Best Motorcycle headset.

JON12A

JON12A

IBAUK's retired Shop Keeper
Premier Member
IBA Member
I seem to continue to spend good money after bad in the search for a good motorcycle headset.
I've read the reviews that are all very mixed.
I've seen the you tube vids that claim the ease of set up and continued reliability but then in reality many riders claim they don't do what they say on the tin.
My needs are gps / phone/ 1 intercom/ music and at least a full days riding before going flat.
It seems that a possible snag is the BMW electronics that don't like my Samsung phone even though it is a recent model.
I continue to loose conection with the gps every hour or so.
So whats every one using ???.
Thanks for any help .
My gps is the garmin 6.
Phone Samsung galaxy 9
 
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I’ve got a Sena 10r and like it, the radio isn’t that great in some areas of the country, so I guess the aerial isn’t great. The battery seems to last for 5-6 hours when in full use but it’s possible to charge and use at the same time and the sound quality is fine. The unit is easy to use.

The head set is paired to my Nav. My phone is paired to the nav not direct to the headset and it seems to work well. Better with the BM nav than the Zumo 660.

I don’t use it as an intercom...so can’t comment on that.

It seems the new Sena 50 series which is out soon and the Cardo Packtalk are using a mesh network for intercom which is much better so, Iook into that as it seems to be the way to go.
 
Cardo Packtalk Bold paired to BMW Nav 6 with music loaded. Pretty happy with it - voice controls mostly work (its a great feature), no issues with connectivity. Inbuilt radio is okay with pre-set stations but scanning whilst riding it fails to pick up the frequency changes....

Don't tend to pair with my phone....
 
Trying out the Schuberth C4 pro with SC1 Advance on way up tomorrow. Will update.
 
Shoei neotec 2 with the senna unit built in Samsung galaxy 3 bluetooth To garmin zumo so you can see the phone info on screen then to headset unit will easily last 24 hours on satnav and the occasional phone call good sound quality i.e ten minute call with my wife whilst on M6, if you use the radio or play music battery life will be reduced.
Cannot charge on the move other wise a good unit.
P.S reassuringly expensive:eek:
 
Cardo Packtalk Bold. The only box it does not tick for you is battery life. On the Baltic States tour I got into the habit of topping up the charge whilst I ate lunch, this worked well. Without a top up and continuous use it lasts about 8 hours, the lunch top up has not run out.

I have a Garmin 595LM but now predominantly use my iPhoneXS Max.

I use this with moulded in ear speakers again works very well.
 
Have had the Shuberth C4 for one year - riding about 30000 km - never fail me - batteries last many days more that Schuberth says - 10-15 hours is possible - at minimum nearly 8 hours. But keep your batteries cool when charging - have to by one new - chargeing when I ride , change when possible. It`s a Senna intergrated - sc1 without radio - Norway has cut out the FM - so no use for it.
 
Check out the Interphone Tour, really underrated I think.

It is good value compared to the cost of similar spec units from Sena etc, has incredible battery life, easy to use and is reliably paired with my BMW Nav VI and Samsung S8. I have upgraded the speakers to the Pro version in my Schuberth C3 Pro, but use the standard speakers in my Shoei with not a lot of noticeable difference (the Schuberth being a quieter helmet anyway) and swap the one unit between helmets as needed.

Edited to add: The pairing issue you are experiencing could be due to the order of pairing of your devices. I believe you need to pair your phone to the Nav VI, then the bluetooth headset to the Nav VI. It's important to unpair your phone from the bluetooth device.
 
Kim Leeson said:
How did you like the C4 with the SC1 Advance?
Click to expand...
Impressed. Visor has pinlock, but wearing a buff it mists at low speeds. OK with visor vented at low speeds and not an issue over 30. Quiet helmet. Radio clear when on station but RDS not working yet. Probably operator error. Just got the sat nav and phone plumbed in so will update when done a few miles.

But Giel is the master, can I offer any more.
 
From our use with the C3 and the coms collar great for just going out and a short day out ride up to 8 hrs any more than that batteries run flat
We wish we had gone back to autocom hard wired yes but never failed us in 8 years of use
On some longer rides with the C3 I tried using a recharge power pack but that only gave us a couple hours extra it needed long on charge and it’s time we did not have
Have a chat over a beer in Calais and I am sure by the end of the night we will have you signed up to a boom box strapped on the rear of the bike with a 500 watt power amp lol

Ps please ignore last bit lol
 
GarminDave said:
Cardo Packtalk Bold. The only box it does not tick for you is battery life. On the Baltic States tour I got into the habit of topping up the charge whilst I ate lunch, this worked well. Without a top up and continuous use it lasts about 8 hours, the lunch top up has not run out.

I have a Garmin 595LM but now predominantly use my iPhoneXS Max.

I use this with moulded in ear speakers again works very well.
Click to expand...

I have a similar setup with the PackTalk Bold and my Navigator V. What I like about the PackTalk Bold is that you can charge it while you're using it. I put a usb batter back in my chest pocket and run a micro usb cable to the PackTalk and I can ride for a week without going dead (actually the longest I've used it on a ride was 21.5 hours straight on a BBG 1500 but the battery pack still had plenty of juice left).
 
C4pro with SC1 has separate battery. One can be recharged on USB powered charger whilst riding and swapped over quickly on a fuel stop. All in the helmet. Control buttons are better located than C3 collar. Separate bluetooth controller available. No additional wind noise from external components. :)
 
Jim Craig said:
I have a similar setup with the PackTalk Bold and my Navigator V. What I like about the PackTalk Bold is that you can charge it while you're using it. I put a usb batter back in my chest pocket and run a micro usb cable to the PackTalk and I can ride for a week without going dead (actually the longest I've used it on a ride was 21.5 hours straight on a BBG 1500 but the battery pack still had plenty of juice left).
Click to expand...
I've got the packtalk and get 7-8 hours while listening to music/podcasts/GPS. I've used it a lot in last 24 months and not let me down. My previous interphone's needed battery replacements after 12 months as I guess they could not handle to number of charge cycles.
Darren.
 
I have about 35,000 miles on an early C4. It's accepted now that they dropped the ball on quality at the start. The top vent leaked, they have redesigned it for the latest ones. I fixed mine. The liner collapsed and rubbed my ears, they do give you a complete liner kit from the C4Pro for free, that works. They used a Chinese pinlock copy, they don't work, I bought a proper Pinlock which works. One of the buttons came apart rendering the SC1 Advanced useless, even thought it was 13 months old at the time they gave me a new one. I'm now happy with it, the viewport is huge, the comms works, I keep spare batteries charging in my top box, it's comfortable and quiet.
I have no experience with the current version, I only know they upgraded the Pinlock and liner. I have no experience of the Pro.
 
Sena 20S Evo is ok, not as loud as I'd like when wearing earplugs, (all the time), and battery life is somewhat ok, but on long days you'll still need to plug in. Up side, you can charge and use it at the same time, unlike the in helmet systems they sell.
 
biquer said:
I have about 35,000 miles on an early C4. It's accepted now that they dropped the ball on quality at the start. The top vent leaked, they have redesigned it for the latest ones. I fixed mine. The liner collapsed and rubbed my ears, they do give you a complete liner kit from the C4Pro for free, that works. They used a Chinese pinlock copy, they don't work, I bought a proper Pinlock which works. One of the buttons came apart rendering the SC1 Advanced useless, even thought it was 13 months old at the time they gave me a new one. I'm now happy with it, the viewport is huge, the comms works, I keep spare batteries charging in my top box, it's comfortable and quiet.
I have no experience with the current version, I only know they upgraded the Pinlock and liner. I have no experience of the Pro.
Click to expand...

The C4Pro is the best helmet/coms combination I've used. Again I charge a battery on the move in my topbox but never needed to swap it out on a day ride. It's there in case I have a multiday ride without chance to charge overnight. An in helmet system that works really well.
 
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