FODSPORTS Motorcycle Bluetooth Intercom, M1S Pro 2000m

This will be the most positive review I have ever left for a product, technology, or otherwise. It is a long review where I try to give the level of detail I want before setting off on a remote motorcycle adventure relying on a piece of tech. For those that don't like the long-form review "“ this device exceeded my expectations, allowing a friend and me to spend two days wandering the Everglades, sometimes at high speeds, with fantastic communication quality (with half helmets!). But the long review will talk about some caveats and one impactful quality problem. But overall, this will be a ravingly positive review.
I rode a great deal 40 years ago, but in the last 40 years, I have only ridden a dirt bike a few times. So I spent a day getting my learner's permit and hours with my friend in his housing development at slow speed, getting used to his bike. (This is to set expectations on what kind of a biker I am, a "new-old" newbie). Although I was a big tech consumer until I bought this device, I had never entertained the idea of motorcycle comms. We spent half a day riding all around West Palm, Florida, and then the entirety of the 2nd day riding around Lake Okeechobee. On day 1, I could not have been more thrilled with the quality of voice communications. We purchased them on a whim (after an extensive review of comments) and after seeing the Sena half helmet device that was almost 1.5x as much (each!).

My immediate Day 1 summary: I was shocked I could ride a motorcycle and converse casually with my friend. And this was with half helmets! On day 1, speeds rarely exceeded 40 mph but hit 50 mph on occasion. And as most of you probably know, here is the most critical variable "“ the motorcycle windshield. From the picture, you can see we had windshields. We are both tall, and I was looking over my windshield a bit too much, meaning I had air hitting my helmet and the top part of my face. I found myself slouching to avoid it, but my point is that I did not have a perfect shield and had wind jostling around my face. Yes, that windshield made a difference, but I cannot define how much. I know I could hear my friend at 75mph! Not perfect, but well enough to communicate. Sometimes, I had to yell, MOVE YOUR MIC CLOSE TO YOUR MOUTH, REPEAT, or SAY AGAIN, but we could communicate. ( I feel strongly this would not have been possible at 75mph with no windshield, but again, my windshield was not a perfect shield due to my height.) Also, when trucks would come by at 75mph from the opposite direction (scary AF!) and the wind from them would slam me (even on an 1100), I could still hear him talking. The noise canceling was excellent as I could hear the wind noise from his mic constantly, but it was never loud and irritating to the point I wanted to turn off the device. Often, noise canceling in electronics will work on a walkie-talkie, and then when noise breaks through the cancel feature, it is LOUD! This never happened with this device as background noise was constant past 40mph, but consistently just low background noise.

It is important to note (if you can tell in the picture) that we had half helmets. And my friend had a helmet with thin straps. We used a 3rd party ear speaker holder that was 100% required to make the Fodsports intercom work with a half helmet. And this ear speaker holder system was not even supposed to work with his strap system, but it did. But the roughly $12 the 3rd party speaker holder cost still had us well under 50% of the price of a Sena half helmet intercom system.

And now the unfortunate problem in the midst of using this fantastic device. On day 1 we stopped to eat and shut off our Fodsports intercoms. My friend's device would not turn back on, no matter what. And it WAS charged before we turned it off, we checked (I am anal about always knowing where my electronics are charged). The riding was TOO good to stop so we spent another 3 hours kicking around some amazing places in West Palm. But it was so different riding without comms. I had quickly grown used to being able to talk with him. The "communication-free" ride was fun, but it was like we were riding 'together apart.' I had already grown addicted to motorcycle comms and don't want to ever go back.
That night, I took both devices and charged them "“ all night. In the morning, I checked, and they were both fully charged and we got geared up, and the devices synced, and when we got on the bikes, his died *dammit!*. So, on a whim, we ran a cell phone battery charger to his device, and it worked! And thank you, Fodsports. Often less expensive electronic devices cannot charge and work at the same time, but this one did ALL DAY LONG (11 hours!). So, other than an extended cable routing to the side of the intercom on his helmet, it worked perfectly (well, not as perfectly as if it held a charge!).

Again, I cannot say enough good things about this Fodsports intercom system!!!! The best of both worlds is that I could ride with a friend and have casual and random conversations throughout the day. I know many of you are familiar with motorcycle comms, but coming back after 40 years, this is just magic"”the best kind of magic - the joy of the ride and brotherhood in conversation.

** Update. Several months later, I bought a 2nd one to use with my son when we ride our bikes (pedal bikes). He is 16 and had all but quit riding with me as he said it was boring. But now, with comms the entire ride, he is riding with me again as he just wants to talk the whole ride. Thank you again FodSports! Ironically, when I was with my friend on motorcycles, we had half helmets, and now my son and I have full-faced MTB helmets when we ride our bikes 😊. So there is nothing to report there as this device does well in a full-faced helmet, as you can put the mic behind the mouth guard area. But again, read above about high-speed motorcycle riding with half-helmets. The Fodsports communication at high speed was not perfect, but darned good!

*** Additional. I have used the Fodsports on multiple all-day solo gravel bike rides. Listening to podcasts or taking calls via a Bluetooth connection to my Android phone is flawless. This device continues to deliver!

I wanted to have some time with the unit before writing a review. I had a very old Scala Q2 that would no longer connect to the newer phones. The price of the newer ones and the Sena units was prohibitive especially since I needed at least three units. For my needs, I only needed the intercom, phone connection, and a wired connection because I still have an iPod. These were one of the few units that had a wired connection so I decided to give them a try. I actually ordered two sets. The first was a previous design and the second was the latest redesign. The new design was definitely better for button layout. The mount is a bit more stronger on the helmet but doesn't clamp the unit as well as I would like. The Scala unit had a slide on rail attachment and a positive lock giving a redundant system. This one just has a clip in system, though it hasn't been an issue yet. One of my biggest complaints with the Scala was being able to hear well. I ride with ear plugs to protect my ears and the Scala unit was barely loud enough to hear. The M1-S Pro was loud enough to hear at mid volume with room to get louder. So that was a major plus. Phone connected right up with no issue and I was able to hear callers just fine and vice versa. I had some trouble with the intercom feature, but it turned out one of my units was faulty. After some questions to pinpoint the problem part, the seller sent me a new unit. With the new one, intercom worked great! One interesting thing I did find out is that your phone can be playing at the same time as a wired device. This will have the advantage of allowing you to hear directions on bluetooth while still listening to music on the wired connection. However, it will not reduce the volume when directions come up or when a phone call comes up, so a method of stopping the wired device would be needed. I expect most won't have this issue since most will be using bluetooth only. Have not had a chance to see if this will link with other brands yet, but it's not what I was getting it for. If it connects to a Sena, that will just be an extra bonus. Intercom from bike to bike worked well though I did not get a chance to test distance.

Pros:
* Loud enough volume to hear even with ear plugs in.
* Playback sound quality is great
* Easy connection to other units and phone (what I was able to test anyway)
* Wired connection for audio
* Uses standard micro USB connection for charging
* Service response was great and quick
* Battery life seems fine though not fully tested. Does give feedback for battery life.
* Several mounting options for microphone and speakers.
* Buttons are easy to feel with gloves on (especially on the new design)

Cons
* Mount connection could be more substantial
* Can take a moment to understand how to use all functions (Other units are the same since there's only a few buttons).
* Microphone is not part of the unit like the Scala was, not necessarily a large issue but you do need to find a good spot to secure it.

I would not hesitate to recommend these for someone that just wants an inexpensive bluetooth intercom for their motorcycle. They have most of the features that most people would be looking for in a bluetooth unit.

I have used the Fodsport earphones on both my dirt bike helmet and my adventure road bike helmet and they have works amazing. I listen to music every ride or use the communications to talk to my buddy's while riding. I have used the more expensive brands and find these Fodsport earphones to be the best there is. I wear ear plugs and still hear the music fine while ride 95 mph or ripping up the dirt on my motocross bike. I will definitely buy these again And recommend them to my buddy's. I use the second one in the set as a back up for those long multi day ride when the first battery might go low. At this point after 2 year I have never had one go dead while wearing it and I ride long multi day adventure rides. I do try to remember to charge them at night though when I can .

I was very surprised on the quality of sound it's loud clear I will throw in it might depend on what kind of exhaust you have on your motorcycle. The programming for the modes is a learning curve but give it a couple days and you'll get use to it.

I was going to buy Sena or Cardo setups but I figured I'd give this a shot first considering its 1/4 the price, and I'm so glad I did. They work amazing. My girlfriend and I use them to communicate while riding through the woods and even with the thick forest and many turns around the hills the connection remains solid. Of course they drop off at a point, but that point is so much further than I expected! And when they drop off and you ride back within range of each other they reconnect instantly and automatically. The only downsides I see for my use is the speaker fidelity for talking is awesome but for music it is subpar, and you can't bluetooth music from your phone and intercom at the same time like the Cardo Packtalk can (but you can run music in from an aux cord source and intercom at the same time so that's hardly a negative!). And those are my only two complaints which is amazing considering the MASSIVE price difference between these and the competition.

The manual is worded kind of crappy but pairing the headsets is super easy, running the wires through the helmet and setting it up is super easy (and they give you a boom mic and a different small mic for different setups, which is awesome), and the usability of it is super easy. The way the boom mic is designed eliminates most exterior noise and keeps the communication pretty clear.

All in all I couldnt be more happy with these, and the price point makes these the best option for offroad or onroad comms. I will be purchasing another set to install in our other helmets since they're so cheap. And the best part is what I paid in total to put these in 4 of our helmets is the pretty much the price I would've had to pay for a single Cardo Packtalk set up, so for that reason alone these are so worth it.