UKC

My wife would really like a radio to listen to when she goes for a run, so looking for recommendations, please.

Needs to be small and lightweight, obviously. Battery life not that important, at the moment, but at least a couple of hours would be good for the future.

Waterproof, in case it rains, too.

If it does MP3, then no problem, but we've already got MP3 players and it's the radio she's after.

Thanks in advance.

Just a thought, does she take a phone with her already? Lots of them can pick up FM just through headphone wire. Alternatively, BBC sounds app and pre-download or stream your favourite station or programmes.

Not a bad idea to have a phone on longer runs just in case...

That goes back a long way as well. I had a dumb phone back in the early 2000s that picked up radio. So even if she doesn't want to carry a smartphone, you might have an old phone lying around that would be smaller, lighter, tougher and have longer battery life than a modern one.

If "radio" means R4, the podcasts cover most of the main programmes and avoid any scheduling issues!  I pretty much only listen to R4 in that way, just as I only watch TV on the players rather than to the prescribed schedule.  Less so "background" radio stations, I suppose.

Yes, already thought about that - should have mentioned it in the OP. She's not running far from home and her phone is quite chunky.

I've got a mini Sony analogue radio, about the size of a bigger lighter, from back in the days before podcasts, it would run from 1 AAA battery for months but quality of signal could be iffy. I put pocket radio into Amazon and there seems to be lots of possibilities for around a tenner. e.g. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VXHGZ22/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7AK6Eb3H6Y3F6 but streaming on BBC sounds seems to take up very little data if you've got a phone.

If I'm out on my own walking, cycling, camping etc. I tend to listen to podcasts. I use an old little gen2 iPod - the battery will do well over 24 hrs of continual playing of podcasts, and it can hold 100s of hours of different podcasts, so if you are off for three days of hiking you can get through a lot of documentaries or podcast series you meant to listen to, but didn't have time for. I like using it because it means that the battery in my phone is used just for GPS and camera when I'm out on the hill.

I had my first ipod for well over a decade and used it daily. It got rained on, dropped whilst cycling numerous times, dropped in snow, etc etc. Always fine as I bought some hard plastic cover for it. Eventually the buttons started wearing out, I was quite worried what I would do it had become such a big part of my life! Then I found you can now buy little used ones for 20 quid off eBay!

Hi. You can buy a light, compact, new Nokia 105 for less than £20 (e.g. Argos); which has an inbuilt analogue radio. You'd need a pair of lightweight earpieces, the wire acts as an aerial. It's not waterproof, but you could put it in one of the soft cases which runners attach to their arms with a velcro strap (put the phone in a sandwich bag first if you think it's necessary). (The radio function works independently, if you only want it as a radio you don't even need a SIM card).

I bought one recently as an backup phone, and often take it when walking/running/cycling - small, lightweight, and a charge lasts for 3+ weeks on standby. Several hours of radio would be no problem. I don't work for Argos

The SanDisk Clip is a nice little mp3 player with FM radio. Smaller than a matchbox and only ~£40. Not waterproof though.

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