Right Helmet + Right Comms = Bliss!

[Monty B]

Really chuffed, after years and years on a GS, I seem to have found the perfect hemet/comms set up.

Before a GS I can't remember comms being part of the gear to be fair, so never dabbled, but anyway, a couple of years ago bought a a Schuberth E1 and found them it cracking helmet in terms of quality, comfort and fit, so much so I bought another as a spare. Was sucked into the marketing and bought a Sena 10U because it was made for the helmet.

No connection problems, but I couldn't hear anything It worked well enough for the nav, but could never get on with the Sena operation, even the volume and forget anything like the radio!

Recently upgraded to a 1250 GS and found the biking buzz again, so have already done a couple of two/three night trips. Me and a mate are out together regularly and a couple of others join us from time to time and everyone seemed to have Cardo Packtalk Bolds.

Treated myself to a new helmet - a Klim Krios Pro - fantastic fitting helmet, super light and I'm really pleased. Me and a mate chipped in and bought a Packtalk Bold Duo and today we installed them into our new helmets (he has a BMW GS helmet), paired them and went for a ride. Took time to get the speaker and microphone positions spot on and I'm amazed. Quiet helmet, comfy, great field of view, well ventilated and the Cardo offers clear nav, clear chat, great radio and all really intuitive and easy to use. Add the 'Hey Cardo' voice commands and it really is superb.

The little things like speakers not touching your ears, but clear sound and speaking with all the vents open add to the whole riding experience. Anyway, nothing new, but from someone who never liked the stick on lumps on helmets, they really are good and let's face it, not really that big. I will buy a second helmet kit and try that in a Schuberth too as a spare, but can't see me ever using it now I have the Klim.

 

[Big Si]

Really chuffed, after years and years on a GS, I seem to have found the perfect hemet/comms set up.

Before a GS I can't remember comms being part of the gear to be fair, so never dabbled, but anyway, a couple of years ago bought a a Schuberth E1 and found them it cracking helmet in terms of quality, comfort and fit, so much so I bought another as a spare. Was sucked into the marketing and bought a Sena 10U because it was made for the helmet.

No connection problems, but I couldn't hear anything It worked well enough for the nav, but could never get on with the Sena operation, even the volume and forget anything like the radio!

Recently upgraded to a 1250 GS and found the biking buzz again, so have already done a couple of two/three night trips. Me and a mate are out together regularly and a couple of others join us from time to time and everyone seemed to have Cardo Packtalk Bolds.

Treated myself to a new helmet - a Klim Krios Pro - fantastic fitting helmet, super light and I'm really pleased. Me and a mate chipped in and bought a Packtalk Bold Duo and today we installed them into our new helmets (he has a BMW GS helmet), paired them and went for a ride. Took time to get the speaker and microphone positions spot on and I'm amazed. Quiet helmet, comfy, great field of view, well ventilated and the Cardo offers clear nav, clear chat, great radio and all really intuitive and easy to use. Add the 'Hey Cardo' voice commands and it really is superb.

The little things like speakers not touching your ears, but clear sound and speaking with all the vents open add to the whole riding experience. Anyway, nothing new, but from someone who never liked the stick on lumps on helmets, they really are good and let's face it, not really that big. I will buy a second helmet kit and try that in a Schuberth too as a spare, but can't see me ever using it now I have the Klim.

There's a Cardo dealer (Creags) who is a member on here, he may offer fellow members a discount?

 

[Monty B]

There's a Cardo dealer (Creags) who is a member on here, he may offer fellow members a discount?

Too late for me, but will PM re: second helmet kit, cheers.

 

[Santa-2512]

The problem is split into two halves

50% helmet

50% comms

I bet if you put the Sena 30K into your helmet you'd be a happy bunny

I was dismissive of voice commands untill i figured out how to use them ( still hate the corney wake up phrase)

now i use the one's they sort of tell you ( Come on Sena, stop making them hard to find)

I went for the Sena over the Bold, due to the way the Sena locks the unit to the mount

If it's not clipped in, it's not going down the road

 

[casbar]

The problem is split into two halves

50% helmet

50% comms

I bet if you put the Sena 30K into your helmet you'd be a happy bunny

I was dismissive of voice commands untill i figured out how to use them ( still hate the corney wake up phrase)

now i use the one's they sort of tell you ( Come on Sena, stop making them hard to find)

I went for the Sena over the Bold, due to the way the Sena locks the unit to the mount

If it's not clipped in, it's not going down the road

I have a Packtalk for over 6 years, original one, done 1000s of miles with it on various helmets and it has never been down the road, the clip works just fine. On various Packtalk forums and nobody has ever reported losing one due to it coming out of its bracket, so that is a non issue.

 

[Micko123]

For 'group riders' dont forget the Cardo unit is also waterproof not just water resistant which is a basic necessity in the UK. I've got 3 Packtalks in total, a of pair 'normal' duo's purchased 6 years ago and a Bold purchased 3 years ago. Several helmets, with the 'glue on' shoes so the Pack talks can easily be swapped between my wife's, daughter's or son's helmets (we've all got different sized heads) and never had issues with a Packtalk falling off.
The Bold came with JLB 42mm speakers and they are an improvement over the original duo's standard speakers.
For my latest helmet I purchased another 'glue on' shoe and the 45mm JLB speakers this time and can confirm they fitted the helmet ear pockets easily, (they are even better than the 42mm JLB's).
I bought a Shoei GT Air 1 not the the GT Air 2 because Shoei have unfortunately got into bed with Sena. The GT Air 1 helmet has a clear space on the left hand side to fit the shoe for the Packtalk, on the GT Air 2 there is a 'pocket' to recieve the Sena SRL 2 comms system. The Neotec 2 is the same too.
I think Shoei made a BIG mistake getting into bed with Sena and forcing customers to use only that product. Some people want the option to group ride in DMC so the best choice is the Cardo Packtalk in my opinion, and a helmet that won't take it won't be on my radar.
Regarding battery life, the 6 year old Packtalks still last 7- 8 hours without being switched off in DMC mode. You could also get a 'Duracell Power Bank 10050' pop it into your left breast jacket pocket and plug into the Packtalk for Iron Butt type rides. When a power source is plugged in it turns the device off but it can then be switched back on again with 3 days battery life... enough for Nick Sanders type rides and it's waterproof !


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[Monty B]

For 'group riders' dont forget the Cardo unit is also waterproof not just water resistant which is a basic necessity in the UK. I've got 3 Packtalks in total, a of pair 'normal' duo's purchased 6 years ago and a Bold purchased 3 years ago. Several helmets, with the 'glue on' shoes so the Pack talks can easily be swapped between my wife's, daughter's or son's helmets (we've all got different sized heads) and never had issues with a Packtalk falling off.
The Bold came with JLB 42mm speakers and they are an improvement over the original duo's standard speakers.
For my latest helmet I purchased another 'glue on' shoe and the 45mm JLB speakers this time and can confirm they fitted the helmet ear pockets easily, (they are even better than the 42mm JLB's).
I bought a Shoei GT Air 1 not the the GT Air 2 because Shoei have unfortunately got into bed with Sena. The GT Air 1 helmet has a clear space on the left hand side to fit the shoe for the Packtalk, on the GT Air 2 there is a 'pocket' to recieve the Sena SRL 2 comms system. The Neotec 2 is the same too.
I think Shoei made a BIG mistake getting into bed with Sena and forcing customers to use only that product. Some people want the option to group ride in DMC so the best choice is the Cardo Packtalk in my opinion, and a helmet that won't take it won't be on my radar.
Regarding battery life, the 6 year old Packtalks still last 7- 8 hours without being switched off in DMC mode. You could also get a 'Duracell Power Bank 10050' pop it into your left breast jacket pocket and plug into the Packtalk for Iron Butt type rides. When a power source is plugged in it turns the device off but it can then be switched back on again with 3 days battery life... enough for Nick Sanders type rides and it's waterproof !


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I've warmed to the Bold very quickly.

Sound from JBL is excellent and the Hey Cardo just makes life easy.

The key will be how it connects each time to nav and TFT, but so far no problems.

Re" charging on the go" - I understood the unit worked whilst charging - or at least I've certainly read that somewhere.

I've already bought a second helmet kit, but no JBL, so interested to see the difference.

 

[Micko123]

The 45mm JBL (not JLB as I originally wrote... 'dyslexia rules K.O.' ..) are expensive but worth while in my opinion as I'm a 'deaf old scrote' and any assistance is welcome ! Regarding the 'charge as you go' a 300mm long USB cable direct from battery bank to Packtalk would do just fine if you need extended battery time .
As I mentioned in the previous post when something is plugged into the Packtalk it switches the device off (ie mains charging, battery bank charging, or connecting to a computer) but the device can then be switched back on. In DMC mode it then alternates between 1 green flash and 1 red flash and would probably do the same with 1 blue / 1 red flash in bluetooth mode but I never use that as it's a less stable inferior system than mesh. The only negative in mesh is the mike is always open so any grunting, singing, or 'Cardo commands' can be heard by the group, I think it also shortens battery endurance but we get 7-8 hrs without switching off.

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[peter56]

The 45mm JBL (not JLB as I originally wrote... 'dyslexia rules K.O.' ..) are expensive but worth while in my opinion as I'm a 'deaf old scrote' and any assistance is welcome ! Regarding the 'charge as you go' a 300mm long USB cable direct from battery bank to Packtalk would do just fine if you need extended battery time .
As I mentioned in the previous post when something is plugged into the Packtalk it switches the device off (ie mains charging, battery bank charging, or connecting to a computer) but the device can then be switched back on. In DMC mode it then alternates between 1 green flash and 1 red flash and would probably do the same with 1 blue / 1 red flash in bluetooth mode but I never use that as it's a less stable inferior system than mesh. The only negative in mesh is the mike is always open so any grunting, singing, or 'Cardo commands' can be heard by the group, I think it also shortens battery endurance but we get 7-8 hrs without switching off.

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I did not know this ( The only negative in mesh is the mike is always open ). Does mesh make the mic more sensitive ?

 

[Micko123]

No in DMC mode the mic isn't more sensitive, just 'open to the pack' all the time, so if for instance one of us goes into a petrol station to pay for fuel without taking helmet off (funny how pre-Corona we were told we must take helmets off or be shot a dawn) we can all hear what he says to the till guy. Or pushing the bikes around at the butty van it often sounds like a sex party with the heavy breathing !
A very loud fart can't be heard though, as most of our group can testify.
Off subject slightly I'm very pleased with the waterproof zipped phone holder with Ram mount I bought recently. It has a hole in the bottom for the charging lead from the Opimate power source plugged into the BMW socket and zip tied to the control cables. The phone (battery bank or anything else that fits into the phone case) can be charged as you ride, you can see who is calling if you don't have a TFT, and seems more secure than the X grip type of phone holder to me.

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[peter56]

So if in mesh mode the mic is open all the time. Does it still manage to filter out wind noise

 

[Micko123]

We can tell sometimes if someone in the group has got their visor open and they are 'trapping on' a bit but nothing too bad. The "auto gain' works well when it increases speaker volume with ambient noise increase too.

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[peter56]

We can tell sometimes if someone in the group has got their visor open and they are 'trapping on' a bit but nothing too bad. The "auto gain' works well when it increases speaker volume with ambient noise increase too.

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good to know cheers. packtalk will be my next comms .I keep looking at reviews.

 

[Micko123]

If it's just you and a pillion you can stay in bluetooth mode and it's fine, but for up to 15 riders in a pack DMC is much more stable. There are 35 + videos on U-tube by MotoGeek Freak tips and helpful information see
look here.

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[KevinW]

<snip> On various Packtalk forums and nobody has ever reported losing one due to it coming out of its bracket, so that is a non issue.

I've been looking for Cardo forums but failed miserably to find any as our experience with the Packtalk - rider and pillion wanting to chat and share music - has been pretty crap so far. I'm hoping I've screwed up the set up somehow but I'd be interested in other rider/pillion eperiences (I've spoken to one other rider here who has the same issues). Where are the forums you mention please?

Thanks.

Kevin

 

[Rowle]

If it's just you and a pillion you can stay in bluetooth mode and it's fine, but for up to 15 riders in a pack DMC is much more stable. There are 35 + videos on U-tube by MotoGeek Freak tips and helpful information see
look here.

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How do you know whether you are in bluetooth mode or not ?
My cardo works but more by luck i guess.

 

[cpszx]

Teach your friends how to mute their mic in a garage, cafe, etc?

Page 8
https://www.cardosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/guides/manual/en/packtalkBold.pdf

 

[Micko123]

In bluetooth mode the flashes are blue, in DMC mode the flashes are green. There are lots of videos on U-tube if you type Cardo Packtalk in search.
Or search on U-tube for MotoGeek Freak he's got loads of tips 'n' tricks for all Cardo stuff. There's tons of information on line.

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[Micko123]

Kevin W have you watched this tutorial on U-tube ? I still dont know how to post the link so a screenshot is the best I can do.

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[KevinW]

So if in mesh mode the mic is open all the time. Does it still manage to filter out wind noise

I was hearing constant wind noise from my wife's Neotec when she was riding pillion.

Kevin