Best Rider to Rider Bluetooth 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.

Ride carefully and prayerfully!    

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Little known places are often the best places.

I love those places that only the locals know about. A local diner, the country road traveled by farmers, or an area attraction, these are the places I enjoy visiting. Not only do I avoid the crowd, but I get a touch of personal service and some local flair.

One such place I stumbled across is the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana. This small museum honors individual from the music industry that have direct ties to the Mississippi Delta geographical area. When I stopped by in July of 2009 there were 17 individuals in the "Hall of Fame", including the three famous cousins from Ferriday, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, and Jimmy Swaggart. Other inductees include Aaron Neville, Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, and Percy Sledge.

Outside the museum is the Walk of Fame where each inductee has his/her own star. The museum was once the Ferriday Post Office.  The grounds are nicely kept and landscaped.  Admission is free, but donations are welcomed.

When I entered the museum two long-time residences of Ferriday enthusiastically welcomed me. One sweet lady (sorry I do not remember her name) walked with me through the exhibits and gave me an informative personal tour. She was a wealth of knowledge and had experienced personal contact to many in the Hall of Fame.

The exhibits were informative and displayed original personal items of the inductees. Each exhibit was carefully and tastefully arranged. There was a family like atmosphere in the entire museum.


I will go back to Ferriday and visit the Delta Music Museum, but I will take my son so he can see some of the great influences in music. It is a great place to visit and as a bonus it is just across the Mississippi River from Neches and the southern end of the Neches Trace.   MAP