hey nighthawk we are using Yaesu FT-250R/E Handhelds and Yaesu 7900 Mobiles.
Just getting into it, but so far it seems to be going well. The handhelds work great when close enough to a tower and soon we are going to try them as walkie talkies when away from towers.
We have really good 2ways, but figured we would give this a shot too.
There is a fellow not far from hear who uses handhelds with a larger antena and gets good results.
Hope this helps.

Just got my Amateur Radio book and started studying not too long ago! Very cool info in there! Let me know what kind of range you get between handhelds, and with a handheld or mobile and antenna! I would be interested in attempting contact from the Bonnyville/Cold Lake area!