A while ago there was a thread about using skywave hf (shortwave) radio in the outdoors. Shortwave radio allows global communication without any infrastructure - you simply bounce the signal off the sky. You do need to do a weekend course to get a licence but this is not really an ordeal - my ten year old is doing it this autumn.
Arguably the best outdoorsmans radio is the Elecraft KX1 but the price tag of circa £250 is steep. Hendricks recently launched a new field radio at only $200.
http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html
Like the KX1 it is morse code only and has to be soldered together. But both these skills can be easily acquired.
I don't believe it! I was searching through some old threads when I came across this one. I built this radio a little while back, and it's been a real little cracker!
The receive on this thing is awesome; you can really pull out those weak signals and filter out those nearby stations. Also the inbuilt balanced line tuner works a treat.
I use it with an 'end fed zepp' antenna. This is great because it has the advantage of being end fed without the need for a counterpoise, and you just can't beat a half wavelength radiator!
I've never used this thing indoors, I've perfected the art of throwing sticks into tall trees with bits of string attached!
Contacted many European countries even with my crumby morse! Power out is usually around 3.75 watts with fresh cells. The whole station packs away into a small shoulder bag.
Building took a weekend and went without a hitch apart from some 150pF caps were missing. A quick trip to maplin sorted that one costing 60p.
I recall one memorable contact where I was operating late one night in woodland near Aberfoyle, and I made contact with a similar battery power QRP (5W or less) station in Sweden. I'd been calling CQ for ages and was about to give in, the band seemed dead and my hands were numb. Out of the blue Einar (SM5 CBC) near the small town of Idre, close to the Swedish/Norwegian border answered my call. He gives me a solid 579 signal report. It turns out that hed been hiking in the mountains that day and was operating QRP CW from the comfort of his tent. He was running 5W into an inverted Vee.
QRP to QRP contacts dont come very often (for me at least) and it just goes to show, that one more CQ can make all the difference!