I have a Baofeng UV-5R HT radio that I have been using for about a month now and I really like it because it was very inexpensive and portable. It currently has the stock antenna on it and I have noticed that if I'm in more rural areas, I sometimes have trouble hitting some of the repeaters that are past 10-15 miles away. I've heard that an aftermarket antenna is a good way to get a little more transmitting range out of an HT, but I don't want to spend a lot of extra money on a radio that cost me $30.
After looking around, I have been thinking about getting the Nagoya NA-701 or NA-702 to replace the antenna (I know a lot of people recommend the NA-771, but it's just a little too long for me on such a small radio). A lot of people seem to feel that these antennas provide a good balance between performance, portability, and price for the Baofeng radios (plus they have a female SMA connector), but after looking some of the actual dB comparisons people have done I am not totally convinced that these antennas are much better than the stock antenna, since the numbers are so close.
Does anyone know if there's any real noticeable difference (specifically in regards to transmitting) between the performance of the stock antenna and these Nagoyas? I like the size and price but if I'd have to go to something like the 771 to get any significant advantage, I think I would just save my money and accept the limitations of the stock antenna.