Review: BluArmor C30 Mesh Intercom For Bikers

When I restarted riding, I wanted to be part of the group of friends who had been riding for a while. It meant modernizing certain things related to riding. One of them is a rider intercom to talk to fellow riders. So I went to shopping.

Requirements

1. Intercom functionality
2. Calls and Music handling
3. Easily available in India
4. Waterproof and sturdy
5. Can communicate easily with different kinds of devices
6. Useful even if you ride alone
7. Affordable
8. Community acceptance

Solution

I got BluArmor C30 Mesh Intercom. I did quite a bit of searching for the features I wanted. Some models, like the Sena B10 Bharat Version, came close but didn't match all my requirements. It also mattered that all my friends with whom I was riding preferred C30 compared to others.

Features I like

1. RIDEGRID - Connects up to 20 riders in a mesh and has a 1.1 km line of sight range. I have tested a bit on the road; we could talk up to at least a KM between the riders. Since it's a mesh, the distance between the first and last could be more than a KM. If you get disconnected from the group, it auto-reconnects once you are back in range. I have tested this with only three or four folks in the group. I am yet to travel with a larger group.
2. RIDELYNK (Universal Intercom Pairing) - In this, you can connect a regular Bluetooth headset with a C30, and it gets added to the mesh. That way, a pillion rider can join the mesh without owning a C30. This Bluetooth headset should support Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile (HFP). Your regular call-taking Bluetooth headsets should work mostly. The range depends on the Bluetooth range. It's ideal for adding the pillion rider to the group. I have not tested this, but my friend Manju has used it on several rides. He says it works, except in weird situations where it hangs C30. The setup also needs repairing every time you restart C30. Not ideal.
3. Call Control and Call Merge to GRID - You can receive calls easily. Make calls to predefined contacts easily. The best part is you can merge the call to the grid. So it all feels like one mesh. So, in emergencies, you can call an external friend on the phone network and add them to the mesh. It makes communication easy and quick. I have used it works well.
4. Music Control - You can add music as background. It reduces or pauses the music when you or someone else on the intercom is active. It brings back the music when no one is active.
5. IP67 Rating - It's water resistant and not waterproof. But I used it in heavy rain for over 40 minutes, and it survived.
6. I never had to worry about my battery; even after 12 hours, I had more than 50% of my battery left.
7. The cost is around INR 10K, which is in the same range as Sena B10.
8. Support has been great. They respond quickly. They also have a good and detailed manual and How-to videos.

Needs Improvement

Universal Intercom Pairing needs some improvement. I don't think there is anything that a software update can't fix. Hopefully, they will. I have not used voice commands, mostly because I don't have it enabled on my phone. It probably works.

Getting used to the buttons takes time, especially when wearing riding gloves. Before you start riding, wear gloves and practice a bit. You could also use a mirror to see where you land when you place your hand on it. Then, practice without a mirror. Practice helps. You could also use some of these features on your phone. But I find touching the phone inconvenient while riding.

Conclusion

I am writing this after riding at least 2000 km with it. So, I have a fair bit of experience using it myself and with friends. Overall, it's been a very positive experience. My friends and I think it has improved our ride quality and made it more enjoyable and safe.

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