Thanks to AD for the heads-up on the PowerWerx mobile radio. It looks to have the capabilities needed at an attractive price point to go into a group's ad-hoc cross-band repeater in a box concept. With 50 watts, there's enough power to overcome cable length, so the unit could be mounted more firmly somewhere.
I am a big fan of Chinese disposable radios. I have several Baofengs (one in each "go bag" and vehicle kit). I also have some Wouxun handhelds (2ea of the 1P and 8D models) The 8D has the easiest to program and work-with cross-band repeater functionality I have found, but with watts out, there are obvious limitations. I see a 5 watt cross-band as useful when you aren't planning on venturing beyond your MAG's repeater or simplex coverage, but find yourself in a ravine or building basement where signals just don't reach. In this case, you can leave the 8D topside and use it for antenna height.
I would love to hear your thoughts on getting cross-band up and working on the PowerWerx. After many Chinese radios, I have a Yaesu HT (which I toy around with, but find it is more complicated to program than the Baofeng) and a Yaesu HF rig.
Along the way I picked up a Leixen-898 10 Watt Mobile dual-bander (no cross-band) which is downright impossible to remember which buttons to push to do what I want. My go-to mobile almost immediately became a Kenwood TM-D710GA once I found a used one at a reasonable price. Programming it is pretty much intuitive and I find I can switch between modes quickly and easily. When I leave my truck at a jobsite, I can just take an HT with 2" stubby and take advantage of the Comet SBB5-NMO antenna on the truck.