Just like when you board a plane you’re probably getting either an Airbus or a Boeing, when you buy an intercom for your motorcycle it’s probably from Cardo or Sena. The two have a duopoly in the market and that means each company is constantly trying to outdo the other, giving us things like the Cardo Packtalk Pro.
The Cardo Packtalk line of intercoms is already very good, but the Pro tries to take all the strengths of the Edge and add extra niceties. Are the additions worth enough to make it worth spending more money? To find out, I tested a Packtalk Pro over thousands of miles, using it for audio (I like listening to podcasts on long motorway journeys), for talking to other riders, including on a European tour, and for turn-by-turn directions.
Main features
- Larger JBL speakers
- Accident detection system
- Auto On/Off
Cardo Packtalk Pro on Arai helmet
Cardo’s main focus in making changes to the device seems to be on the accident detection system. It works via an internal measuring unit that detects an accident and triggers the sending of an SMS to your specified emergency contact.
The system was developed following extensive crash testing, so it should be able to tell the difference between an actual accident and a lid dropped on the garage floor. In the unlikely event of a false alarm (I’ve never experienced one), you have 30 seconds to cancel the alert.
If you’ve been in an accident in the countryside, or perhaps ended up on the hard shoulder and out of sight of other road users (which does happen), this technology could be a potential lifesaver. You’ll also get a clear audible warning if detection isn’t activated for any reason, so you’ll never assume you’re protected when you actually aren’t.
Cardo Packtalk Pro on Arai helmet
In terms of audio quality and volume, JBL’s 45mm speakers are far superior to the 40mm speakers found in other Cardo intercoms. At highway speeds, it’s certainly easy to hear what’s coming through them, be it music, a podcast, or other drivers chatting to you. Admittedly, this isn’t an entirely new development—the 45mm speakers have been available as an accessory for some time, and were previously bundled with the discontinued limited-edition Packtalk Black.
Connecting to other Cardo devices is as easy as ever and the system works so well that you can easily talk to other riders or your pillion while on the move. You can even connect to systems from Cardo’s arch-rival Sena, which I did on a European tour with some family members, but we had issues with interference from the Sena devices. It’s hard to say if the problem was with Cardo or Sena.
Cardo Packtalk Pro
While the crash detection software is a great piece of tech that you’ll hopefully never need, the new auto on/off feature is something that, if you’re anything like me, you might find useful all the time. With other Packtalk models I’ve tested, I’ve had an annoying habit of leaving it on after a ride, especially after a long day in the saddle when my priorities are more likely to be finding a good pizza to eat and/or a beer to drink.
However, on the Pro, the auto power on/off feature has saved me several times from returning to a dead Cardo the next day. Standby mode does still drain the battery a bit, though, so it’s still worth turning the device off – if you remember to.
Should you buy a Cardo Packtalk Pro?
The Packtalk Pro is as slick an intercom system as other Cardo models we’ve tried, like the Packtalk Edge and Packtalk Neo. We did have a few issues getting the “Hey Cardo” voice commands to work, but a factory reset solved the problem. Installation was fairly straightforward on the Arai Concept XE we used to test the unit.
Install Cardo Packtalk Pro
Given the higher audio quality, the really useful standby function and the crash detection system, the £51 premium over a Packtalk Edge seems very fair. It’s not quite that simple though – as the Edge has been around for a while, there were some great deals at the time of writing that let you snap one up for under £300. The same can’t be said for the much newer Pro yet.
So be sure to check the current prices for both and carefully consider whether the new features are worth a £100 or so uplift.
