Cardo Packtalk Pro review | Flagship Bluetooth / Mesh intercom tested

Date reviewed: November 2024 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £404.99 | cardosystems.com

The Cardo Packtalk Pro on review here is the company’s flagship intercom, with full Mesh and Bluetooth connectivity, high-quality JBL speakers and a unique auto on/off feature along with crash detection.

But is it really worth £405?

I’ve been using it on several helmets over many thousands of miles – on a variety of bikes – to find out if you should buy one…

Pros & Cons

Unique features of the Cardo Packtalk Pro

Considering its price, it’s fair to expect the Packtalk Pro to have some pretty special features. Here’s how it compares with the others in the Packtalk range:

As you can see, it’s the crash detection, auto on/off and larger speakers that make the difference in the Packtalk Pro. Oh, and the fact that it’s all black, rather than the Edge’s black with a grey top, and Neo’s black with grey sides.

Though not worth the extra money on its own, the Cardo Packtalk Pro’s auto on/off feature really is very good: put your helmet down – for instance at a café or even when you get home and within just over one minute it’ll turn itself off. If it’s on a table, it won’t come back on by simply bumping into it, but pick it up and it’ll boot itself up and be connected to your phone and ready to go in just eight seconds (with my Pixel 7 Pro).

This standby mode draws such a small amount of power that I haven’t noticed it dropping when left for a week or so, though I am in the habit of turning it off fully with the buttons when I finish a ride. Cardo says you should turn the Packtalk Pro off this way if it’s not going to be used for more than a month or so.

While in Spain I forgot all about it, but as I crept out of the hotel room to leave my wife and daughter for the early morning journey home, it booted up and was surprisingly loud as it told me it the phone was connected and crash detection mode was on!

The accelerometer that provides the auto power functionality is also essential to the crash detection. Setting this feature up is simple, and allows you to add a contact that’ll be sent an SMS notification that includes a link to your location if a crash is detected.

Despite the system working in partnership with your phone, you don’t need to have the Cardo app running for it to work – as long as it’s paired with the phone it should automatically turn itself on. You can turn it off manually in the app if you want, for instance if you’re riding off-road.

Crash detection

Cardo’s explanation of how the system works

Cardo says the Packtalk Pro’s crash detection can distinguish between potholes or speed bumps and an actual crash, and if it does think a crash has happened, it’ll give you 30 seconds to tell it you’re okay by pressing a button or saying ‘ignore’.

Despite riding some terrible roads while testing motorcycle airbags, I haven’t had it falsely identify a crash.

However, I also got my wife to drive at 40mph, then I punched the Packtalk Pro (inside a padded envelope) out of the car window. She stopped as quickly as possible and I waited in the car for an alert on my phone, but it wasn’t detected as a crash in the three times I tried this.

That’s by no means conclusive – maybe the algorithm could see this wasn’t an actual crash – but my theory was that it could represent falling off the bike and being separated from the phone, which could have still been attached to the machine.

Ultimately, many modern smartphones already have crash detection built in, and some can even call the emergency services directly, so the perceived value of the Packtalk Pro’s safety function may be limited.

Other very useful features, which aren’t limited to the Packtalk Pro, include a voice recording function in the app that can be handy for note taking or vlogging – as long as you have the app accessible on the bike’s handlebars – but keep in mind that it won’t record telephone calls. Another is the ability to pair a GoPro Hero 12 (presumably also 13) for audio and control, as well the Insta360 X4, Ace, Ace Pro and Ace Pro 2. This can also allow you to record mesh chat from the Packtalk Pro, Edge or Neo. Just be aware that the audio quality for vlogging can suffer due to the noise reduction.

Fitting the Cardo Packtalk Pro

The ease of fitting any intercom is very much dependent on the helmet, but I had no issues installing it into my Nexx X.WED 3. An important point to note though is that the speakers are the largest 45mm in diameter, so do make sure the recesses in your helmet are large enough. They’re 10mm thick, with a 42mm diameter base that accounts for 5.5mm of that thickness.

The magnetic ‘air mount’ base can be fixed on with strong adhesive tape or a clip, with the Packtalk Pro snapping into it magnetically. This is a truly brilliant design that makes it really easy to pop the unit on after charging, yet is utterly secure (you have to push the front of the base down to slide the Cardo off). It’s not quite as sleek as some other mounts, but it is a real joy to use.

Cardo Packtalk Pro Connections

Pairing your phone, a second phone and a GPS is very quick and simple, with the Bluetooth 5.2 being extremely fast to connect when booted up. Second mobile phone pairing isn’t a feature that all devices offer, and I find it useful to have it paired to both my normal phone and the Carpe Iter V4b Android tablet I use for navigation on my R1250GS.

You can connect to another Bluetooth intercom, which is pretty universal across brands (you might need to set one in phone pairing mode), or use Mesh to connect to other Cardos. Mesh isn’t cross-brand compatible, but Cardo’s ‘Bluetooth bridge’ can allow a user to hook into a Sena mesh group as long as they link to a Sena device that’s not Mesh only. This relies on both devices being the newer models on the latest firmware.

It's not perfect, but while there’s no universal Mesh intercom protocol, my advice would always be to aim to have the same brand of device as the people you want to talk to.

I haven’t had any connection problems with the Pro, but it’s impossible to test all set-ups.

Pairing Cardo and Sena mesh groups

Cardo’s guide explains Mesh cross-compatibility

Bluetooth vs Mesh

Bluetooth can offer good range, and it remains present in all intercoms for connections to phones and sat-navs (but not in all for comms), however when pairing more than two riders together (four is usually the maximum), it’s somewhat limited in that each rider has to stay in the same physical order on the road for the connections to be stable, and if one rider does drop out, the whole group falls apart.

Mesh systems allow riders to change their order without breaking the chain as long as they stay within range. It’s a much more dynamic system that’s well worth investing in if you want reliable group comms. It’s of course also fine to use for rider to pillion.

Cardo’s latest version of Mesh now allows group sizes of up to 31 riders. The previous 15 was more than enough realistically, but it might be handy for some. Just be aware though that only four people can speak at any given time. When the fifth person (or more) try to talk, they’ll hear a beep telling them that their mic is off. This avoids a cluttered and confusing channel, but if there are people with noisy helmets that cause their mics to stay live, it can be limiting. In large groups, if this is a problem it’s best to turn your mic on only when you want to speak; on the Packtalk Pro, you can do this by saying ‘Hey Cardo, mute microphone’ and ‘Hey Cardo, unmute microphone’.

Cardo Packtalk Pro control

The Packtalk Pro continues with the same three button layout as the Packtalk Edge, Custom and Neo, which are easy to use with summer gloves on, and not bad with winter ones. The roller at the rear is also a button. My most common use of comms is listening to music, and just tapping the front button turns it on, while tapping the wheel turns it off.

The Packtalk Pro also features Cardo’s excellent voice control. I find it to be more accurate than Senas tend to be, for instance, but it’s not perfect. Firmware updates might improve things, but at the moment I find it can get confused when I try to turn music on with my voice. This didn’t use to be the case, and it happens with more than one helmet, so hopefully it’ll return to being as good as it used to be with a software fix.

Here's a list of everything you can do with the Packtalk Pro’s voice commands:

Volume and clarity

Thanks in part to the 45mm speakers and JBL-engineered audio processing, the clarity of the Packtalk Pro is excellent. There’s an option in the app to select higher volume, which can be helpful especially when listening to podcasts. Whether they’re worth the extra money over the 40mm speakers is debateable, and you do need to be realistic about the quality you can expect with 70mph wind rattling around a plastic ball that you’ve got your head in while wearing earplugs.

But… it is very good. The 45mm speakers are great to have, and definitely give deeper bass and a cleaner sound along with slightly higher volume (I’ve compared them back-to-back), but the 40mm units aren’t bad by any stretch. The 45mm speakers are available separately, but cost £79.04.

I usually wear foam 3M EarSoft FX earplugs, but if you want even better sound, consider some filtered earplugs, like the EarPeace Motorsports. 

The Cardo app allows you to access Bass Boost, High Volume and Vocal modes. There’s a clear distinction between them, and the volume can reach very high levels without distorting. The amount of bass really is impressive – again, it’s not reference quality but it is surprisingly good.

The option of automatic volume turns it up and down as your speed – and hence the wind noise – increases and decreases, and I’ve found telephone conversations to be very clear, the person on the other end generally finding it hard to believe I’m on a bike.

Needless to say, everything depends on how good your helmet or indeed your bike’s screen is, and if it’s particularly noisy the people you’re talking to by phone or intercom might not hear you as clearly through the noise reduction as they could.

Cardo Packtalk Pro range

Intercom range testing depends very much on the conditions, and cloudy weather – as it was when I did this test – will tend to give more reach.

Cardo claims 1 mile (1.6 km), and in my testing while the signal did start breaking up at about 700 metres, turning my head slightly to the left while riding away from the other unit (a Packtalk Edge) had it give a clear connection right out to just past 1,300 meters where I turned around. The signal then dropped off, but reconnected perfectly at about 1,000 metres.

Realistically, this is in line with other premium intercoms and will be very much affected by not just the weather, but other vehicles, buildings, trees and hills.

Mesh connections are pretty much essential if you’re riding with more than one other person as each unit is a relay to the other, and unlike with Bluetooth comms, it doesn’t matter if someone overtakes another member of the group. However, range isn’t unlimited and it can easily drop to a few hundred meters depending on the road. In testing, if for instance three riders got separated from the other three, they’d end up as two separate groups, reconnecting when the front rider of the second group regained a connection with the rear rider of the first.

Cardo has recently announced a new ‘Mesh Boost’ feature that it promises will be released in 2025 and will use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to give theoretically global range to any number of users. It’ll need your phone to have a data signal, but Cardo says it will work with all of its units, not just the new ones.

Radio

Until we see digital radios on intercoms (which is unlikely as they’d probably be too power-hungry), we’re stuck with FM radios. As is almost always the case, the Packtalk Pro’s radio is okay, but certainly nothing to get excited about.

Even with RDS turned on, it struggles to hold onto even national radio stations over longer journeys, but the volume and clarity means Radio 4 (I’m old) is fine. Of course, you can always stream the radio from your phone…

Waterproofing

The Cardo Packtalk Pro has an IP67 rating, meaning it’s dust tight and can be immersed in water for short periods. I’ve ridden in heavy rain for a long time and had no problems with the Packtalk Pro (or any other Cardo).

Battery life

The Cardo Packtalk Pro lasts a full day of riding, and my comparative test of running it at full volume while streaming music saw it last just over nine hours, which is the same as the Packtalk Edge. There are better out there, but this should be more than enough for most people and you can power it while riding if you want.

Charging is via a USB-C port, and the magnetic ‘air mount’ makes it easy to pop the unit off to charge (you can leave it on the helmet if you prefer). My only complaint is that the flap covering the port is a bit fiddly to tuck back in place. It’s the same on the Edge, but I’d like to see Cardo give this a tweak.

Ease of updating

Updating the Packtalk Pro’s firmware is very simple – just turn on the unit, open the app and as soon as it connects it’ll tell you if there’s an update due. You can ignore this if you don’t want to run the update immediately, but it really couldn’t be simpler.

Four alternatives to the Cardo Packtalk Pro

This is the top-of-the-range Cardo device, and its price reflects that. Street prices are often lower, so I’ll put them both in below, keeping in mind that these can only reflect the date I wrote this…

• Cardo Packtalk Edge RRP: £356.95 Street Price: £289.99 | The Packtalk Pro does have better audio, and some nice to have features, but the Edge is significantly cheaper. Read the full review of the Cardo Packtalk Edge here.

• Cardo Freecom 4X RRP: £243.95 Street Price: £174.99 | If you don’t need mesh comms, but still want a high-quality unit, this is well worth a look. Read the full review of the Cardo Freecom X here.

• Sena 50 R RRP: £333.00 Street Price: £226.20 | One of the few Senas to be fully waterproof, this Bluetooth and Mesh intercom is a great choice if you ride in groups with other riders who have Sena tech. Read the full review of the Sena 50R here.

• Cardo Spirit HD RRP: £139.95 Street Price: £112.28 | If all you need is good music quality, the ability to make calls, get navigation instructions and talk to a pillion, this comes strongly recommended as a solid, reliable Bluetooth intercom. Read the full review of the Cardo Spirit HD here.

These are just four of many alternatives – you can find all the intercoms we’ve tested here  and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Cardo Packtalk Pro review - Verdict

At the time of writing, I couldn’t find any discounts from reputable sellers of the Packtalk Pro, so it’s currently a massive £115 more expensive than the Packtalk Edge. I’d struggle to justify that additional cost, but there’s no denying that the audio quality is noticeably better on the Pro thanks to those larger speakers.

The auto on/off feature is something you soon grow to really value, but I’m not sure many people will be swayed by the crash detection as if they can afford a top-end intercom like this, they probably have one of the newer smartphones that have the feature already. Without knowing which performs better in a real-world motorcycle crash, it’s a tough sell.

If you have the money (or if the street price drops), the Cardo Packtalk Pro is a superb piece of kit that won’t disappoint, and other intercoms will never sound quite as good once you’ve tried it.

Do you own this intercom? Tell us what it’s like, or ask us questions about it at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.