We received a pair of Nerf Rebelle 10 Mile FRS Walkie Talkies for review, and we have to say we really enjoyed using them. Let’s check out some of the specs and what we liked, and didn’t like, about these units.
The walkie talkies are small, and are easily usable by even little kids. The case is made of hard plastic, and while we didn’t drop the units intentionally to see if we could break them (although we were tempted to because, you know, science), they seem to be pretty durable.
Setup is super easy. Just install the provided 3 AAA batteries and press one button on the front which enters channel selection mode. Press the up and down keys to select one of 22 channels on each unit, and voila…you are done. Press the push-to-talk button on the side, and chat away!
The units sound pretty good for a kid’s toy, and they can get LOUD at max volume. So loud that you will attract attention from anyone within 20-30 feet! Volume is very easy to adjust, however.
These walkie talkies are advertised as working up to 10 miles apart. Well, we tested this around our neighborhood, and at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and can assure you that there is no way these are going to work at one mile apart in a typical town, let alone 10. Our top distance was about 3 to 4 blocks, but this is with plenty of buildings, cars and trees in the way. Perhaps at a campsite or beach you will have a better range,
A word on interference: while at Six Flags, we picked up some transmissions of park workers (we think) using their own walkie talkies. Switching channels remedied this, but just be aware that lots of people use FRS devices, so you might pick up some unwanted chatter on some channels.
Other good things about the Nerf Rebelle walkie talkies: long battery life (we’ve not changed ours in over a week of moderate use), belt clip on the back, bright colors, and just overall coolness compared with everyone else who just texts. These things are fun!