Tait portable radios have now thrived in one of the wildest places on the planet, in the hands of three intrepid New Zealand adventurers who undertook an epic sea kayaking and mountaineering expedition in the Southern Andes.

Adventure Philosophy team Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters recently completed the never-before-attempted traverse in 44 days - following explorer Darwin's path down the Beagle Channel to the Pacific Ocean, then climbing the high mountains of the Darwin range to Ushuaia in southern Argentina.

The trio paddled 500km in sea kayaks through the Chilean fjords and the Straits of Magellan, weaved a route through the glaciers and ice fields of the Darwin range, then continued the 150km onto Ushuaia.

During their arduous sea kayaking leg the adventurers carried Tait Orca Elan VHF radios which proved to be close and valuable companions. Charles, Jones and Waters used the radios to communicate with Chilean Navy vessels in the area - enabling them to inform Navy officials of their position, to find out weather forecasts and to relay information on their progress back to expedition supporters.

Enduring days of sub-zero temperatures and driving rain and snow while on the water, the adventurers needed radios that could hack the pace - and the Tait Orcas delivered.

The radios performed consistently whenever in use, proving their robustness and reliability in extremely cold conditions.

The Adventure Philosophy team used Tait portable radios on their previous expedition, a sea kayak traverse along the 850km open water length of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Check out the Adventure Philosophy website, www.adventurephilosophy.com, to find out more about the Southern Andes expedition.