Dancing the Polka

“I’ll stop at the top of this hill to allow everyone to catch up,” announces our lead rider over the sounds of grunts and whispered profanities.

“F–ck you, keep going!” shouts someone in our group. “I am too hot to stop.”

It is the day before ABR 2026 and I’m getting exclusive access to the festival’s fabled Bridgestone Trail thanks to Cardo Systems. The maker of helmet communications set-ups has recently stepped into the world of integrated helmets with its forthcoming Beyond street/touring helmet, and the ADV/off-road-focused Venture helmet that I’m testing today.

The UK is gripped in yet another heatwave, with temperatures pushing 36ºC (about 97º Fahrenheit). Sitting on a moving motorcycle is one of the best ways to deal with the heat; sitting still in full gear is not. There are about a dozen of us on this ride and we all confirm a desire to maintain progress – some of us offering our own selection of expletives. The lead rider takes the hint and spits up a cloud of dust before disappearing into a thicket of trees.

Hitherto this moment, I’d been questioning the point of putting a communications system on an ADV/off-road helmet. I mean, riding off road demands a lot of physical and mental focus. That’s a scenario that doesn’t really lend itself to standard riding group chit-chat about whether Sabrina Carpenter is an artist or an entertainer (Or, at least, I assume that’s what HOG members and the like talk about on their long rides together).

But this use of the system makes me feel that it is just a little bit brilliant. It means all of us are able to stay on the same page without having to stop, kill the engines, and stand around in the murderous heat.

Also, it’s a helmet that looks good, making us look slightly like scout troopers from Star Wars.

Cardo Venture specs

MADE IN	Ukraine (No. 93 on the Economist Democracy Index)
RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE	£580
SIZING	XS-XXL (Three shell sizes)
WEIGHT	1425 (+/- 50) grams for Medium
SAFETY RATING	ECE R22.06 and DOT homologated

A proper helmet first and foremost

Cardo and Sena are probably the biggest names in helmet communication systems. Cardo, which currently splits its headquarters between Texas and Israel, was founded in Pittsburgh in 2004, initially as a maker of those annoying Bluetooth earpieces that British taxi drivers and “Apprentice” contestants used to wear.

It soon moved into comms systems for helmets, with the Scala Rider becoming the first Bluetooth headset for motorcyclists. In terms of technology, quality, and durability, things have moved on considerably since those days but makers of communications systems still face some of the same challenges they did 20 years ago – namely, bulk.

Strapping a comms unit (or a camera) to your helmet adds weight, wind resistance, and the risk of its catching on something in a crash and exacerbating neck injuries. For some manufacturers, the solution has been to offer helmet-specific units that can be better integrated. For example, my Shoei Neotec 3 is compatible with the Sena SRL 3 system, which is so well-integrated that you can’t really tell it’s there.

That kind of partnership works well – delivering a brand name helmet that riders know and trust – but for, uhm, reasons, both Sena and Cardo have in recent years sought to offer own-brand helmets as well. For example, Sena offers the road-focused Phantom, sport-touring focused Outrush, touring-focused flip-front Specter, and ADV-focused Outlander.

Sena started offering integrated own-brand helmets about eight years ago – so it’s not a complete novice in the game – but it still seems that the biggest concern consumers have is the company’s relative lack of experience in helmet-making. After all, the most important aspect of an integrated helmet is that it is, you know, a helmet: something that will protect your skull from hurty things like the road.

With its Venture helmet, Cardo is getting around this issue by fully disclosing the fact it is working with an established company. At its core, the Venture is a Leatt Moto 8.5 – Leatt being a South Africa-based protective gear manufacturer that’s been around for a quarter of a century.

A Leatt in disguise

Arguably, there are benefits to having a helmet that is fully integrated as soon as you pull it from the box, rather than offering it as a compatible add-on like the Shoei Neotec 3/Sena SRL 3 partnership. Firstly, it saves you the faffery of having to put the two together.

Installing the SRL 3 in my Neotec 3 wasn’t that hard, but I will admit that the comms unit sat in its box for quite some time after it arrived. I am a freelance journalist and father of two. I ALWAYS have something better to do than sit on the floor and install a helmet communications system.

Additionally, there is a nominal cost savings. Starting price on a Cardo Venture is £585. Meanwhile, a Leatt Moto 8.5 will set you back £399, while the Packtalk Edge system that the Venture uses has a RRP of £356. So, you’re saving about £175 with the Venture.

The Venture isn’t exactly the same as a Moto 8.5 because Cardo had to rearrange and relocate some of the carbon-fiber bits. Turns out those can interfere with the communication signals. Nonetheless, it meets ECE 22.06 and DOT standards and features “elastomeric discs for rotational impact and… multi-density EPS foam.”

The tech side

As mentioned, the Venture makes use of Cardo’s Packtalk Edge set-up, which, according to media releases “features 2nd-generation Dynamic Mesh Communication (DMC),” and offers a 1-mile range that can connect up to 15 riders. Dual 40mm JBL speakers offer an excellent sound quality to which I can attest.

Even over the sound of my heavy breathing and swearing, and the screaming KTM 390 Adventure R that I was riding (Side note: what a disappointing motorcycle that is), I was able to hear and respond to my co-riders with clarity. With differing skill levels and risk tolerances, the group was broadly stretched out as we made our way along the trail but we were never out of contact with one another.

The battery for the unit is tucked neatly into the neckroll and charges via a USB-C. Battery life conveniently isn’t mentioned in any of the specs that Cardo sent over, but a standard Packtalk Edge system promises a 13-hour talk time.

The helmet has a so-called “Natural Voice” voice-command system. I didn’t get a chance to test this and I do wonder how well it would work when you’re out of breath and revving the nuts off an engine.

The module sits relatively flush on the left side of the helmet but its buttons are easy enough to manipulate with gloves on. Cardo says it will connect with the Bluetooth headset of any other manufacturer, so if your pal’s rockin’ a Sena Outlander you can still be friends. The unit is also waterproof and can be updated over the air.

Comfort, Fit, and Ventilation

Cardo helmets apparently run a bit small in sizing but I had no problems with the Venture. I normally wear a Medium and a Medium here fit well. My only criticism in this area is very minor: the chin piece is so large that putting on or taking off goggles is just a little bit of a pain.

Regardless, ventilation, as you would expect, is good. It was incredibly hot on the day I tested the Venture and although my LS2 X-Master jacket’s ventilation was fully being put to the test, I had no qualms with the helmet.

Cardo says the weight of a Medium helmet is around 1,450 grams. In the hand and on the head it felt shockingly and blissfully lighter than the Neotec 3 helmet I’d been wearing for several days up to that point (I attended ABR on my way home from the cross-country journey I’d taken on a CFMoto 1000MT-X).

I was sweating buckets, so I can confirm the validity of Cardo’s moisture-wicking claims for the Venture’s liner. The helmet did not slip around or feel saturated. Cardo says the liner features “Ionic+ naturally self-cleaning antimicrobial technology that inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria, keeping your helmet fresher for longer and reducing the need for frequent washing.”

Making a crash less costly

OK, class, what’s the one thing that we know about the integrity of any helmet? That’s right: if you are in a crash, even a relatively minor one, or if you drop the helmet from a particular height, the helmet should be assumed useless. Go buy another one.

That’s a sucky and expensive proposition in and of itself but doubly so when you’re dealing with a fully integrated helmet like the Venture. Whereas you could throw your Neotec 3 in the trash and keep its SRL 3 for use in a new Neotec 3, with the Venture you’re throwing away the whole kit and caboodle.

Cardo’s response to this is a so-called “replacement coupon.” Let the company know that your Venture helmet is toast and it will send you a coupon that offers a “substantial discount” on the purchase of a new Venture. 

How substantial? That’s an unknown. Several of us at the Venture launch event pressed the marketing team for specifics but they stayed cagey. Ultimately, the best answer we got was a claim that the coupon would reduce the price of a replacement helmet with a comms device to the equivalent of a helmet without a comms device. That’s a really roundabout way to say £399. To the extent that I suspect the replacement cost is, in fact, higher.

Meanwhile, you get a multi-tiered warranty that covers the helmet for five years, the comms system for three years, and the battery for one year.

Verdict

I’m still not entirely sure I know who this helmet is for. Which is to say, I’m not entirely sure I can imagine the target market really buying into the idea of spending large amounts of money on kit that – by the nature of its being used off road – places it at higher risk of being damaged than ordinary, road-focused gear.

But certainly I can imagine a number of use cases: eg, being able to phone for help hands-free if you’ve crashed on your own, being able to communicate dangers or route instructions to fellow riders, or getting their attention if you’ve gone down out of sight, as well as increasing the general bonhomie of a ride with friends.

Although, one possible issue I picked up on while testing the Venture was related to the old “Those that can do; those that can’t teach” adage. It’s this: generally, if a rider knows what he or she is doing, they don’t provide running commentary on it. Whereas if you have a rider like me, someone whose only talent is making mistakes off road, you’ll hear them jawing constantly.

So, if you’re riding off road with a bunch of people in your head, odds are the person that you want to hear from – the one with knowledge and skill – won’t be talking. Whereas the idiot will be: swearing creatively at every bump and tree branch, and declaring insistently that Sabrina Carpenter is a musical genius. Do you want that? 

Maybe you do. And if you do, the Cardo Venture seems like a solid choice.

Other gear seen in this review

Jacket: LS2 X-Master
Pants: Aerostich AD-1
Gloves: Aerostich Elkskin Competition Roper
Botts: Sidi Taurus GTX