I'm looking for a CB radio, I know they are no good for long distance but I want it for communication between 2-3 persons at close range no more than a mile or two away.

Any suggestions? Is there anything that would work besides a CB radio if everything goes down?

marine radio

Pics??  link?? what do you have?

x2.  (I also have a boat)  Marine radios are great option for communicating.  There are a number of decent options out there for hand held radios

I think CB is the most practical and cost effective solution for most people.
Just make up your own code words for different purposes to defeat persons listening to your comms.

Other options are FRS and GMRS.

I like this you can hook her up to larger antenna for better reception and works as mobile or in vehicle cb. best of both worlds.
portable cb

Just ordered one, thanks :)
This will be perfect for my jeep, which has pretty limited space inside for mounting shit.

I have been wanting to get one and a decent size whip antenna to go in my vehicle to give it better range but it can be hooked into alot of antenna options my buddy has this model and hooked it into a tower he put up and it gets really good range he wanted a bug out cb he is wanting to biuld some type of tape antenna he can throw up into trees in such to gain better reception during bugout or E.n.E.. Hard to beat for the money and portability.Remeber your geography is what can limit reception/transmission with any cb so test before you assume  your setup if you are in mountains n valleys or other elvational extremes you have to adapt to it. Flat terrain better distance in transmission and reception. I bet a whip could be strapped to a backpack with molle strapps so that you could carry it on shoulderstrap hooked up for better reception.

That is what I actually have in mind with this antenna from here.

I like that I can carry it in truck or with me If I'm walking.

Will FRS and GMRS work if everything goes to hell??

CB has fallen out of popular use since the inception of FRS and GMRS. My bet is they will be clogged with traffic, while CB would be relatively uncluttered. Legality aside, marine radios would be my second option.

A better choice would be a 2 meter HAM radio....longer distance and not so many people on. Does require an easy test for a license. (2m= antenna length)

I second this, Handhelds are usually about 5 watts and a mobile radio in the car can be an easy 50 watts.

With that test you can actually learn something that can help you get a successful contact, not just pick up the radio and hope.

cb. Try and find a cb shop and have em tune it and bump the power. The last galaxy I had would easily get 8-10 miles on a good day.

In general I like CB with SSB capabilities for enhanced privacy.  If you plan on using marine radio then keep in mind that it is illegal to use it unless it's on the water.  Also, marine band range is going to be much shorter on land than over water.  .FRS and GMRS are a good choice for close communications (also, their shorter range could actuallly ENHANCE security).  GMRS reallly just adds extra channels to FRS (and those channels require that you purchase a license - no testing required).

MURS radios are not a bad idea, and should be worth checking into.

If close-in COMSEC is the driving consideration then I recommend looking into the frequency-hopping TSX300 model hand-held tranceivers by TriSquare.

Keep in mind that the ubiquitous nature of CB can be as much an advantage as a disadvantage (for enhanced situational awareness).  This is one reason I really like CB with the SSB feature.  One downside might be that any hand-held units probably have long, unwieldy antennas.