Best Motorcycle Bluetooth 2018 at RevZilla.com
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00:00Hey, this is Anthony with RevZilla, you can watch, decide, and ride.
00:04Welcome to the best motorcycle Bluetooth communicators of 2018.
00:10Here at RevZilla.com, we've been testing and reviewing motorcycle Bluetooth comm units
00:14since 2009.
00:16We've seen the full evolution of the tech, and nobody's spent more time beating on these
00:20things than our video production crew every time they have a shoot outside of the studio.
00:25Now, why would you consider Bluetooth technology to enhance your ride?
00:29First up, it's rider-to-rider connectivity and communication.
00:32Think of it as a sophisticated walkie-talkie system while you're riding.
00:35Secondarily, you'd find the utility of phone or GPS via Bluetooth, getting that functionality
00:40while you ride, and thirdly, you'd have the entertainment factor of listening to music
00:45or sharing music with another rider.
00:47In this video, we're going to break down the top four best motorcycle Bluetooth comm units
00:51for 2018.
00:53We're going to evaluate them based on feature set, ease of use and install, and of course,
00:57which ties back to price.
00:59Now, everything we're going to show you today really covers a baseline of music pairing,
01:04GPS pairing.
01:06They're going to be voice-activated, noise-canceling, with a solid baseline for speakers, as well
01:11as a pretty easy install.
01:12The key differences are going to come in when you think about that rider-to-rider communication
01:16aspect.
01:17Now that you understand our framework, let's dive in.
01:22First up in our comm unit guide is our best entry-level Bluetooth communication unit.
01:27This is the Cardo FreeComm1, and right out of the gates, we love it because it's not
01:31going to kill your budget, but it does the basics extremely well.
01:35This unit is $125, and what it doesn't offer you is rider-to-rider connectivity, but you're
01:40still getting a unit that's going to allow you to pair with your GPS, as well as your
01:44phone, two units, great sound quality, and again, coming in at $125, it's nearly half
01:50the price at some of the more premium units.
01:52Now, when we took it out and rode in it, the two things that jumped out at us that we love
01:56beyond the sound quality, ease of use, it's a four-button setup, very, very simple, and
02:01it actually happens to be waterproof, as well.
02:03So, waterproof, dustproof, to the accredited standard.
02:06Now, when you think about installation, I know that many of the folks that potentially
02:11are dipping their toe in the water for the first time would be thinking about this unit.
02:15For a beginner, it's going to be about 15 to 30 minutes.
02:17It's not rocket science.
02:18It's actually not difficult.
02:20Just take your time, and one of the things that jumps out to us is if you are wearing
02:23a more race-fit or very snug cheek pad helmet, there is going to be a wire that has a connection
02:28point that might create a little bit of bulk, and what you need to do is just decide where
02:32that's going to go, and you might have to trial and error move it around a couple times.
02:35So, when we're thinking about the Freecom 1, remember, it's not going to break the bank.
02:39The feature set performs at a high level outside of having that rider-to-rider comm unit functionality,
02:45and the battery life is rock-solid, too.
02:47For those reasons, it's very easy to see why the Freecom 1 is going to be our best
02:51entry-level comm unit for 18.
02:52Now, let's flip-flop and go to the high end of the spectrum.
02:57The top end of the Bluetooth universe for 2018 actually sees us move from unit to fully
03:03integrated helmet.
03:04This is the Sena Momentum Helmet, and what it is is a Sena 10 Series or 20 Series, that's
03:10the difference between a Momentum Lite or a Sena Regular Momentum Helmet, fully integrated
03:15into a premium composite helmet.
03:17The value of that out of the gates is the fact that you're not going to get any sail
03:21factor.
03:22There's nothing on the outside of this helmet to, one, slow it down, but more importantly,
03:25create any turbulence or external noise.
03:28You can see the controls on the back side of the helmet, the charging point on the other
03:31side of the helmet.
03:32When we think about fit for the Momentum Helmet, this is actually going to be an intermediate
03:36oval head shape.
03:37It's what I would consider to be the more classic American fit, a little bit longer
03:40front to back, not overly round, not overly narrow.
03:44Keep in mind, we consider this to be a snug or a race fit, and you're going to feel that
03:49throughout the helmet.
03:50If you're in between sizes, make sure you go the size up to ensure it's going to fit
03:55for you.
03:56When you actually take it out onto the road, there is additional benefit.
04:00The first one is, many people that ride in comm unit devices will note that there are
04:04microphones and wires and things on the inside of the helmet.
04:07This is fully integrated.
04:08Your speakers and your microphones are worked into the cheek pads, so you're not going to
04:13notice any difference from a normal helmet.
04:15The other key thing is, when they're designing this helmet really around a communication
04:19device, you get to beef up the battery, 20 to 27 hours of usage.
04:24That's not standby.
04:25That's actually talk time or listening to music, which is really industry leading.
04:29Now, it's relatively lightweight as well, where you're going to get 3 pounds, 11 ounces,
04:34a DOT rated composite shell.
04:36You're not sacrificing on comfort.
04:37It's really a premium lid with a premium integrated Bluetooth comm unit.
04:42When we think about the top end of the spectrum for 2018, the Sena Momentum is going to be
04:46class leading.
04:47Now, if you're interested in the rest of our gear guide series for this year, check out
04:51our product videos or our rider type gear guides for street, commuting, adventure, hardcore
04:55track day freak type gear.
04:57You can find it at RevZilla.com.
04:59Now, let's move on to our runner up.
05:03Our runner up for 2018 is a perennial favorite.
05:06This is the Sena 20S, now available in its Evo version.
05:10You're looking north of the $250 mark.
05:13You're looking at a Bluetooth comm unit that's fully featured, great speaker quality, and
05:17again, is going to be over a mile range for up to eight riders paired.
05:21Now, what we absolutely love about it, this latest version is more water resistant.
05:26They've also changed the antenna by getting rid of it.
05:29You now just have this little nub, and it's going to still keep that north of one mile
05:33range that we spoke about earlier.
05:35Now, the unit itself at a baseline, it's one of the few on the market with the jog dial.
05:40It's super easy to use.
05:41The speakers are thick and very nice, great crisp sound quality, and the battery is going
05:46to stand up to all the other units within the premium end of the spectrum.
05:50Now, one thing to call out with this Sena unit, it's the only unit on the market currently
05:55that will do HD audio and tie in with your GoPro audio backpack.
06:00For the moto vlogging universe, you have the ability to lay down high quality HD audio
06:04with your high quality videos through your GoPro.
06:07From an install standpoint, again, if you're a beginner, think 15 to 30 minutes, a little
06:12bit of paint by numbers, not very difficult.
06:14One of the things that comes into play though with the thicker speakers, make sure you have
06:18a helmet that has either cutaways or leaves you some room around the ears, but it also
06:22has Velcro pads that you can use to adjust and fine tune where the placement of both
06:26the wires as well as the speakers are going to be when you are setting it up.
06:30The other thing that jumps out at us is the app for the Sena units for configurability
06:34is one of the best on the market.
06:35Again, fully featured, up to eight riders, great battery length, very, very usable, tend
06:42to be the claims to fame on the Sena 20S Evo.
06:45Now, let's move on to our Bluetooth comm unit of the year.
06:50Up until this point, we've seen a number of different comm units, one of which I even
06:54called the gold standard, but really where we land for best of the year 2018 is the Cardo
07:00Pactalk, which is not a low level investment.
07:03This is going to come in close to the $300 mark, but what sets it apart is they've gone
07:07zero to one.
07:08They've invented a new technology they call DMC, Dynamic Mesh Communication, which solves
07:13rider to rider drop off based on distance and based on line of sight.
07:17I'm going to get into that in a second, but ultimately you do have a unit that comes in
07:20single and dual packs, which really plays at the front of the pack and allows you a
07:24different type of technology and a different ease of use.
07:29Back to DMC for a second.
07:30What it does is it allows the units to be paired together, expanding the range for up
07:35to five miles, but it creates a self-healing network.
07:39When we pair all of these devices up to 15 on the Pactalk, what happens is if you lose
07:43a rider, you don't lose all of the riders in front of that rider or behind that rider
07:48if they happen to be the next person on that connectivity node.
07:51What happens is the mesh network heals itself and you keep everyone else connected.
07:56We've never seen anyone do that before and that's been a use case that a lot of these
08:00Bluetooth manufacturers have been trying to solve for quite some time.
08:03Now, outside of that, you're looking at a week of standby, 13 plus hours of talk.
08:08This DMC technology does use a little bit more battery life compared to your typical
08:12Bluetooth or normal intercom functionality, but even at around or just under what you'd
08:17compare it with the Sena, using DMC makes it such a more simple and easy to use unit
08:22when you're riding that it's worth the change.
08:25Now, from a riding standpoint, we love the fact that it's easy to use.
08:28It has some of the biggest speakers in the industry right now at 40 millimeter and it
08:33is one of the few units that's going to be fully waterproof as well as dustproof when
08:37some of its competitors are just going to be water and dust resistant.
08:40Now, when we dive into the install side of things, it's a simple install.
08:44The same as the Freecom One we started the video with, 15 to 30 minutes for a beginner,
08:48you have to route some wires.
08:49It's a clamp or a sticky mount.
08:51The only thing to keep in mind is that because these speakers are really industry leading
08:54from a size, sound quality and volume standpoint, they're a little bit bigger.
08:58Make sure you do have room with them.
09:01All in, you're looking just under the $300 mark.
09:03You're only $30-ish more expensive than our runner up for the year, but you're getting
09:08a brand new technology with that DMC, which really changes the ride compared to the rest
09:13of the premium units.
09:14Now, in this video, you saw our four best.
09:16We've covered a bit of a cost arc as well as a feature arc, but based on our riding
09:20research and expert opinion, they are the best four for 2018.
09:25Remember, if you want to see more of our opinion or check out any other categories of gear,
09:29check out RevZilla.com for videos, articles and more of our expert opinion.
09:33Also, don't forget to subscribe at RevZilla.com.
09:36Stay up to date with our guides that we're going to be rolling out all season long.
09:39I'm Anthony.
09:40We'll see you next time.