Cardo PACKTALK EDGE Superior Sound System for Helmets.
Bluetooth systems have been available for motorcyclists to connect their phones to a sound system on their helmets for a decade or more. Enabling them to listen to music and perhaps answer phone calls hands-free, but these systems were always limited. The Cardo range of helmet sound systems frees up your communications. Jeremy Webb tunes into the premium brand and tests the Cardo PACKTALK EDGE.
I had been listening to music whilst riding for perhaps forty years when I fitted headphones into my helmet and connected them to a Sony Walkman. I would then press play and listen to my taped music. When MP3 players came in, I did the same thing, except the music was stored digitally. Now everything you can imagine is done through our phones, so I have been playing music, listening to Sat Nav and more through my phone, again connected to headphones mounted in the helmet.
I am now upgrading my communication experience by installing a Cardo PACKTALK EDGE to my helmet, and you can see this process on my Youtube channel Roadtestsandreviews. The PACKTALK EDGE from Cardo has everything you need to install the system on either an open-face helmet or a full-face one. Clear instructions with good diagrams are always something I like to see. Being a man, I often think I can solve the installation without the need for instructions, but I found these so simple to follow that I went step by step and had the system fitted within about thirty minutes, not including the four hours curing time of the adhesive on the carrier unit.
Ok, down to the facts and use of the Cardo PACKTALK EDGE, the latest model in a wide range of Cardo products. The design for the main component is sleek and modern, with a button and jog wheel layout that magnetically locks to the carrier unit when it gets within cm of it. The buttons have been redesigned from previous Cardo units to be easier to operate and feel with gloves.
Cardo has also removed the antenna seen on previous systems used with Mesh communication, and the PACKTALK EDGE has excellent DMC Dynamic Mesh Communication.
The PACKTALK EDGE is waterproof, essential for users in the UK as it will have to take on all the elements.
The charging port is a USB-C, and the power delivery offered by the connection means that in a flash of twenty minutes of charging, two hours of ride time can be added to the PACKTALK EDGE.
Cardo has created Second-Generation DMC allowing riders to enter and exit the mesh without the pairing required by non-mesh systems. It means a group connection sorts its order as riders change their position in the lineup. You can use the Cardo App to create a group which is easy and fast.
The redesigned microphone, with its upgraded noise cancelling feature, has improved the Audio sound from previous Cardo systems, and you get fantastic clarity through the large 40mm JBL speakers you insert inside your helmet.
The PACKTALK EDGE uses Bluetooth 5.2 to connect to a smartphone and a GPS simultaneously. Additionally, the connectivity allows users who don't have mesh communications to be bridged into a mesh group. You also get an FM tuner, allowing you to preprogram to up to six of your favourite radio stations.
The High Volume audio profile in the Cardo Connect app is the Automatic Volume setting, which adjusts the audio levels based on speed and wind noise. The Natural Voice control system is updated, allowing you to control the headset with your voice.
Say "Hey, Cardo." and ask it something like "Hey, Cardo, battery status" The reply will be the system's current status. You can also ask your phone assistant questions, so it will be, "Hey Siri, where is the nearest Pub?"
Cardo claims thirteen hours of talk time, and I can believe it. After a few days of riding SAT Nav and music on long rides, there was still a few per cent left, announced to you when you power down.
The Air Mount is brilliant; as I mentioned, it is magnetic; bring the PACKTALK EDGE near the carrier on the helmet, and it will jump to latch itself securely. It is so secure that removal requires that a tab on the front of the carrier be pushed down while sliding the unit forward.
I am smitten with the PACKTALK EDGE and will be fitting secondary carrier mounts to my other helmets so I can swap the main unit from one helmet to the other and still benefit from crystal-clear music, phone calls and SAT NAV instructions.
Ease of use, practical, packed with technology, sound quality
long battery life and simple charging, three-year warranty
If you're in the market for a premium helmet communicator, you will be thrilled with the Cardo Packtalk Edge.
Battery
Talk time: 13 hours
Charging Time: up to 2 hours
Fast charging: 2 hours talk time after 20 min charge