Yes, all of us that travel solo, or travel several miles off shore, or do trips with friends, all of us should carry a "waterproof' VHF radio (IPX7 or IPX8 rating--you can't trust these ratings too strongly, but for normal use, these ratings will keep your equipment operating in wet conditions.) Good radios are the Uniden MHS235 or Standard Horizon 851. My next radio may be a Uniden MHS126--not as many bells and whistles as the 235 or 851, but still very serviceable. Fully charged batteries are rated at about 10-12 hrs. How long your battery lasts depends a lot on how much you broadcast. We typically use a fully charged battery for 3-4 days on trips. On trips, it is nice to have 1-2 fully charged
extra batteries available. In the past 10 yrs, I've had 4 occasions where I used a VHF radio in emergency situations--1. a friend's powerboat sank; 2. needed help from friends with my disabled AI (rudder pin broke and a friend had my extra pins); 3. acted as middle man (used radio and phone) to get help for a disabled boat, which we could not see initially, but could communicate with; 4. called for emergency help for a 10-yr old child--belonged to a family on the beach--who had fallen into a camp fire about 9 pm. Park Rangers responded. He was taken to a hospital with severe burns on his legs, but he survived OK.
A SPOT and/or PLB (personal EPIRB) may save your life someday. Because of its "messaging" ability, SPOT gives your family lots of comfort to know you are OK on a serious trip.
A cell phone is also important. On trips over a couple days, you must put it on "airplane mode" so that it does not keep searching for a signal or a gps location. I usually turn my phone off. It still has battery power after a 7-day trip. Same goes for your tablet. Be sure to turn off any GPS or other search capabilities because those features will run it down in a few days. Again, I turn off my Samsung Tab 3 when not in use. If you need the GPS ("location") on those devices, only turn it on when you need it. Most phones and tablets are NOT water resistant (IPX0 or IPX1), so keep them in an AquaPac or Dry Pak bag along with keys, credit cards, & money.
Keith
PS If you are not familiar with the IPX codes for "water-resistance, waterproof" here is Wikipedia's listing:
It is up to the designer/manufacturer to apply these codes.
My SPOT, which is the original model, must be at least 4 yrs old and has never been protected. Carrying it in a low pocket on my PFD is the most protection it has ever had. For the first couple years, it was tethered on my AI and stored in one of the mesh pockets where it was awash with saltwater much of the time. It finally dawned on me that keeping it tethered to me could be more valuable in the event of a catastrophic accident. In any case, my SPOT has never failed me. Unfortunately,
my Garmin GPS units have not done so well. After drowning a few "waterproof" Garmin GPS units & one Magellan, I quit putting them to the test. Both Nancy's and my Garmin units are in AquaPac or Dry Pak bags (they spend ALL their time there, except to change batteries.) They have worked flawlessly for yrs in those bags.
My Uniden VHF radios have always been carried unprotected in my PFD. They have corroded and died over time, 4-5 yrs, but have worked very well in between.
Keith