Rider to Rider Communications

 

Beat The Heat Tour 2023 at Lizard Head Pass, Colorado

Group rides can be a lot of fun but when a group is large it can be helpful to have communication with at least one other rider to help ensure the group is doing well and staying together.  Although, for me the primary season I started using a Bluetooth communication set up was for music and in extreme cases the ability to make a call or receive a call while still moving, the ability to have up to date information about my group when I am leading is also important.

My first Bluetooth device was a Sena 20S I purchased in January 2016 and reviewed a three months later.  That Sena was a good system.  I used it up until the spring of 2023, I even removed the Sena from my helmet and took it with me to Italy when I rented a BMW (and helmet) and rode in the Alps for a week.

In the Spring of 2023 my wife's Sena 10S was not working well and battery life had degraded greatly.  The 20S had served me well, but it time for a pair of new Bluetooth headsets.  Of course all the research showed me the top two brands were Sena and Cardo.  There are pros and cons with both brands and their different models.  After a good amount of research and some input from friends I decided on switching to the Cardo Packtalk.  Now over a year later what do I think?

Arai Nicky Hayden and Cardo Packtalk

 

Here are some of the notable differences that I like:

     1) Cardo is Waterproof - Sena 20S water resistant (On various trips the Sena got wet and kept working, but I always took it off if the rain was going to hard or for a long time).

     2) The Cardo is slimmer so it does not stick out from the helmet as much as the Sena.

I love the slim Cardo Packtalk.

     3) Cardo mesh system connects easily with other Cardo's and with a little work it connects with Sena systems. 

     4) The JBL speakers that come with the Packtalk are great!  When using the Sena I would plug in headbuds to the Sena and use them because even with my full face helmet the music was difficult to hear.  (I understand Sena has upgrade and now has much better speakers.)

     5) Taking the Packtalk off the helmet and replacing it is very easy.

 

Of course there are other difference but the five above are the ones that standout to me. 

The controls are very easy to use even with a riding gloves.  The sound quality is great!  The Cardo Packtalk has voice activation for Siri so I can talk to Siri without using any of the controls.  This feature is really nice to skip a song, have a text read, compose a text, make a call...

Sleek and yet easy to control and use.

 

So after riding over 23,000 miles with the Cardo as my communication system I have no regrets.  The battery life has been great and the system has worked flawlessly.

If you need a high quality Bluetooth communication system I highly recommend the Cardo Packtalk.

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