- Timeless on the Silk Road - October 21, 2024
- Nikon Zf Vs iPhone 15 Pro Max - September 19, 2024
- The Bloomfield Track - August 25, 2024
Do cheapo Bluetooth headsets even work? Here is Captain Cheap to find that out for you
I wanted to try a helmet headset but not spend a fortune since I was not sure I had a long term use for one or that I’d even hear it given I wear ear plugs 100% of time. So before my Aliexpress Apple carplay unit died I got this Aliexpress Bluetooth unit for $38AUD.
It comes with lots of adhesive Velcro pieces rather generously supplying two of everything you would need.
Installation was a bit of a pain as I’ve never done one before – but then it really was not that difficult and I am sure more handyman type of folk would have it installed in a jiffy.
And does it work? Yes, actually it works very well. It connects to my phone every time I power it on in just a second or two. It will run all day and when plugged in to charge it seems to only need a small time so the battery is not low as far as I can tell. I can hear it with ear plugs most of the time but if going highway speed it can be little faint.
It lights up when on and you can select from four colours for the fashion conscious. I only wanted to test the voice prompt navigation from the Apple car play and phone so I cannot say about using the mic to talk – zero interest in doing that or taking phone calls while riding. Nothing so important in my life now that it cannot wait.
Actually I wondered if I could chop the mic off as I don’t need it but figured that might screw things up so left it alone. It does not connect to other riders. That is not a feature of this unit and not something I would ever want to do.
In summary then it worked fine ten days on tour and I will transfer it it from my horrible Shark shittycruiser helmet to my Nolan N70 for upcoming touring in USA. If you want helmet bluetooth voice navigation then it seems it can be done on the cheap!
I had a S$50 China unit that seemed as good as the Cardo Pactalk Bold I replaced it with. The latter offers ear-shattering tinny sound, for 6x the price – but their marketing worked magic on me.
Ha-ha, yes marketing is king with a lot of motorcycle gear. I’ve fell foul of it too 😀