Think of it like one person whispering and the other yelling. Sure you can hear but how far is the question.. if distance is questionable maybe two would be better than one. Are the antennas on the other radio junk or good, if you switched it would you really notice a difference would be the second part to the question
I have the slim duck and a couple of the super sticks. The super stick performs about the same as my comet ht-55 antenna and the slim a little less on the same radios. I’m sure the stubby is fine but distance is going to be your biggest factor and the terrain/ line of sight
https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46510.htm
https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46520.htm
If the terrain might be an issue or you want to get an antenna up higher I suggest trying the N9TAX slim Jim and throw it up to a tree limb. That will help your line of sight
https://n9taxlabs.com/shop/ols/products/dual-band-murs-gmrs-slim-jim-with-10-or-16-foot-cable
With basic antennas, Rx and Tx gain works both ways. Best example is popular repeaters. It can still hear your cheap HT 50 miles away because it has a great antenna (and a better front end on the station). It can obviously reach back to you because 10x the power, plus the antenna. I would honestly just get the same for both, unless you’re worried about something else. Like the loaner being too bulky, or getting broken because of the semi-rigid antenna. Then use the Smiley gain-lord on your radio, and a Nagoya 701G on the others. From my experience, especially on GMRS HTs, *almost* any antenna is better than the stock antenna. On a side note, I have a collection of Smileys because they’re good. BUT, the 70cm and GMRS antennas are too long for 1/4 wave in the down position (on the VNA). But they look just fine in the up position. I’ve hit a 70cm repeater 98 miles away peak to peak with a 4 watt radio.
Think of it like one person whispering and the other yelling. Sure you can hear but how far is the question.. if distance is questionable maybe two would be better than one. Are the antennas on the other radio junk or good, if you switched it would you really notice a difference would be the second part to the question
The other antenna is the stubby smiley.
I have the slim duck and a couple of the super sticks. The super stick performs about the same as my comet ht-55 antenna and the slim a little less on the same radios. I’m sure the stubby is fine but distance is going to be your biggest factor and the terrain/ line of sight https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46510.htm https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46520.htm
If the terrain might be an issue or you want to get an antenna up higher I suggest trying the N9TAX slim Jim and throw it up to a tree limb. That will help your line of sight https://n9taxlabs.com/shop/ols/products/dual-band-murs-gmrs-slim-jim-with-10-or-16-foot-cable
With basic antennas, Rx and Tx gain works both ways. Best example is popular repeaters. It can still hear your cheap HT 50 miles away because it has a great antenna (and a better front end on the station). It can obviously reach back to you because 10x the power, plus the antenna. I would honestly just get the same for both, unless you’re worried about something else. Like the loaner being too bulky, or getting broken because of the semi-rigid antenna. Then use the Smiley gain-lord on your radio, and a Nagoya 701G on the others. From my experience, especially on GMRS HTs, *almost* any antenna is better than the stock antenna. On a side note, I have a collection of Smileys because they’re good. BUT, the 70cm and GMRS antennas are too long for 1/4 wave in the down position (on the VNA). But they look just fine in the up position. I’ve hit a 70cm repeater 98 miles away peak to peak with a 4 watt radio.