Why the BF-8F and not another UV-82?  I wanted a second radio for a variety of reasons (the old 1 is none and 2 is 1).  Also I was looking for the spare to be something I kept in my 'BOB', as such I wanted something that could be run on AA or AAA batteries.

My first choice was the BF-8FHP.  It's a UV-5R but has a 3rd gen board/chipset.  It has a max output of 8wats, and uses the UV-5R accessories.  This was important to me because the 5R has AA ($12 OEM) and AAA ($6 aftermarket) battery packs available. the -8fHP costs about the same as the UV-82 (update: I just checked it's back in stock and costs about twice what a UB-82 now costs!!) , and I thought it might make a good transmitter module for a temporary repeater.  Alas Amazon was out of stock of these when I went to make my purchase.

So I decided on the BF-8F+  It has the 2nd gen board/chipset of the UV-5R, otherwise it's pretty much the same in operation/power as the 5R.  It's clear enough when receiving a strong signal, but not as clean as the -82s we have.  The 8f+ has an even shorter stubby whip antenna than the -82 but they are interchangeable.  I like the cover for the headset jacks betters on this model.  Instead of a flap it has a rubber 'door' which opens easier and stays open.

There is only one PTT button, so you have to change which channel is 'primary' if you want to talk on the other one.  There is a button dedicated to turning on the FM radio (which by the way sounds very nice - but doesn't bring in the DC stations as well).  If you're listening to FM, it will cut out if someone calls in on one of the displayed HAM channels.  The FM radio button also activates the alarm - a totally useless feature IMHO.  There is anther button to allow you to monitor the primary channel (turns off squelch and PL codes while the button is depressed), and it also turns on/off the flashlight.

One more button I should mention - it flips the radio between channel mode and frequency mode - no more turning off the radio the radio to change mode.

The radio comes with a earpiece (like the -82), wrist strap (and 2 places to connect it), an optional belt clip (like the -82), and a recharger.  While the recharger is speced the same as the -82 it's bed is a different shape, and the battery contacts are spaced differently.  Though I will say the -8f fits in the cradle easier than the -82.

What I really didn't like about this particular model:
1) The display.  It's a Black display with white/gray text.  I can see it ok in the daylight, but if it's dim or dark it's unreadable unless one hits the TX button to cause the back lighting to turn on.  They call it a 'privacy' display.  It sounds 'tactical', but it's more a PITA if you're just scanning and listening.  Personally I prefer the -82s display.

2) Location of the PTT button; for the small size of the unit I have to shift the radio in my hand to get my thumb on the button.  The good news is this radio works with the same handset as the -82.

3) Antenna; it's pitifully small, as an upgrade I use the one from my -82.  I have added a BNC connector to this radio and it required an extra O ring (no big deal).  I wasn't originally going to do this mod, but I figured if it was going to back up my other radio it should be able to connect to my vehicle antenna.

4) Doesn't fully work with CHIRP.  Let me clarify.  If you download the radio first (as a UV-5R) then import a CSV file it works well enough.  However not all the system settings get sent to the radio (like the default FM radio station) and I had issues with the radio booting up to display the channel names.  Both items were easily fixable using the menu, but I'm now curious which other features that I don't normally use didn't transfer over.

Personally I think the UV-82 is a better piece of gear (especially for the money), the only reason I can see to go with the 8F+ is get a radio that runs on AA/AAAs and sounds a bit better than the 5R.

I still plan on getting the -8fHP to try out the 8w capability.  If nothing else - pairing the two 8fs together would make a nice field dual band repeater.