BluArmor C30 review - Desi helmet communicator for the win?

We first came across BluArmor, an Indian company based out of Bengaluru-based motorcycle rider gear tech maker, when we tried out their helmet-mounted cooling system. While that certainly wasn’t our favourite bit of kit, lately, the company has ventured into the super competitive world of helmet communication systems. If you don’t know what these are, in very simple terms, they’re basically Bluetooth headsets which integrate into a helmet and allow you to listen to music, take calls and intercom between rider and pillion, as well as between a group of riders on other motorcycles. This makes them a great option for tourers who like to travel with a pillion or in a group.

We got our hands on BluArmor’s C30 helmet communicator a couple of months ago and I installed it in my Arai TourCross 3 helmet to test out the system not only on my daily commutes, but also on a 1000km round trip ride from Pune to Goa. Already having used helmet comm systems like the Sena 20S and currently using a Cardo Spirit on my other helmet, I have a reasonable baseline for how these comm systems should perform. So here are three things I really liked about the BluArmor C30 and three things that really need to improve.

What we liked

Audio quality 

The job of any helmet comm system is to deliver audio to your ears inside your helmet, and this is one area where the C30 excels. The large 40mm speakers made by JBL give you clear and loud audio, provided you can mount them in your helmet in a way where they sit flush against your ears. So on my daily commutes to work, I was really able to enjoy my podcasts with crystal clear audio, and the same can also be said for taking phone calls. Here, the wind noise cancellation that BluArmor has built into the C30 does a great job of isolating your voice even when you’re riding along at 80-90kmph. A lot of people whom I spoke with using this were in sheer disbelief that they were conversing with someone on a motorcycle riding along at near triple-digit speeds.

Ridemesh 

To connect with other riders in your riding group, the C30 uses a proprietary Ridemesh system, which basically creates an ad hoc network between other C30 devices in the group. This network is what BluArmor calls “self healing”, meaning any single unit can drop out of it if it goes out of range, and automatically reconnects once back in range, all without disrupting the rest of the network. This network is said to connect up to 20 riders and BluArmor claims that the connection works over an LOS (line of sight) distance of 1.2km. So in theory, you could have a group of 20 motorcycles separated by a kilometer each, with the first and last rider nearly 20km apart (on a long, straight highway with no obstructions) and still be able to communicate with everyone.

Now we weren’t able to test the Ridemesh system in the scenario mentioned above as we only had two units. But on our ride to Goa, the system worked near-seamlessly between Ishan and me as we were able to keep chatting the whole way there and back. On the under construction section of NH66, when Ishan would pull away on his Pulsar F250 and I had to back off to save my spine on the Super Meteor 650, the connection would drop. And as soon as I caught back up to him, it would automatically reconnect and we were able to resume our conversation.  

Battery life

The C30 is quite the chungus of a unit, in contrast to some of the sleeker units from Sena or Cardo. But credit where it’s due, the C30 packs a massive 1000mAh battery which BluArmor claims delivers a mesh intercom talk time of 16 hours. And it really does. Ishan and I ended our 12+ hour ride to Goa with 75 percent of battery life left on our C30s, despite being connected almost the entire way. It not only helped on the monotony of the highway, but it also served as a great way to get to know my colleague, and I suspect we’re better friends now, having had long heart-to-hearts only spending time on motorcycles can bring out.

What we didn’t like

Mounting

Installing the C30 in your helmet is a pretty straightforward affair if you’ve worked with other comm systems before; and even if you haven’t, BluArmor’s website has plenty of videos to guide you through the process. But one of the issues here is that you only get a boom mic with the C30, and it’s hardwired to the speakers, and all of it connects to the base unit through a micro USB cable. Sticking the mounting end of the boom mic under the cheek pad of your helmet is a bit tedious and needs a bit of bending the boom in unnatural ways if you don’t want it sticking out of your helmet.

But the bigger issue here is that unlike other comm units, which connect all their cables to the mounting plate, with the base unit connecting to the rest of the hardware through pushpin contacts on the mount, in the C30, the mounting plate is just that - a pure mounting plate. The speakers and the mic attach to the base unit externally with the aforementioned micro USB cable. This would’ve still been okay if the cable connected to the back of the base unit, but here it plugs in under it. Which means if you’re using the clip mount for your helmet (this is a better option than the sticky mount in general for all comm units), the cable bends rather sharply, and when you rest your helmet on a flat surface, the bend in the cable takes all the load. This is a potential point of failure in the future. That said, Halley from BluArmor assured me that they’re solving this issue with an L-shaped connector as soon as their audio partner, JBL, gets one in place.

And even though the micro USB cable has a clip to ensure good retention to the base unit, just over a few weeks of use, the cable started to come loose. Which meant that while riding to Goa, I had to keep pushing the connector back in to keep communicating with Ishan.

The other issue with this mounting system is that the base unit doesn’t clip on to the mounting plate, and only stays in place thanks to friction - not ideal if you’re jostling around with the loose cable. You can easily end up pushing the base unit off its mount when doing so. And if you want to charge the C30, you’ve got to first unplug the cable before you can slide the base unit off. So you’re left with a dangling micro USB connector with your helmet every time you remove the C30.

Fidgety buttons

Helmet intercoms are meant to be used with gloved hands while you’re riding the bike, and you need to feel the buttons properly as there’s no way of seeing what you’re pressing. Here, the five buttons of the C30 are clustered together so tightly, that very often it’s impossible to know whether you’re trying to press one of the side buttons or the protective ridge next to them. I had to figure out how to use my thumb to gauge the shape of the buttons, but even after spending a couple of months with the system, I would occasionally press the wrong button. Unless I was using super thin dirt riding gloves, using my index finger (like I do for my Cardo Spirit) was out of the question.

Unintuitive interface

The C30 can do whatever you need on the fly, but I wish the button scheme was a bit more intuitive. For example, instead of using the top and bottom buttons to control volume, you need to use the left and right buttons. Then, while you can answer a call with a single press of the larger central button, cutting the call needs a double press (not the easiest thing to do when you can’t feel the buttons easily). Also, even to invoke my phone’s voice assistant (to call someone or send a text message), the central button needs a double press. Basically, the C30 really needs you to read the manual and relearn all the habits you might’ve developed using other comm systems. Some standardisation might go a long way here.

Final thoughts

While the BluArmour C30 has some issues, it undoubtedly has some real strengths as well, one of which is its price of Rs 10,999. Now this might seem a lot when compared to some Chinese helmet comms which you can pick up from Amazon for well under half the price, but if you’re looking for something from a reputed manufacturer, you’ll only get the base Cardo Spirit at the same price in India. And while the Spirit is sleeker, has a better mounting system and is more intuitive with easy-to-use buttons, it simply doesn’t have the audio quality, the battery life or the mesh system of the C30. If you can live with, or find your way around some of its shortcomings, the BluArmor is a great helmet communicator with a fantastic feature list at an unmatched price.