Sponsorship | Cardo Systems
To coms or not to coms? That is the question!
For a ride of this size, it is definitely ‘to coms’. I have ridden for most of my riding career with no coms units, predominantly due to a very mixed experience with them in my first few years of riding. However, due to the length of time and the distance being covered, we have decided that we will at some point need to talk to each other (I know the horror)!
We recently approached Cardo to see if they could help and they said YES! So, for the ride we will be using the Cardo Packtalk Bold. This is a perfect type of system as we can create groups on the fly, connect with other coms systems, have an active range of 1,000 meters (up to 1,600 meters in perfect conditions) and mute people (I sometimes wish this function was not just in my helmet!).
Upon receiving our kits, we couldn’t wait to install them! From the start, the product just screamed quality. I know it is sad, but I love the box, silk black with a flash of reflective blue - it just looks awesome.
What is in the box:
Packtalk Bold
Speakers by JBL
Packtalk Audio Kit
Glue Plate
Corded Microphone
Hybrid Microphone
Rectangular Velcro Pads
Square Velcro Pads
Speaker Relocators (Boosters)
USB Cable
Obviously for the Duo set, there is two of everything!
Working at Bridge Motorcycles, I have seen a fair few coms kits being fitted into helmets, and the speed it can be done with. So, going into it I felt fairly confident. Well long story short, I have a new respect for my Bridge colleagues. Although it doesn’t take very long (15 – 20 mins), there is a little bit of faffing around trying to route the wires. Every helmet is different, and I am very lucky that my helmet (Bell MX-9 Adventure) comes apart and goes back together very easily.
Within less than a minute of fitting all the coms, the units were paired to their respective riders’ phones and playing music as well as being paired to each other for communication. Although we have not tested them out on the road yet, the future looks positive!
We will be trying all the units out next weekend, stay tuned for updates!
