Review: Scala Rider Bluetooth Helmet Headset

Gadgets, Mobile phones, Reviews
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The Propaganda

You don’t realise til you get a motorbike how much stuff you need to buy to make it work. There’s all the clothing to minimise scraping off the road situations, there’s the bags, boxes and the like to make it usable day-to-day, and then there’s the fact that you can’t take any phone calls whilst you’re on your bike. Unless you’ve got a bluetooth headset specially adapted for use under helmets – such as the Scala Rider headset from Cardo. It’s a speaker that sits inside your helmet with a boom mike that you position inside the front mask. The idea is that it’s simple enough to use on the road, without having to stop your bike to chat.

The Good

Securing the headset is easy, as you clamp the battery pack to the outside of your helmet using the clamp they supply. It’s weather resistant, so there are no worries about the conditions you’re biking in. It also doesn’t leave a mark on the helmet, which given how much you’ve just shelled out on the helmet (definitely a piece of equipment you don’t want to skimp on) you’ll be thrilled about. 

You then position the boom mike by your mouth, and the speaker by your ear, which is fixed on with velcro. It’s a speaker, rather than an in-ear piece, presumably to ensure that it doesn’t fall out if you’re on a particularly bumpy ride.

To make calls, you set up your phone with speech recognition. Alternatively, you can answer calls and dial your last number using the buttons on the battery pack.  Once I was on a call, I was amazed by how clear the sound was – the speaker really does make it easy to hear people. The speaker also adjusts the levels according to your speed levels, so it doesn’t become deafening when you’re at a standstill.  I’ve also been on the other end, and can vouch for the fact that when someone is using this, it really is impossible to tell that they’re on a bike even up to speeds of 70 mph (apart for the "hang on a sec, just overtaking.." type comments).

The Bad

Whilst the sound quality is great on a closed helmet, the microphone does suffer when you’re using an open helmet. Despite the manufacturers saying that it’s wind-resistant, if you don’t have your visor down, you do know about it.

Whilst they’ve made the buttons as big as they can, it can still be tricky to adjust, particularly when you’re wearing gloves. There is a large answer button, as well as a separate re-dial button, but it’s the volume buttons that are really tricky to get to. If you do have to adjust the volume, you might find that it’s altogether safer to pull over.

There are also certain additional features that it would benefit from. For instance, there is a sudden crop of bluetooth headsets designed to work in tandem with your MP3 player. This would be perfect for the Scala Rider, as listening to music is something you miss on a bike  – what could be better than cruising along listening to Bat Out of Hell, or some equivalent biker type music, and knowing that you’re not going to miss any calls. It’s also impossible to get it to pair with a GPS device, which again, would be a great application of the technology.

In our opinion

It’s a great piece of kit, and it’s really surprising to hear exactly how clearly people can hear you. For anyone that travels regularly on their bike, £75 will be a small price to pay for the assurance that they’re not missing calls. As for whether it’s the safest thing in the world? Probably not.

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6 comments

  • Hi’quite interested in one of these,i have bike to bike intercom and a garmin zumo550, will this work with both?is there a socket to plug the bike to bike into/

  • Motorcycle Helmet With BlueTooth
    bluetooth handfree motocycle helmet
    [email protected]
    our new bluetooth handfree helmet is very nice,more convenient,more safety,more cheaper(becourse it made in china),though we are not a large international company,but our product maybe more fit for user.
    could you tell me how can i enter to europe market,or intruduce some importer for me?
    thanks very much!
    attachment:
    Bluetooth handfree motocycle helmet

    1.basic function

    Effect at high speed environment
    When driving at the speed of 70 kilometres/hour, both side of talker can hear clearly

    Auto receive calls

    when you are driving motocycle,both hands can not leave the handle,otherwise it will be very dangeras. The function comfirm you to answer calls need not any opperation when there is a call—need not push any button , after ring on about two seconds,you could answer the call. so it is very safety and convenient

    Auto connect

    if the helmet go beyond of the available distance between the mobile phone , when coming back to the availabeln again within 10 minutes,it can connect with the mobile automatically

    One key opperation

    There is only one key on the helmet, It’s used for power on&off, so it is very convenient.

    Simply pair

    It need only one time to pair the bluetooth helmet with the mobile phone ,then the buyer need not pair them again.

    Little consume

    A fully charged battery provides: talk time 5 hours or standby time 100 hours)

    charge method

    if lowbattery,take out the battery box (from the USB socket)to charge,need not take the helmet

    With best regards!

    Sincerely

    Mei Bin

    SHEN ZHEN LUCKYHORSE LIMITED COMPANY,CHINA

    Email:[email protected]

  • I have a BIG problem…. the party I am trying to communicate with can not hear me. The unit paired with my Zumo 550 and cell phone and everyting thing else is perfect. It is of no use if the person on the other end can not hear me..

  • The Scala Rider can pair with a GPS device! I’ve got it communicating with a Garmin Zumo 550 without any difficulty, and Cardo Systems have tested it with a Garmin 2820.

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