It is no lie that Cardo is a fan favorite here when it comes to motorcycle comms. When I started my motorcycle riding journey, I tried a couple of comms systems out before Cardo hooked me with the PackTalk Bold. Since then, I’ve checked out various devices over when and watched their evolution along the way. When I started using the PackTalk EDGE, I didn’t think it could get any better. How do you take an amazing design, awesome features, and step that up into a package worth purchasing over their already incredible EDGE device? Cardo attempts this with the PackTalk PRO, keeping the great design, but adding a few extra features that make sense. Let’s talk about it!
Design Remains the Same
As mentioned, Cardo keeps the familiar look of the PackTalk EDGE, but goes a bit darker with the PRO. Instead of the grayish hue of the EDGE, Cardo blacks out the PRO, and it just adds an even deeper stylish look to the PackTalk PRO. Other than the color change, the remainder of the design is essentially the same as the EDGE. This gives the PRO, EDGE, and NEO a uniform look, with just a slight color difference between them.
All the other buttons and dial wheel remain the same. If you are familiar with the EDGE, but wanted to step up to the PRO, there is no learning curve with this one.
New Features
If you have used the PackTalk EDGE before, you should be ready at home with many of the features in the PRO, but the PRO steps it up in a few key areas, which, especially for how I used my EDGE, just make sense.
- Auto On/Off – This one is excellent, especially if you want to maintain battery life while on a ride. The PackTalk EDGE already had great battery life. So much so that most times during rides, if I stopped for a brief period, like a gas fill-up and chill a little, or hanging out until the group would hop back on, I’d just leave the EDGE on. I’d still have plenty of battery for a long ride. Now with Auto On/Off, I don’t need to worry about wasting power since it detects when I’m not riding and shuts off and then resumes when I’m on the go again. This all but guarantees I had power for the whole ride!
- Greater sound – The PRO comes with JBL speakers, but they’ve increased the size to 45mm speakers on this one. The difference is noticeable. While the 40mms from the EDGE do the job, that bump up helps with hearing when you are moving on the highway and the wind is at a constant.
- Crash Detection – This being a feature I haven’t tested, and hope I never have to. However, knowing that in the event of a crash, the PRO can alert someone that you require assistance.
So What’s Been The Experience?
Okay, let’s get to the nitty gritty. I’ve been a Cardo supporter for a while now, and make no mistake, I continue to be. Overall, my experience with the PackTalk PRO has been very good, after some hiccups. In full transparency, the unit I’m currently using is the 2nd or 3rd unit Cardo had to send to me for the review. And since then, it has worked without issue. The main issue was the DMC communication. I’m not exactly sure what the issue was, but I would connect up with a group of people, and then a minute or two later, it would just disconnect from the group, and I couldn’t successfully reconnect. This was a group of other riders all with Cardo PackTalk EDGE units, and we would be well within the mile radius. The rest of the group would be fine; I would be the one with an issue. Finally, on the last replacement unit received, I’ve had greater success.
Beyond what could have been an issue with just those units, everything else worked as expected. Making and receiving phone calls has been great, listening to music while riding (one of the primary features I used) has been flawless, and the newer features have come in handy. especially the auto on/off function. I’ve been on rides for hours at a time, and when I’m done for the day, sometimes returning home at night, I’ve powered off the unit to hear my battery was still at 75%. So far, I don’t think any ride I’ve been on, I’ve come close to having a low battery by the time I returned home.
To expand further on that primary feature I used, music sets the tone when I ride. I love a good soundtrack. The upgraded sound system with the 45mm speakers is a real step up. The larger size adds to the louder sounds, which come in handy when you are doing above 70 on a highway and the wind noise is reaching its peak. Beyond the music listen, this makes for better communication when in conversation, either via a phone call or an intercom chat. One area of improvement to note, and hopefully Cardo looks to next, is improving the mic. While I definitely could hear people just fine, I did get some feedback on how I sounded at times. I had the mic positioned well by my mouth, but at times people found it a little hard to make out what I was saying at all times. So just a note for any next devices.
So Is It Worth It?
The Cardo PackTalk PRO comes in at $499.95, which is an increase of $60.00 over the EDGE, and an increase of $140.00 over the highly capable NEO model. It might be a tough sell with that high price point. Even the highest priced unit from one of their competitors is $439. If you don’t currently have a Cardo device and are looking to buy, there may be a good case to pick up the PackTalk PRO (I’d look or wait for a sale or discount code for a little more affordability). However, if you already have the EDGE or NEO, I wouldn’t recommend getting this, unless you are able to score one at a deep discount. The new features are great, but I don’t know if they are worth the additional cost here. If the PackTalk PRO came in at, say $469.95 – $479.95, I’d say definitely.
This doesn’t discredit the fact that this unit works great, sounds great, and looks great (especially that limited edition RSD model!). However, for the price point, I would have liked to see an improved microphone, maybe a little bit longer unit-to-unit range if they could squeeze that out, and maybe that one more thing that grabbed your attention when you heard it. Overall, it will depend on what features matter to you, and how much your wallet wants to fork over. However, whatever unit you decide on, Cardo remains a brand I intend to keep on using and enjoy when I ride! But what do you think? Does the new PRO have enough features to make you want to pick one up? Is the EDGE their peak best device so far, and are you good with what you have? Let us know in the comments, and also stay tuned for more on our YouTube channel coming up, as we include Cardo’s PackTalk PRO in an upcoming video about some dope motorcycle tech we are looking at this year!
