, 2021
Posted by: Kristin
from Vista, CA
Gender:Female
Midland’s ER10VP Emergency Radio has filled in a very specific gap in gear for us. While our cell phones are our main go-to for weather updates, once we’re out of service zones (which is more frequent than you might expect), it’s necessary to make sure you can see any changes in weather coming. From mountain-top hikes to camping in the backcountry, it’s important to make sure you can react according to impending weather. We’ve learned our lesson (more than once) and the very reasonable price point of this emergency radio helps us to mitigate that risk in the future.
I’m not a big fan of complicated instruction manuals for something that may be needed in an “emergency.” Lucky for me, the radio is super easy to operate and won’t require hanging onto that manual. Set-up is very straightforward and if you’ve ever used a car radio, you can use this device. The most important factor is that it runs on 3 AA batteries (included in the box) that will drain, so you may want to remove them when not in use or have a set of extra batteries nearby for when you need them. The radio had good reception while being used in most areas we’ve tested so far. The only issue we encountered was while tracking the massive winter storm in Texas while in San Antonio, we stopped receiving frequencies from any WX channels. A bit surprising around a metropolitan area, but it was lousy weather and we were covered with cell data in these areas so it wasn’t a critical moment. The manual says it will “receive broadcasts up to 50 miles from the weather stations depending on your location and conditions of weather, terrain, etc.” The device, therefore, is not a bulletproof system, but can offer a critical alert when it’s needed.
The radio is super lightweight and easy to carry in a pack or tuck into your car seat pocket. It has a flashlight/strobe feature which comes in very handy if you need to navigate a trail after sunset or are having evening car troubles. My favorite feature is that you can turn on the weather alert feature while the radio is off and it’ll signal you to any incoming weather alerts with an alarm and strobe to get your attention. There is no price tag to put on having a bit of peace of mind when heading out into nature, but Midland makes sure it’s within your price range to have the added security. Bonus points that it can fuel a dance party, too!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
5
Slip it into your pocket or pack
on February 8, 2021
Posted by: JeanJourneys
from Boston, MA
Gender:Female
I’ve had the Midland ER10VP Emergency Alert Weather Radio with flashlight for the past week. With its rounded edges and palm size, it fit comfortably in my hand and slid easily into a zippered pocket in my ski bibs when I headed out to explore a nearby park. Oh, and it weighs less than my cell phone with case. To achieve that size, it gives up the crank and solar charge options you see on the ER210; it runs on 3 AAA batteries instead. On the other hand, because of it’s size, you’re more likely to take it with you on a hike or toss it into a pack. You can tune into AM, FM , or the WX weather band, the latter offering nearly nationwide coverage. There is a headphone jack if you want to listen to the radio while at an outdoor event. Sound quality is similar to the ER210.
Take this along when you’re heading out on the water or the woods and it will sound an alarm with weather warnings and watches for your area. It’s great for regions where you might not have cell phone coverage. An early warning can make all the difference. Turn off the weather alert standby function when you don’t need it to preserve battery life; I found battery life dropped to a less than a week in standby mode. That included a period with a couple of alerts with battery and strobe light. Rechargeable batteries will mitigate this one issue. Oh, and you can’t beat the price!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
5
When Weather Aware, You Are Weather Prepared
on February 10, 2021
Posted by: Tornado Ted
from Bothell, Washington
Gender:Male
It took only a matter of a few minutes to get this cost-effective weather radio receiver in operation. And what features! Not only able to receive any NOAA Weather Radio station wherever I go, but also AM and FM radio. When the big event (e.g. - earthquake) occurs and power and communications go down, this little handy radio will still be in operation. I just got this beauty, but I can see slipping it into a pocket while hiking, fishing or other outdoor activities, or in the car. And it has the alert feature too! No excuses at this price. Be sure to tell family and friends to help them stay safe. Remember - when you are weather aware, you are weather prepared!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
3
Average product
on February 10, 2021
Posted by: MAD.P
from Swanton, Vermont
Gender:Male
For me, the Midland ER10 emergency alert radio has some pros and cons.
PROS
*light weight and compact. It allowed me to easily pack the radio with my related camping gear or back pack.
*I found the set up to be simple and the the instructions easy to understand.
*The light is a nice feature and seems to be sufficient for navigating in the dark.
*The automatic
S.O.S. feature in the light is a nice touch that I hope to never use.
* I like that 3 AA batteries are included. That's one last thing I have to shop for.
*battery life indicator is an excellent feature that came in handy as I will explain the the cons.
*Midland's website was helpful in clearing up misunderstandings that I will explain later.
CONS
*The closest broadcast tower ( KIG60 ) sits atop the highest mountain in Vermont. Although, I can not see it from my house, it is clearly visible in areas close to my home. The owners manual says that the ER10 can receive NOAH weather broadcasts from up to 50 miles away, depending on my location, weather conditions, and terrain. When I experienced poor reception from my home, I consulted Midland's website, only to learn that my model can only receive up to 40 miles away under the same conditions. Not impressed. To be fair, my home is probably around 45-50 miles away as the crow flies.
. I tried the FM band for my favorite station only to find it had the typical stand on your head with your right leg cocked at a 90 degree angle for optimum reception. I eventually found a spot without touching it.
*A substantial snow storm rolled in shortly after receiving the ER10. I was disappointed when I was not alerted by a flashing light and siren as designed. I learned from Midland's website that the alert only engages when there are life threatening weather conditions. My bad for misunderstanding. However if it alerted me when there is severe thunderstorms and the such, I would be very pleased.
* I kept the ER10 on the weather alert mode only, and ran out of battery power after 4 days. I replaced them with rechargeables. This would not serve me well as I camp remotely for weeks at a time.
*light weight and compact. It allowed me to easily pack the radio with my related camping gear or back pack.
*I found the set up to be simple and the the instructions easy to understand.
*The light is a nice feature and seems to be sufficient for navigating in the dark.
*The automatic
S.O.S. feature in the light is a nice touch that I hope to never use.
* I like that 3 AA batteries are included. That's one last thing I have to shop for.
*battery life indicator is an excellent feature that came in handy as I will explain the the cons.
*Midland's website was helpful in clearing up misunderstandings that I will explain later.
CONS
*The closest broadcast tower ( KIG60 ) sits atop the highest mountain in Vermont. Although, I can not see it from my house, it is clearly visible in areas close to my home. The owners manual says that the ER10 can receive NOAH weather broadcasts from up to 50 miles away, depending on my location, weather conditions, and terrain. When I experienced poor reception from my home, I consulted Midland's website, only to learn that my model can only receive up to 40 miles away under the same conditions. Not impressed. To be fair, my home is probably around 45-50 miles away as the crow flies.
. I tried the FM band for my favorite station only to find it had the typical stand on your head with your right leg cocked at a 90 degree angle for optimum reception. I eventually found a spot without touching it.
*A substantial snow storm rolled in shortly after receiving the ER10. I was disappointed when I was not alerted by a flashing light and siren as designed. I learned from Midland's website that the alert only engages when there are life threatening weather conditions. My bad for misunderstanding. However if it alerted me when there is severe thunderstorms and the such, I would be very pleased.
* I kept the ER10 on the weather alert mode only, and ran out of battery power after 4 days. I replaced them with rechargeables. This would not serve me well as I camp remotely for weeks at a time.
I have concluded that the Midland ER10 is a nice unit, but there is nothing about it that is super spectacular. I rank it with my 11 year old Radio Shack am/fm radio that just happens to have a weather band on it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
5
A Handy Little Radio For The Nursing Home!
on February 4, 2021
Posted by: Texas254
from Buford, Wyoming
Gender:Female
I bought this for my grandma to have in her nursing home! She keeps it right by her bedside so she can get weather alerts, as well as have a handy flashlight when she gets up in the middle of the night! She can also listen to the radio and keep up with her sports! This radio is super easy to use!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
5
An essential piece of emergency equipment
on February 25, 2021
Posted by: TheMillerss
from Chesapeake, VA
Gender:Female
We’ve been needing an emergency alert radio for our adventuring and this Midland Emergency Alert AM/FM Weather Radio is perfect for our needs. There are so many features packed into such a small, lightweight package that you can easily throw into a hiking bag, backpack, car, or emergency kit. It has AM/FM radio and NOAA weather alerts (which we have already had to use when we were out of town and a big snow storm hit!) This is great little radio has had reception in the few places we’ve tried it so far, including on a couple mountain hikes and snowboarding where we’ve had spotty cell reception. It is super easy to operate, in fact my 4-year old figured it out and loves carrying it around to listen to the radio. The flashlight on it is awesome. It has multiple dim options and a strobe. I can think of multiple times this would have come in handy. Also, love that it comes with batteries – it is ready to go! It takes 3 AA batteries, so we’ve had to add some extra batteries to our kit in case these run out. For this price point, this is easily something that everyone should consider having in their emergency kit.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Customer Rating
4
Small and compact - keep extra batteries on hand!
on February 27, 2021
Posted by: laura
from permanent nomads
Gender:Female
I really like the concept of the Midland ER10VP. We travel the U.S. full time in our RV and so are not always familiar with local weather situations to look out for. I do have an app on my phone that will alert me to severe weather conditions, but the problem with that is that we are frequently out of cell range when we camp in the back country and so have the potential of being caught in a bad situation.
This is my first time trying out a little emergency hand held radio like this one, and I like how small it is - living full time in an RV we really need to prioritize space efficiency. I like how simple and basic the functions are, and how easy it was to set up. From reading other reviews I understand that some features have been removed in order to keep this model as small as possible, however, I would prefer that the radio had some other charging options other than only being able to be powered by battery. I’d take a larger radio if we could charge it via crank or solar or USB. I will be purchasing some rechargeable batteries to accomplish this. We’ve had the radio for about 3 weeks now and the batteries are already flashing the low battery signal, and the radio has been on standby the entire time, we have not used the radio or the flashlight at all. We’ve been enjoying sunny California this month and have not had any weather emergencies yet, so we don’t know how the radio will alert us. We do have dogs and I worry if something happens while we happen to be away from the RV, if the strobe light and alarm sounds will cause our dogs to go into a panic, so I try to remember to turn off the weather alert function when the dogs will be by themselves.
Overall, my recommendation is that this emergency radio would best suit backpackers or campers going on shorter trips, who need to keep weight and equipment down to a minimum, and for whom the batteries will last their whole trip.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com
Posted by: Coolguy
from So Cal
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
The reason I bought this was for the portable weather ability.
The 1draw back is the display is on 24/7 and 8 it go thru batteries rather quickly.
Going to try rechargeable batteries next.
The 1draw back is the display is on 24/7 and 8 it go thru batteries rather quickly.
Going to try rechargeable batteries next.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting midlandusa.com