Sena SMH10R Review

 

Yay! It's review time. I finally upgraded my bluetooth head set to the Sena SMH10R. Oooooooo. Aaaaaaaaah. Ohhhhhh. Read my review here. Did I also mention that I upgraded my helmet to a Shoei RF-1200? :D

Since my Qwest fit me so well, why not go for a lighter, quieter version of it? I'm an XS, and this helmet only weighs 3lbs 5oz! So light. The shell is also really compact, so when I turn my head I don't hit my backpack or my shoulder. It's quieter, less resistant in the wind at high speed, stable and ridiculously comfortable. It comes with a Pinlock faceshield and insert, bonus!

I just picked up this helmet yesterday and have only ridden 10 miles in it so far. I will report back in a month or so. In the meantime, a couple pics of the Graffiti graphic. 

I found calculus equations underneath the graffiti:

I guess it's fitting since I was an Econ major in college, I did take 2 quarters of Calculus....... :D

Sena vs Cardo

Another reader question! What is a better communicator, the sena smh10r or cardo scala g9x?

Thx for your help, Patrick

So if I had to answer this question in a quick minute, I have to say the G9X. However, that answer is based solely on features and functionality when you compare the two side by side.  But that is simply because the G9X is designed as the master of Group Riding, assuming all of the riders are using Cardo units. It's a robust bluetooth intercom to ride with a ton of people. Whereas the SMH10R is really a low profile unit designed to interact with maybe 3 riding friends, not all of the members of your local riding club.

sena smh10R shoei qwest

I whipped up this chart to compare what features each unit has in common, and then who wins in certain categories so you can see how different these units are. In the first section "Shared Features", you can see they do have similar functionalities. In the "Cardo Wins" category, there are a few cool features that the SMH10R doesn't have.  And then in the "Sena Wins" category, it has a few features that the G9X doesn't have.

SHARED FEATURES:

CARDO G9X

SENA SMH10R

4-Way Intercom Conferencing

yes

yes

A2DP Stereo

yes

yes

Answer Intercom Calls via VOX

yes

yes

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

yes

yes

GPS Connectivity

yes

yes

Hot Dial

yes

yes

Make and Receive Mobile Calls via VOX

yes

yes

Mobile Phone Connectivity

yes

yes

MP3 Connectivity

yes

yes

Music-Sharing™(between Rider-Passenger)

yes

yes

Plug-In Speakers (3.5mm)

yes

yes (optional)

Replaceable Mics

yes

yes

Software Updates

yes

yes

Spoken Status Announcements

yes

yes

Voice Commands

yes

yes

 CARDO WINS:

Web platform to change settings

yes

no

FM Radio with RDS

yes

no

Automatic Volume Adjustment (AGC)

yes

no

Click-to-Link®

yes

no

Flash Pairing®

yes

no

Group Signal

yes

no

Intercom Bike-to-Bike

Up to 1mile

Up to 0.55 mile

Intercom Toggling

between 9 bikers

between 4 bikers

Talk Time

13 hours

8 hours

Standby

7 days

7 days

SENA WINS:

Universal Intercom

no

yes

Ultralight Profile

no

yes

Cardo Scala G9

I would say that if you're looking for the Cardo version of the SMH10R, look at the Q3. Lower profile than the G9 and offers practically the same features as the SMH10R, with the exception of it's low profile, thin unit. For ME, this trumps everything else. It's aesthetics, and purely superficial. But it totally depends on what your priorities are as a rider. Having ridden with the SMH5 for so long, I really like the low profile look of the SMH10R and am getting comfortable with the controls each time I ride.