Review on Motorcycle Bluetooth Helmet Headset Communication by Robert Sample

Long review. So I've been eyeing this brand for a while and wanted to go with the S-1 based on the good reviews. I finally needed one because of a kite back bike ride with a friend. I found out that the S-9 was their latest model, so I decided to give it a try. My review is quite long as I wanted to cover all of my experiences and some of the cons that may or may not be related to my helmet design. Suitable: The metal clip included in the kit that attaches to the base of the device. basically useless. This should allow the clip to be used as a fastening option and moved from helmet to helmet if necessary. They have to make helmets super thin out there in China because they are WAY small to fit any regular American helmet. I even tried it on my 3/4 open face Daytona helmet which has a super thin low profile outer shell and it didn't fit either. I was afraid that applying more pressure would break either the base unit or the metal clip. Basically what I'm saying is that you need to glue or glue the base to your helmet. Which brings me to another point, the 3m strap provided for it was also useless and didn't offer a good grip. I had to buy thicker and stronger industrial grade double sided tape, which seemed to work. However, the back of the base is U-shaped, so the contact area is quite small, but it still seems to be well glued. Now for the design. I have two main complaints about buttons. For some reason they decided to separate the voice control buttons for Siri (iOS) and Google Assistant (Android). The instructions state that Siri is only supported via a large round function button that is easy to press and use. I have an Android phone and found that my Google Assistant doesn't work with that big round function button. Looking through the instructions, I found that there is another voice control button hidden on the bottom of the base unit. This button is relatively small and difficult to reach with winter riding gloves. The same applies to the volume buttons, they are quite small and difficult to use with thick riding gloves. I used the headset with thinner summer gloves before it got cold and it's not that big of a problem with them, but I also have somewhat small hands and this can still be a problem for people with big hands and fingers. The second issue with the volume buttons is that they are too "soft". The softer rubber cover seems to cover the harder plastic button. This basically creates a sweet spot that you have to click on for the button to work. As if there was a small air pocket between the outer coating and the hardware button itself. Again this is an issue with thick gloves, not so much with thinner gloves which give you a better sense of where this point is. I would STRONGLY recommend SCS to update the keys with bigger, stronger and stiffer keys with rubberized pads. I haven't tried their S-1 model, but the buttons look better/bigger on this one. Usage: I have a Scorpion EXO helmet which due to its design is a VERY noisy helmet compared to fully enclosed full face helmets. . The faceplate actually peels off, as does the lower half of the helmet, creating gaps that create more wind noise than a regular full-face helmet. Another problem with my helmet is that it doesn't have the usual cavities near the ears to put the earphones for the headset. The helmet straps actually fit over my ears, are triangular shaped and fit over my ears like earmuffs. That's where I had to mount the headset speakers. I used special fabric glue to glue the velcro to the helmet straps. It worked and placed the speaker right in front of my ears. Later, while driving, I found out that the balaclava became a bit uncomfortable after a while due to the pressure on the ears. Then I just rode again for 6 hours and skied for 2 days. Those with speaker gaps may find it more comfortable, although some modifications may be necessary, e.g. B. adding some cut out pieces of foam/pads to close the gap between the speakers and the ear. And the speakers are LOUD! To the point where you could probably damage your ears by cranking it up to the highest setting. I ride a Yamaha Road Star Warrior 1700cc with a loud Cobra exhaust. I could still hear the music clearly enough at speeds over 100, er, I mean 55 mph through all that engine and pipe noise. =) I didn't have to turn the volume up obscenely loud to still hear. The only thing I have to fiddle with is the music and alarm volume settings, as the music on the phone is muted to a certain level, but then the actual headset's system sounds are still at a very loud level, so I need a balance too Find. The noise cancellation on this thing is amazing! People on the other end said they heard me crystal clear as I accelerated to 80mph with crazy wind noise and my loud engine/exhaust. They said they heard a slight buzzing, like it was somewhere in the distance, but they could almost hear me like I was on the phone right in the car. At first I thought the mic was broken as the other end couldn't hear me, but found that I hadn't fully connected the mic jack to the base unit. When I did that and felt the click, everything worked perfectly. The only thing I need to figure out is why Google Assistant works when stationary but not while driving. I think it might be the noise cancellation that gets in the way while driving and activates it on my phone when I say "Ok Google". I want to be able to voice activate it without using my hands or the voice activation button on the bottom of the device. I didn't get a chance to use the intercom either as I only had one device, but I hope my friend will buy one for our next trip. I think it will work great. Battery life: As already mentioned. I bought this for our bike trip to Tazewell VA and Back of the Dragon. I had only used it a couple of times before the trip as I bought it about a week before the trip. We drove about 6 hours there and another 6 back. I had the GPS, but most of the time the music was on pretty loud. When we arrived I drove there for a few more hours and never got a single low battery warning. Just in case, I charged it fully overnight and rode the whole second day, again with no low battery warning. I'd say the battery life is pretty damn good considering I had the volume pretty high due to my loud bike and helmet wind noise. Weather Protection: It was supposed to rain a bit but we missed it so we couldn't test without a rain cover but I think it's a good thing as it's IPX5 certified. Due to the cold weather, I encountered some malfunctions. When we left Tazewell it was in our teens and then in our 30s. The wind on the freeway was quite cold and we got home at night when it was even colder. Some of the buttons didn't work as they used to when it was warmer during the day and I couldn't get Pandora to work. However, I think it could be my phone and not the device. I had a Samsung S9+ on my handlebars and from previous experience phones and cold weather are not compatible, they run into problems when it's too cold outside. I had the phone in a thin open case, not a solid fully enclosed case. I need to do more testing to determine if it's a phone and not a device. This is my first bluetooth headset and I have never tried Sena brands/models or others but for the price and functionality from my first real world test I would highly recommend this device. I would give it 5 stars if the keys were bigger with a more robust feel and feedback. Also, they need to integrate the voice control button into a big round function button for Android users.