Cardo BEYOND GTS Helmet - Pre-Production Test RideThis is a pre-production unit, and Cardo says it's currently refining the finished production version before a full public release.As a kid, I grew up taking the CTA (that's the Chicago Transit Authority, for anyone not familiar) public transit system a lot of places. Or else, I walked. Either way, I quickly grew to appreciate what a difference a simple set of over-the-ear headphones connected to my music player of choice could make in my quality of life.Random people trying to chat with me? Sorry, can't hear you. I could hear enough to know when emergency vehicles were nearby, and I paid plenty of attention to traffic (and traffic lights) when I was crossing streets or alleyways. And truthfully, I could usually hear enough through those very basic headphones to know whether a random person on the street just wanted to ask for directions, or whether they were there to say stuff that a teenage girl (and a total stranger to them) would rather not hear.So in a way, they were kind of a perfect filter. Music as fuel to get through life, but also not completely blocking out sound to the point of causing a potentially dangerous lack of awareness. And yet, at the same time, also offering plausible deniability to nope out of any awkward or potentially threatening situations that I didn't want to be in.Brilliant invention, those headphones! They didn't need to be fancy; they just needed to work the way I wanted them to. And ever since Bluetooth comms units have become A Thing in the land of motorcycle helmets, that's an aspect of that experience I've continued to appreciate over the years.Something that could potentially turn my motorcycle helmet into my own private listening room while I'm out riding, and also pipe audio navigation into my ears? Sign me up immediately.Still, when you ride a motorcycle, wind noise is a very real thing. For that reason, I've ridden with earplugs for years, in any helmet I'm using. I'll simultaneously turn up the intercom volume so I can hear whoever I'm riding with, or whatever music or navigation I have going, and let the earplugs block the worst of the wind noise. So far, I think that this strategy has worked pretty well to mitigate hearing loss, considering how long I've been riding.And that's one of several reasons why the ideas behind the Cardo BEYOND GTS helmet were intriguing to me.Cardo's Quest For ANC GreatnessClaps And SnapsSurprise Results: Watch Cardo's Noise-Canceling Helmet Get Wind Tunnel TestedAnother State Has Enacted Laws Protecting Race Tracks From New Housing DevelopmentsThe headline-grabber on this helmet, which I recently got to test a pre-production version of, is its active noise cancellation (ANC).Cardo Sound Labs (CSL) developers went so far as to integrate 53mm speakers directly into this helmet (no Velcro; they're well and truly mounted directly inside), made to fit all six helmet sizes (and all four shell sizes) to offer an optimized sound (and ANC) experience in all instances.To be completely clear, since there's been a longstanding discussion amongst researchers and medical specialists regarding whether ANC as it's used in headphones is helpful in avoiding hearing loss, I've asked Cardo some followup questions to find out more about what their R & D testing with this helmet has involved. I'll report back once I learn more.From experience, what I can tell you is that the ANC in this pre-production Cardo BEYOND GTS sounds amazing out on the road. Just like the ANC headphones you're used to, you can turn it on with a simple push of a button. You can also use a simple voice command and say "Hey Cardo, ANC on," while riding with this helmet on your head, and it turns on. To shut it off, use the button again or say "Hey Cardo, ANC off," and it turns off.Whether you're chatting away with your friends via Mesh comms (and this already has the Mesh Boost firmware update, so you can add up to 30 of your closest friends [or invite the public] in addition to yourself for a group ride), or you're listening to music, or both (yes, really; I did it), it's pretty darned effective. At least, as far as sound quality goes.And truly, with ANC engaged, I can still hear my bike's engine thrumming away (though it does sound very faraway, like it's down a tunnel covered in thick cotton batting). I can hear emergency vehicle sirens cut through and know I should pull over so they can get by. And if I hear anything that makes me think I want to hear even more, I can easily shut the ANC off with a button press or a voice command so I can hear more fully if I need to.With ANC engaged, I can also anecdotally say that I don't turn up the music as loud as I would without it, which is probably a good thing as far as my hearing health is concerned. If I'm concerned about wind noise and hearing loss, should I be using this helmet without earplugs, though? That's a question I hope to be able to answer soon, though I don't have answers for it just yet.Other Quick Takes On This Pre-Production UnitAnother very appealing thing to me about the Cardo BEYOND GTS is that the company clearly learned from past comms-laden helmet designs and worked toward a better user interface experience. What do I mean?I mean that with the BEYOND GTS, when it's time to charge the thing, it uses a regular old USB-C cable, not some proprietary thing where if you lose it, you're out of luck until you can get a new one (see the Sena Impulse I tested a while back). Also, very importantly, it has an easily detachable battery pack. All you have to do to charge it is pop the battery pack out and plug in your USB-C cable, and you're golden.That means you don't have to do one of my personal pet peeves: Plug your entire motorcycle helmet in to charge (something I experienced with both the aforementioned Sena Impulse, and also when I tested the Forcite MK1S).Who wants to do that? Who necessarily even has room to do that, if you're used to charging relatively small and flat things like your phone/tablet/computer, anyway? Detachable batteries you can pop out and charge have been the norm in consumer-level cameras for ages; why they weren't baked into 'smart' motorcycle helmet designs from the drop, I have no idea.So far, I also like that the button layout on the helmet is simple, streamlined, and easy to operate with gloves on. Also, the fact that Cardo seems to have put a good deal of thought into not making you learn some sort of proprietary version of Morse code if you want to use the buttons. Simple presses and thoughtful locations do exactly what they're intended to do, with consistency (at least, so far). I don't know about you, but I appreciate that very much.Once again, since this is a pre-production unit, this is not a full review. We plan to have a full review for you once Cardo's final release is headed to the shelves of local motorcycle gear shops near you.For now, I'll turn the mic over to you: What do you want to know about our Cardo BEYOND GTS test unit? I'll continue riding with it and logging my experiences so I can fully appreciate the changes made between what I'm currently experiencing and the final version, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about it that I can. Leave them in the comments below.
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