My city EOC has provided our local HAM group with access to an excellent repeater and antenna on the local water tower. In turn, we staff the weather watch positions during severe weather. Win - Win.
With an excellent local repeater, my Baofeng HT's work just as clean as my Alinco. The Baofengs have WAY better battery life. Order of magnitude better.
If I'm out in the boonies on simplex, I'd expect the Japanese brands to outperform, but, it would be interesting to test pairs of $65 8-watt Baofengs against pairs of $450 5-watt digital Yaesu's.