Losing the GPS or VHF becomes an even greater problem in colder water. As you become increasingly cold (and particularly with oncoming hypothermia), the grip loosens and people do things they would not otherwise do, such as letting a device slip from the grip.
I did not put my VHF in a pouch becasue the VHF is waterproof, and a pouch is just one more thing to screw around with as you were being dragged somewhere or fighting the elements.
I also try to be sure my VHF NiCad batteries are as fully charged as possible, and regularly drain and recharge them ("exercise"). I have not yet decided whether I would be better using alkaline batteries rather than NiCad. Alkaline would be a better bet probably, since they don't die catastrophically - but then I wouldn't know just how fresh they were, unless I changed them out weekly (and even then you don't know).
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