With summer rapidly approaching and the spectre of Covid slowly fading, this year will see plenty of summer events taking place.

Regardless of the size and type of event you are organising or helping with, walkie-talkies can help with safety, planning, and the smooth running of your event. With instant one-to-many communication, crystal clear audio, and built-in safety features, walkie-talkies are the perfect tool for a whole host of event types.

This guide discusses the benefits of using walkie-talkies to coordinate and run your event and some of the event types where walkie-talkies are an absolute must!

Advantages of Walkie-talkies v Mobile Phones

Whether you are organising a festival for thousands, or a wilderness trek for a few family friends, clear communication enhances safety and facilitates the smooth running of events.

It might seem that in a world where almost everyone has a mobile phone that there is no need to use walkie-talkies for your event. This is far from the case, however. Walkie-talkies outperform mobile phones in a number of key areas when it comes to running your event, amongst the major advantages are:

  • Instant Communication – With walkie-talkies, there is no need to make sure that everyone has one another’s phone number, or all have the same app installed etc. With walkie-talkies, it is simply a case of pressing the transmit button, and you can communicate with whoever you need to.
  • Simple to use – Even the youngest kid in a summer camp can easily use a walkie-talkie
  • No reliance on mobile networks – For wilderness treks, summer camps, and events held in remote locations, there is often a patchy mobile service, if at all. Walkie-talkies do not require a mobile signal to work. This makes them the perfect choice for many outdoor activities
  • Robust – Smartphones are many things, but one thing they aren’t is robust. Walkie-talkies are capable of withstanding even the harshest of conditions and all the best efforts of clumsy users.
  • Battery Life – Most walkie-talkies have battery lives that far outlast any smartphone. In most cases, a walkie-talkie battery will last a full day without the need for charging. Mobile phones might last this long, but only with light usage.
  • Cost – Walkie-talkies are far cheaper than most people imagine. For instance, outdoor events could furnish themselves with a set of 6 tough and stylish Motorola T62 Talkabout radios for under €250, less than the cost of a mid-range smartphone.
  • No call charges – Another cost-cutting feature is the lack of call, data, and roaming charges with walkie-talkies. There is also no need for costly contracts or top-ups, with walkie-talkies, it is a one-time purchase.
  • Safety Features – Many walkie-talkie sets offer loads of in-built safety features to help ensure the safety of staff, helpers, and guests of events. These include – man-down, emergency button, lone-worker feature.

Types of summer events that walkie-talkies are essential for

Versatility is another word that can be applied to two-way radios. Walkie-talkies are the perfect communication tool for many different types of summer activities, below are just a few of the more popular ones.

Summer Camps

For scout & guide camps, or any other type of summer camp, walkie-talkies are essential. The responsibility of ensuring the safety of lots of boisterous youngsters can be daunting, walkie-talkies can make all the difference.

These allow you to keep in contact with many different groups, all doing different activities at the same time. The safety features that many models incorporate can also help put your mind at rest that if the worst does happen, you will be able to respond rapidly.

Festivals

Security professionals have long known the benefits of walkie-talkies at larger events and festivals.

If you are planning a festival of any type or size this year, then walkie-talkies should be on your list of “must-haves” for the big day. Not only do they help with the security side of the event, but they also help to coordinate the running of the festival.

Whether your festival is a whole day stadium event or a bit of a sing-song for a few hours in a local field, walkie-talkies can ensure the smooth and safe running of the festival.

Wilderness hikes/camping

For organised outings into the wilderness or even just a group of friends and family out for a hike, walkie-talkies can prove incredibly useful. Once again, safety is a key factor in why walkie-talkies are essential.

Wilderness areas commonly have little or no phone signal, and when coordinating large groups and making sure everyone is safe, being able to communicate with group members is of paramount importance.

Walkie-talkies, in the right circumstances, offer a range that can be measured in miles. Even basic models can boast a signal distance of a few miles. While in practice, the terrain and other obstacles will limit this distance, it is still ample to allow groups of hikers to remain in constant contact, and alert other group members should someone run into difficulties.

Sports events

From school sports days to international events, summer is the time of year when thousands of sports events take place all over Ireland. Walkie-talkies can perform a whole range of useful functions at sports events, including:

  • Scheduling – Events like 5-a-side football tournaments or netball tournaments need a flexible schedule that changes as teams progress or not, walkie-talkies for sports events make scheduling easy.
  • Crowd control – For larger events, the importance of coordinated crowd control cannot be overstated. Walkie-talkies enable seamless communication between ushers, security staff, and management for easy crowd control.
  • Security and emergencies – Respond instantly to security and emergencies as they occur, thanks to the instant and clear communication provided by walkie-talkies.

Fetes and gala days

Even the village fete or gala day can benefit from the use of walkie-talkies. Coordinating all the associated events that are usually incorporated into these events can be a daunting task.

Walkie-talkies can help by keeping all the organisers, stewards, and volunteers involved in the running of the event all reading from the same page. Again, this instant communication can also enhance safety by instantly communicating the nature and whereabouts of any emergency.

Summing Up

With summer just around the corner, events are being planned for all over the country. Top of any to-do list for any event organiser should be ensuring that communication between event officials is well organised.

Walkie-talkies make this easy! With little set-up required and virtually no user training, communication channels can be set up within a few minutes.

At Lynn Communications, our expert staff can help you choose the perfect set of radios for your event. Why not contact us today and make sure your event runs as smoothly as clockwork.