Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) have many attributes that make them attractive for field detection of environmental contaminants, industrial process control, as well as materials detection/identification in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, law enforcement/first responders, geology, and archeology. However, portable, robust, inexpensive Raman systems are required for these applications. In this communication, the performances of two commercially available, portable Raman systems are evaluated.