The small Scala G4 Powerset easily clips onto the helmet between the interior shell and exterior, transforming any lid into a Bluetooth enabled music player, cell phone port, GPS navigator, radio, and most importantly a rider-to-rider intercom. Reviewing map directions, making calls or chatting with another rider usually takes place off road or at a red light when geared up, but now it can all go down while on the move.
During a Scala-enabled trip up the coast of California, Justin and I communicated freely, alerted each other to oncoming traffic through the corners and debated likely speed traps on the freeway’s horizon. While there were random disconnections and a handful of static interference issues, the problems ironed themselves out after pushing the manual reconnection button a couple of times. Passenger-to-passenger use works similarly. The voice-controlled calling feature is decent (patience required when yelling out a call name) under 55 MPH.
The speakers, when placed properly, provide loud sound and automatically adjust for increased wind noise. I stuck small Velcro squares in my helmet’s interior ear holes for perfect speaker positioning. I found that regular earplugs won’t blot out the sound, and when used to reduce wind noise they make the sounds from the G4 even crisper.
The G4 makes long rides an interactive experience and is a good option for riders who require music on their commute. Headsets may look a little dorky in general but they serve a very useful purpose that’s hard to live without after pairing up with a riding buddy. In fact, riding without a headset now seems awkward after being spoiled by the G4’s abilities.
Style: 16/20
Price: 17/20
Durability: 20/20
Comfort: 19/20
Performance: 18/20