BluArmor HS1: Review: Best Cheapest Helmet Intercom?

The HS1 is one of the cheapest helmet bluetooth devices. We find out if it's really value for your money

The BluArmor HS1 is an affordable motorcycle helmet Bluetooth unit, and is priced at Rs 2,999. It’s a fairly simple and basic comms unit that lacks any kind of mesh intercom tech or fancy features that you’d find in the more expensive helmet communications devices. 

TL;DR: For what it is meant to be and what it does, it’s a device worth buying.

That’s for those who can’t be bothered to read a nuanced review. But for those who can, read on. Helmet bluetooth devices like this, and others, are meant to make riding more comfortable. But these are not a must for riding, and don’t let anyone convince you so.

With that out of the way, let’s begin. 

What We Like

First and foremost, we like how affordably BluArmor has priced the HS1 at. Which makes it easy to recommend to anyone who’s on a tight budget. Secondly, these sound great for their price – call audio quality is clear and crisp, both ways, which is what I use this for mainly. The mic has wind noise suppression, not cancellation. Even then, the other person could hear me clearly, or atleast the bit where I asked them to hold for a minute till I could pull over safely. Music can get decently loud, but not loud enough to drown out the ambient noise – which is good because it won’t make you oblivious to the traffic around you. Not that you should be listening to loud music while riding. 

The unit it's fairly easy to install on the helmet and to use. It’s just plug and play, and doesn’t have a smartphone app to tinker the settings, like the C30. If you have trouble installing, follow the simple steps on BluArmor’s site to the T. 

The battery life is quite long as well. My commutes are short and I don’t listen to music while I am riding. This saw me charging the HS1 barely a couple of times a month. But if your commutes are long and if you listen to music while riding, you might need to charge it once every few days. BluArmor claims a battery life of 20 hours with standard usage. Which means, even if your one-way commute is an hour long, you’d be charging it once a week. 

And that’s all there is to HS1 – a barebones helmet comms unit that does what it is supposed to, without breaking the bank. 

What We Don’t Like

The HS1, and other similarly designed helmet Bluetooth units, are primarily meant to be used in half-face and modular helmets. While they can be used in a full-face helmet, as I did for this review, the device controls are almost impossible to use if the helmet chin curtain is installed. All the device controls are on the mouthpiece that is positioned in front of your mouth. This makes it difficult to shimmy your fingers into the helmet, and then find the right button, until you develop muscle memory. This is because all the three buttons feel identical to touch. You can circumvent this situation if your bike/scooter has Bluetooth media and call controls. 

The second thing, I hope BluArmor resolves in the next iteration of the HS1, is integrating the battery in the mouthpiece. Right now it sits in a separate, chunky box. I say this because, in most of the full-face helmets, this box would have to be positioned between the cheek pad and the shell. This will most likely cause a protrusion near the cheek that will get uncomfortable after a while. If the cheek pads in your helmet are stubby, or short, you could get away by positioning it outside the pad; unfortunately for me, I had to keep it between the pad and the shell.

Special Notes

Though the helmet comms unit allows you to play music while you are riding, we would strongly recommend against. Even with calls, pull over before answering your call, or request your caller to hold till you pull over. You should always ride with 100% concentration and focus 

We all know motorcycles are inherently dangerous, so why increase the risk even more? 

Verdict

There are a ton of budget motorcycle helmet Bluetooth comms units out there. Some that even cost less than half of what the HS1 does. So what do you get for the extra cost? For one, these are claimed to be made in India, and secondly, you get proper service support, should something happen to the unit. That apart, at Rs 2,999, the HS1 is easily one of the best helmet comms units available under Rs 5,000. Apart from the things we didn’t like, it does everything well. If you want a comms unit only to stay connected for answering calls, listening to music while stuck in traffic, and just GPS directions, HS1 should be at the top of your list.