Lots of Cardo coms, anyone know which is best??

[cloughie24]

Hiya,

 

I've been looking at coms units and Cardo seem to be the brand that everyone is raving about! Does anyone know which of the many varieties is best or indeed has one and can speak from experience? I'm an occasional rider and I like to listen to music but also end up on a major mystery tour without a sat nav to hear, don't mind not seeing it although that makes things just as fun (never lost just on a detour ).

 

Thanks!!

Edited July 7, 2022 by cloughie24

[manxie49]

My mate who I went up to Scotland with uses Cardo Packtalk and swears by it.  We did struggle trying to link it to my SENA.  I like the way it can be un-clipped from the mount for charging.  It seemed pretty easy to use and he did have an app installed on his I-phone for altering the settings and linking to other cardo units.  In talking, he said the only really fiddly bit was installing the headphones and mike, that could just possibly be a helmet specific issue though.  I was struggling to listen to music on my SENA at motorway speeds but he said that he doesn't have those issues.  Cardo does seem to be pretty good, I just like the SENA because it tucks neatly into my Shoei helmet with nothing stuck to the side.

[cloughie24]

That would be my next call, what fits my helmet! I've got a Shoei but so long as things work I'm not overly fussed about the unit being visible, especially if it unclips. I know there's space already for the headphones I just haven't explored room for the mic.

 

Thanks for the advice!! 

[Fish]

I've got the Freecom 4X and I quite like it. The latest with the mesh comms is the Slim/Bold/Edge (better last) but they use an older bluetooth version. The JBL speakers are fairly decent even with ear plugs in.

[Mickly]

I’ve got a Cardo Freecom 1+
I don’t use it for music, just linked to my iPhone for satnav & receiving calls.

The installation on my Nolan N100-5 was a bit tricky & involved cutting away some of the interior to fit the speakers.

I ride with ear plugs but with the volume up to max I can still hear directions clearly at very illegal speeds on a naked bike.

The app is intuitive & allows download of the latest operating system.

Battery life seems good, recent use as satnav only for 10 hours only used 20%.

All good so far …

Here are the bad bits …

The buttons are a bit fiddly to use with bike gloves & the big problem is that although it’s handy to be able to clip the unit off to charge, if you don’t clip it back in properly it will end up deposited on a far away road side never to be seen again

You can buy a replacement unit from Cardo but it costs more than buying the whole kit from other outlets.

[Smok3y666]

The lads I got riding with just got the Cardo Edge. I got the Cardo Black because the only differences I could see besides the stupid price of the Edge was the Black uses BT 4.0 instead of 5.2, Edge updates wirelessly and it attaches to the mount faster using magnets or something. The one thing the Black does have over the Edge is it comes with the upgraded 45mm JBL speaker kit which def sounds a lot better than the 40mm speakers my previous Sena had.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Smok3y666

[Stu]

I and a load of others who I ride with all have Cardo Packtalk bold headsets and none of us have any complaints so far!