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What is Packtalk Outdoor?
Imagine you can easily talk to your skiing mates or your kids while skiing, sharing the enjoyable skiing moments as they happen.
Or hear your ski instructor giving you exactly the cues you need to improve your skiing – real time WHEN you are skiing.
This is exactly what Cardo's Packtalk Outdoor makes possible!
Packtalk Outdoor is a wireless hands free intercom, that allows up to 15 people to be connected and talk together hands free while they are skiing, mountain biking, hiking or doing water sports like kayaking and kite surfing.
In this review, I will share my Packtalk experience using Packtalk Outdoor with more than a 100 skiers in a variety of situations, primarily while skiing. Prior to using Packtalk Outdoor (wire mic) I used the previous and now outdated model Packtalk Ski (boom mic).
In this review you will get all you need to know to decide whether Packtalk Outdoor is something you want to make part of your skiing or outdoor experience
Also check out PART 1 of our video review, where I share my experience of using Packtalk Outdoor in different situations. PART 2 of the video review can be found further down this article.
The Packtalk Outdoor experience
Cardo has been a leader in bluetooth communication systems in the motorcycle industry for many years. Their Packtalk system makes it easy to talk to each other when you move as a pack.
This transforms the experience from more of an individual experience to more of a social experience.
The idea with Packtalk Outdoor is to offer the same ability to communicate in in groups that has become so popular in the motorcycle industry in outdoor activities where this is normally not possible.
3 main functions
Basically, there are 3 main functions of Packtalk Outdoor:
The intercom system – Talk to each other in a group.
Music – Listen to music from your phone.
Phone calls – Take and make hands free phone calls.
Listening to music and being able to make hands free phone calls are great options.
But, in my opinion, the Intercom system is the most interesting function, since it offers a completely new social skiing experience.
Below, I will describe my experience with the different functions.
The Intercom system
I think there are four really interesting use cases with the intercom system.
Skiing with friends in a group
Skiing with kids as a family
A ski instruction tool
When filming
Skiing in a group of friends
I tried the intercom function many times, when I was ski instructing a group of my skiing students, and when Stine and I were filming and doing social skiing.
In all cases it was very helpful to talk about directions, stopping points, when to go to the restaurant etc. while we were skiing.
Another very cool thing was the spontaneous sharing of excitement and fun routes down the hill. When for example one member of the group hit a cool little jump or a series of great turns and had outbursts of excitement that everybody could hear and see.
It was also very cool to be able to communicate to the people behind you if there were icy paths or other things they may wanted to avoid as well as lanes of good snow, they could ski towards.
No more yelling
One very significant change in the way we communicated was that we talked calmly to each other. Without the intercom system, you would normally have to get close and yell to make sure the other members in the group could hear what you wanted to say.
We often found ourselves just talking calmly to each other while skiing, which was nice.
I was actually surprised how much I liked skiing with it and being able to talk to each other
It was one of those things you have never really noticed you missed until you have it and experience how nice it is.
Skiing as a family
A special case of skiing in a group is skiing with kids.
We didn’t test skiing with kids as a family, but as a father just beginning to ski with my 3 year old daughter, I really think Packtalk Outdoor has some groundbreaking potential.
Safety and practicalities
With Packtalk Outdoor you can easily guide your kids to stop at specific places or go in a certain direction while you are skiing. You can also guide them to slow down with a wider plough or a longer turn, or steer around upcoming obstacles.
If you loose sight of each other because your kid spontaneously stray off on a fun route, it will be easier for you to know what is going on.
You can communicate and find each other again, as long as nobody is behind a bend in the terrain. And if someone falls you will know right away.
This will definitely add to the experience of safety.
It will also be nice for the kids to be able to tell when they need some sort of help, need to go to the bathroom or want to have a hot chocolate break.
Sharing the fun moments
As a father I am also aware of the value of experiencing and sharing your child’s joy first hand. You will hear each other laugh and you can come up with spontaneous suggestions for routes and fun moves as you go.
This can of course also be part of a regular skiing experience without Packtalk Outdoor, but with the intercom system, you will get a much more shared experience and feeling.
A ski instruction tool
As a ski instructor I was a bit skeptical at first about using Packtalk when teaching a group. I guess it had to do with the fact that it was different from how I would normally teach.
But, when I thought about it, it actually sounded like a really helpful tool, so I was definitely curious about how it would work. And the conclusion?
It was simply awesome! And the students loved it!
Here is what was great about it:
I was able to explain what I did, when I was demonstrating, so the students had an even better idea of what to do.
The students could ask me before they went, if they needed any additional explanation or refreshment of their focus points.
I could guide and instruct them while they were skiing. And it was truly amazing to see them change their skiing real time, when I was talking to them. And they could feel the positive change too.
Sometimes all the instruction happened while I was demonstrating and they were skiing, so it was just confirmation and celebration when they came down to me. That was awesome!
This procedure let to less waiting time and more skiing time, because much of the explanation and coaching happened while we were skiing.
Less standing still – more down the hill!
Improve your own skiing with Our free mini guide!
Tips, exercises and videos for better balance to improve your skiing.
Filming with Packtalk
In Inspirational Skiing we obviously film a lot, and our Packtalks have made it a whole lot easier for us to coordinate. No more waving to signal start of recording and less stopping to talk about the next shot. We could do that while I was going up in the lift.
Thats why you will see me skiing with Packtalk Ski and Outdoor in some of our How to ski videos.
Finetune your ski technique with the exercises in this video!
Using video for ski improvement
Using video to see your own skiing can be a very powerful tool for ski improvement. It can also be quite a brutal eye opener. But having a visual baseline can be a great step towards better skiing. And Packtalk definitely made the process of filming smoother for us.
When seeing yourself on video, you also need to know what to look for. I suggest you have a look at our how to ski videos and our how to ski guides, to get an understanding of what you should be doing. Hold that up against what you are doing in your videos and try to adjust.
Another great tool to assess your skiing is the Carv soles and app, that I also use to improve my own skiing.
Does packtalk work?
The short answer is yes!
There are a few limitations, but overall, I was really impressed with how well Packtalk Outdoor worked. In the following I will give you all the details you need to know.
Also check out PART 2 of our video review, where I diver into the technical details and do some stress tests of the units. PART 1 is at the top of this article.
Dynamic Mesh technology
Packtalk Outdoor works without any phone net or internet. It operates independently from the mobile net, so it offers a solution in remote areas with poor mobile connection, like for example mountain regions.
They are using a system they call Dynamic Mesh Communication (DMC), which constantly search for and connect with the units in the group.
The reach
As you can see in the infographic, the system has a range between two units of up to 1 km/3280 feet in ideal conditions.
The clever thing about the MESH system is that the units all connects and enforces the signal amongst the units. The more people, the better the connection.
In a real-life mountain environment, the distance was hard to measure exactly.
But the distance was very seldom a problem. Even when one skier was taking the lift up and the other stayed down, we were able to talk to keep the connection and talk to each other for a long time, as long as there were visual contact.
Within sight – within reach
Most noticeably was, that it didn’t do well around corners and bends in the terrain. Even when we were within shorter distances, like less than 100 meters, we could loose the connection, when one person went down a pitch and the other stayed up on the plateau, so we lost sight of each other.
As soon as you regain visual contact, the system reconnects.
Obstacles like power lines, buildings and lift towers may disturb the signal if it gets in between two units.
As a general guideline, I would say from my experience that as long as you are within sight and no more than 6-700 meters away from each other, the signal will go through nice and clear.
What about indoors?
In an indoor environment your might want to communicate via a phone call rather than the Intercom system. Inside buildings the Intercom connection was pretty unstable. Sometimes we had contact while being in different rooms, sometimes we hadn’t.
So, you shouldn’t count too much on the ability of the signal to go through walls, but it is still a good idea to mute the microphone before you go to the bathroom…
In conclusion: as long as the skiers in your group are within sight, the reach and connection is really good in most skiing situations.
Music feature
The sound quality is really good, when listening to music. It felt like I was surrounded by music, which was pretty awesome.
Because of the open speakers you are normally able to hear important sounds in your surroundings, when you are talking over the Intercom.
When listening to music, this might change if you crank up the volume. So please be careful and make sure you are not causing any danger because you cannot hear your surroundings.
Phone feature
Taking a phone call with Packtalk is easy. You just push any button and the call goes through.
For me, it didn’t feel good to talk on the phone while I was skiing. Talking on the phone often required more attention than the natural skiing chat over the Intercom system about stopping points, warning of icy paths and direction and so on.
But it was really nice to be able to take hands free phone calls in the lift or at the restaurant. And the sound quality was really good.
Don’t worry. The people connected via Intercom won’t be able to hear you when you are talking on the phone.
The look and design
Whether you like the look of the PackTalk or not is of course a very subjective matter.
Personally, I like the simple design of Packtalk Outdoor. It fits nice and discretely on your helmet. If your want it to blend in completely you can choose a black unit on a black helmet.
Navigation
Operating the buttons
It is simple to navigate the buttons, and I think Cardo has done a good job in this regard. However, during our testing it became obvious, that there is a learning curve to understanding:
What buttons to push
Finding the right buttons while the unit is mounted on the helmet – and you are wearing gloves.
It can get frustrating to learn these things on the mountain, so I recommend that you spend half an hour indoors before you go skiing to become familiar with the different functions and buttons.
To make it as realistic as possible I suggest you do the indoor practice while wearing gloves and having the unit mounted on the helmet.
Another great navigation option is to use the build in voice control, which makes any fumbling with your mittens unnecessary.
Voice control
Once your phone is connected with Packtalk Outdoor, you can navigate the different functions hands free via voice control. This is a really useful feature for most outdoor activities where your hands might be occupied with important tasks like holding on to your bike, oar or ski pole.
With an intuitive series of voice commands you can for example answer phone calls, mute the microphone or the audio in total without having to take off your gloves. The voice command systems works well and might quickly turn into your favourite navigation method – especially on cold days on the mountain.
Check out the pocket guide that comes with the box, to get a great overview of how to navigate the buttons as well as the voice commands.
Unboxing Packtalk Outdoor
Whats in the box
Installation
Cardo claim that the units will fit almost any helmet by using one of the two options. You can either use:
The glue plate
The V-strap Mounting Clamp
Here is what you need know to help you chose the right solution for you.
The glue plate
The glue plate is a more permanent solution (although it is possible to resolve the glue and get it off again). You do have the option of sliding the cradle on and off, which is great if you want that for some reason.
Before mounting, make sure you test the location of the plate, so that the cradle and unit does not get too much in the way or collide with the lane of the goggle strap.
How strong is the glue?
The glue is supposed to be strong enough to withstand any situation on skis.
I did however sacrifice myself (involuntarily) to test the glue on the previous model Packtalk Ski with my own helmet, and I did manage to hit it hard enough into firm snow that it came off (Gif below).
I am stress testing how big an impact the unit can take. Both skier and unit are fine.
Cardo was surprised that I managed to hit the plate completely off the helmet since it is designed to take motorcycle falls.
And I was impressed that Packtalk still worked perfectly after the hit. And the skier? He felt it a bit for a few days and now he is just fine.
The v-strap clamp
This is a great option if you don’t want the more permanent glue plate solution. The v-strap clamp can be placed on v-strap on your helmet.
During my testing, I was teaching around 50 different skiers, so I got to test this clamp solution with a broad variety of helmets. It worked perfectly with almost all helmets. With the 1- or maybe two helmets that caused trouble, we just placed the unit in a pocket, which worked well for a day.
But if you plan for a more regular use, I would definitely go with the glue plate option.
Charging and Battery power
Charging
It takes up to 3 hours to charge the unit fully by using the USB cable that comes in the box. You do need your own charger. A regular iPhone charger will work, but we’ve bought charges with more ports to charge several units at the same time and it works fine.
Battery power
On paper it has 10 days standby time and 10 hours of talk time.
In my experience, when fully charged the units lasted a whole day of teaching with more than 8 hours turned on and talking, no problem.
Weatherproof
On their website Cardo claim that the unit is IP67 water and dust proof, which mean that it offers “Complete protection against ingress of dust and airborne particles and protection against water and liquids, up to and including immersion in up to one meter of water”. Cardo puts it this way:
“No matter what you throw at it, your waterproof Packtalk Outdoor will take the beating and keep you connected. Rain, snow, sun, mud or dust.”
…so of course we had to throw these things at it (and my face, video below).
…and it worked just fine afterwards.
The Speakers
The speakers – sound quality
The speakers are really good in my opinion. You do have to divide the sound quality into:
How it sounds when you use the Intercom system
Speak on the phone
When you listen to music.
The sound quality in the Intercom system is a bit walkie talkie’ish. Which is actually fine. You get used to it quickly. When you listen to music it sounds really good, in my opinion. The sound quality over the phone was also really good and better than my iPhone 12 pro’s build in speakers.
The speakers – installation
The speakers are easily attached on the inside of your helmet. When I switched the system between my students, I noticed that the Velcro material on the back of the speakers worked well with some helmets, and had a hard time staying in place with other helmets.
There are several solutions.
You may be able to fit the speakers under the fabric in your helmet
You can use the small velcropads that come with the box. They will glue to the fabric, and you can then attach the speakers to the pads.
The speakers are connected via a mini jack cable, so you can use your own headphones.
Noise cancellation
One of the concerns that I had, was how the system would handle wind noise.
Fortunately, we had a storm on the glacier one day, that allowed us to stress test the build in noise cancellation system. This was done on the previous model, Packtalk Ski, but Packtalk Outdoor is based on the same technology and my experience with Packtalk Outdoor is similar.
Storm test of the noise cancellation on Packtalk Ski on the Hintertux Glacier
It was impressive how it filtered out the extreme wind noise!
It did take a few seconds for it to detect the wind as something unwanted before the noise cancellation kicked in and cancelled it out.
Overall we were really impressed with how it was able to filter out wind noise and allowed us to have a calm conversation without having to yell – even during the storm test.
During normal skiing, there was no problem with wind noise at all.
The verdict – should you buy Packtalk Outdoor?
During our testing, we found, that there are so many situation where it is both fun and helpful to be able to talk to each other while skiing.
Packtalk Outdoor has now become a stable in my skiing setup, and I actually feel a bit handicapped when I am skiing without it and I am not able to communicate with the skiers I ski with.
Overall, the technology works really well, and as soon as you have gotten to know it, charging, mounting and turning the system on, becomes routine.
In my opinion, you should consider buying Packtalk Outdoor if:
You would love to be able to talk with your friends while skiing or doing your other outdoor activities and share your experience that way.
You are and instructor (skiing, mountainbiking, climbing etc.) wanting to have the opportunity to talk to your students while you do your demonstration, right before they go and while they are going.
You are a family who would love to connect and share your skiing experience closer with each other
You are part of a film crew – or want to use video of yourself to improve your skiing – and you want a more smooth filming process.
I hope you found this review helpful. Cardo has some pretty cheering reviews on their website, but I recommend, that you also check out other independent reviews to get more perspectives.
Get a favourable discount with our discount code and referral link below, if you decide to make Packtalk Outdoor a part of your skiing experience.
Review statements of Packtalk Outdoor on Cardo’s website.
If you have any questions about Packtalk please feel free to send me an email on contact@inspirationalskiing.com, and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Have a nice day and see you on the slopes!
Janus Hecht
Professional Ski Instructor/ISIA & National examiner
Co-founder of Inspirational Skiing
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