best phone set up for riding

[wyeaster]

i have never listened to music riding or had a smartphone so no earphones, microphone, remote, bluetooth whatever experience.

i saw a pair of gloves somewhere -- here? that allow you to control your phone remotely with the fingers. ooooooooooooohhhhhhhh.

but in any case, what's the most economical, best setup some of you have for being able to be disconnected (my preference) and connected (necessary as dad) easily and efficiently? anything has to beat stopping, taking the gloves off, digging for the phone, and sticking it up under my earpad to barely be able to hear or be heard.

i have a smith variance helmet. the setups i've seen that might be functional vary wildly in price.

thanks.

[JayPowHound]

By "riding " I assume you mean snowboard and not bike?

Either way.. I am a fan of the single earbud. Bluetooth options abound, but i find 1 earbud (with mic on cord if needed for calls) works to get me my tunes while still maintaining a sense of the outside world

[JayPowHound]

By "riding " I assume you mean snowboard and not bike?

Either way.. I am a fan of the single earbud. Bluetooth options abound, but i find 1 earbud (with mic on cord if needed for calls) works to get me my tunes while still maintaining a sense of the outside world

Skiing, my flylow shell has a chest pocket with cord port into the coat. Running my single earbud through that and up under my helmet is petty much hassle free.

If you choose to skip the tunes, that one earbud will let you know when your phone rings or notifies you of a txt, email, etc..

If you can't figure out how to turn a pair of earbuds into a single, I'd suggest scissors

[wyeaster]

By "riding " I assume you mean snowboard and not bike?

Either way.. I am a fan of the single earbud. Bluetooth options abound, but i find 1 earbud (with mic on cord if needed for calls) works to get me my tunes while still maintaining a sense of the outside world

snowboard, sorry. also guess i should have mentioned i'm looking to do something other than earbuds. i got cauliflower ear years ago and earbuds have always been painful as are the over the ear clip on type.. my helmet has a zipper and slot to slide in a set of headphones so if they don't break the bank i'll probably try to do that. if i'm with my son, i wouldn't be listening to music, so it's mostly a setup that i can be able to answer the phone through my earphones/some mic without having to dig. and to listen to music.

the only thing i use the phone for otherwise is the trace app to record my speed, vert, etc. i'd like to be able to answer without having to stop and dig stuff out.

[wyeaster]

Skiing, my flylow shell has a chest pocket with cord port into the coat. Running my single earbud through that and up under my helmet is petty much hassle free.

If you choose to skip the tunes, that one earbud will let you know when your phone rings or notifies you of a txt, email, etc..

If you can't figure out how to turn a pair of earbuds into a single, I'd suggest scissors

i have the compartment but when i've tried to use earbuds with a cord i find it to be a pain in the ass between that cord, my, uh, safety tube coming from the same compartment and the zippers, backpack strap, etc. every time i turned my head to look back i yanked the earbud out. i was hoping there is some voice activated bluetooth setup that allows me to switch back and forth between phone and music without touching anything. oh yeah and it costs less than $50.

[galibier_numero_un]

I'm also looking at bluetooth options, having gotten tired of voice quality (so my callers tell me) of the over-ear types.

In the car, I've been plugging into the headphone jack, and I sent two Motorola Droids back to Verizon for warranty replacement in the past 6 months because of jack failure. It's the first time this has occurred to me, and perhaps this is model specific. I only used the jack sparingly, to talk on the phone while driving.

I don't know how common this is with other phones (again - first failure ... two times with the same model phone), but I mention it since there will be a lot of movement of the plug in the jack when the phone is in your jacket.

The worst part about this failure was that it disabled my phone's microphone. Take this as a data point and not an alarmist comment.

Cheers,
Thom

[RShea]

Stereo bluetooth with microphone to allow talking for less than $50- good luck with that unless you can find something used on Ebay. I'd be suspect of the microphone quality and even being able to be heard while on the phone if you only spent $50 for stereo unless you go "trucker" style headset with a microphone that extends down toward your mouth.

[wyeaster]

Yeah the $50 was a joke

[Shredhead]

Iphone 6+, Apple Watch, bluetooth helmet.

[wyeaster]

i'm stuck with my new, but apparently shitty, samsung galaxy prime core.

i went to the verizon kiosk at costco to get a case for it and the 20 year old or whatever kid looked at my phone and threw back his head and laughed. "oh THAT's the BUDGET phone. nobody cares about those enough to buy a case. try amazon. HAHAHAHA!!"

the $50 is a joke because i know it's not possible but i don't have unlimited resources. i may not be able to do anything about it now but at least get on track about what to look for.

[johnnyg82]

Outdoor Tech CHIPS, fit in helmet ear pockets, can be bought wired or wireless. They work with Siri. The wired ones are $40ish

http://www.outdoortechnology.com/Shop/Wireless-Audio/

[wasatchback]

Honestly the best shit is the Uclear. I used to rep them but no more. It has this crazy noise cancelling Bluetooth shit developed for the military. You could be in an 80 MPH gust on top of Mammoth and no one on the other line could tell you're outside. It's nuts. They're not cheap and you have to wear this dumb dongle on your helmet but it honesty works so damn well if you need that type of thing. It also intercoms up to 10 people so put it in the kids helmet and he doesn't even need to call you.

[Cocximus]

Stereo bluetooth with microphone to allow talking for less than $50- good luck with that unless you can find something used on Ebay. I'd be suspect of the microphone quality and even being able to be heard while on the phone if you only spent $50 for stereo unless you go "trucker" style headset with a microphone that extends down toward your mouth.

Motorola S305. Amaizing headphones for <$30. Perfect quality for calls. No one can tell I am using a BT. Music is decent, obviously no bass thump since they are over the ear open headphones. The buttons on them are easy to access. These would make great helmet driver if you want to put the knife on them to remove the plastic piece that holds them together.

[wyeaster]

Honestly the best shit is the Uclear. I used to rep them but no more. It has this crazy noise cancelling Bluetooth shit developed for the military. You could be in an 80 MPH gust on top of Mammoth and no one on the other line could tell you're outside. It's nuts. They're not cheap and you have to wear this dumb dongle on your helmet but it honesty works so damn well if you need that type of thing. It also intercoms up to 10 people so put it in the kids helmet and he doesn't even need to call you.

i'm definitely thinking about the kid. he's going to need a new helmet next year so i'd like to utilize technology to keep communication simple and clear regardless of whether we're together or apart.

[teledad]

Does your kid actually talk on the phone? I don't think mine realize you can actually use them to speak to other people. It's all text messages and Snapchat and Instagram comments.

I'd think about the weather conditions you ski in and how that might effect whatever you get. I wouldn't want to spend $200 on the greatest bluetooth setup and have it crap out in the first wet storm. I also personally hate having yet another battery to die (in addition to my phone).

I use an old wired TuneUps setup (similar to the wired CHIPS mentioned above) with an iPhone. Works OK, I can swap in new cables when they inevitably die. The mike/volume control is usually the first thing to go. If you're looking for something cheap and simple I'd start there.

[wyeaster]

Does your kid actually talk on the phone? I don't think mine realize you can actually use them to speak to other people. It's all text messages and Snapchat and Instagram comments.

I'd think about the weather conditions you ski in and how that might effect whatever you get. I wouldn't want to spend $200 on the greatest bluetooth setup and have it crap out in the first wet storm. I also personally hate having yet another battery to die (in addition to my phone).

I use an old wired TuneUps setup (similar to the wired CHIPS mentioned above) with an iPhone. Works OK, I can swap in new cables when they inevitably die. The mike/volume control is usually the first thing to go. If you're looking for something cheap and simple I'd start there.

no, my son is 4 so it's basically about giving instructions and making sure he's okay and him telling me he has to go to the bathroom and random observations. and yes, it definitely has to be able to endure pnw weather. like i said earlier, i've never listened to music or used the phone riding but at this point it would be nice to establish an operation streamlined for safety and communication when necessary and music if desired.

[Cyprinus Carpleo]

I've had the OT Bluetooth Chips for two seasons now and can't imagine going another direction. Sound is great, charge life is great, easy to use with mitts on (play/pause, volume adjust, skip songs). Best improvement you can do to your helmet imho.

[wyeaster]

thanks for the feedback

[Fun Consultant]

+1 for chips. Bluetooth, I got them for my wife and she loves them, I'm running the Outdoor tech adapt on my POC because it doesn't have zippered ear pads works too.

[robgoose]

No basis for comparison ... but I've enjoyed using the skull candy drop-ins. I use the wired version (I'm cheap snd don't want another thing to re-charge) and the sound and call quality has been solid.

[evasive_MT]

I've had the OT Bluetooth Chips for two seasons now and can't imagine going another direction. Sound is great, charge life is great, easy to use with mitts on (play/pause, volume adjust, skip songs). Best improvement you can do to your helmet imho.

Ditto.