: Does that make a dive mask necessary for underwater VHF transmissions?

Couldn't hurt.

: Still like the 460S?

So far, so good.

: I'm loving the Icom M1-V.

Glad to hear it.

: I stopped by a marine electronics retailer in Newport, Oregon, and asked them
: about the handhelds--specifically M1-V vs. HX460S. They said the Icom has
: better customer service and reliability. I bought a drybag for it--they
: were incredulous, but I just told them it was cheap insurance. They said
: they see the units get abused badly and keep working fine.

I haven't been exactly pampering mine. I't never seen the inside of a dry bag and it gets soaked on every outing. Other than a bit of corrosion on the case (it's aluminum), it looks and works like new.

: I think it depends whom you ask. When you pay that much money, both better
: work pretty damn well!

Yeah, no kidding!