The Cardo Venture takes an idea that makes a lot of sense for off-road enthusiasts: combine a premium moto helmet with Cardo’s mesh communication technology and install everything at the factory.
No external communication module to attach to the helmet. No speakers to install. No microphone to position. Put on the helmet, set up the communication system, and ride.
Cardo Venture Helmet
After spending time with the Cardo Venture in UTVs, our Cardo Venture helmet review revealed an impressive combination of a premium off-road helmet and cleanly integrated communication hardware—but also some limitations when communicating between multiple vehicles. For specifications and features, see our original Cardo Venture helmet overview.
For a family riding together in a four-seat UTV or a driver communicating with a spotter while rock crawling, the Venture is an excellent solution. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication in a larger group was less consistent during our testing, however, even when the vehicles weren’t particularly far apart.
There’s also an important development since our test: Cardo has released its new Mesh Boost software update. Because our testing was completed before that update became available, we’ll need to revisit group communication performance with the latest software.
A Premium Moto Helmet First
Before getting into the electronics, the Cardo Venture is simply a very nice moto helmet.
It’s comfortable, stylish and feels like a premium off-road helmet rather than a communications device that happens to protect your head. That’s important because adding electronics isn’t much of an advantage if you don’t want to wear the helmet all day.
The Venture uses the Leatt Moto 8.5 as its foundation, with 360° Turbine Technology, multi-density impact protection and DOT and ECE 22.06 certification. The shell construction was adapted for the integrated communications system, using Kevlar and fiberglass because carbon fiber can interfere with RF signals.Composite Shell: Kevlar and fiberglass
The Venture also includes features you’d expect from a serious off-road helmet, including good ventilation, an antimicrobial liner, emergency cheek pad removal, neck-brace compatibility and a hydration port.
Factory-Integrated Cardo Communication Is the Big Advantage
Where the Venture separates itself from a conventional moto helmet is the integration.
The Cardo hardware is pre-installed, and the finished installation is exceptionally clean. You don’t have a communication module clamped or glued to the outside of the helmet, and there’s no need to route speaker, microphone and power wiring through the interior yourself.
Everything feels like it belongs there.
The integrated communication system incorporates Cardo’s Dynamic Mesh Communication technology and JBL audio into the helmet itself. For someone who already uses Cardo communication equipment, it’s easy to appreciate the simplicity. Instead of purchasing a helmet and then installing a separate communication system, the Venture arrives as one complete package.
We tested the Cardo Venture while riding near Big Bear, CA in a Can-Am Maverick R MAX.
An Excellent Setup for a Family in a Four-Seat UTV
One of the best applications we found for the Venture wasn’t necessarily what you’d associate with a motocross-style helmet.
It’s a four-seat UTV.
Put a family of four in a UTV with Venture helmets and everyone can communicate without installing a wired intercom system in the vehicle.
There’s no communication wiring running through the UTV and no headset cables tethering passengers to the vehicle. Everyone simply wears a helmet and joins the Cardo network.
That also means the communication system isn’t permanently attached to one UTV. Get out of the vehicle and the communication goes with you.
For families that ride together and already wear helmets, that’s an extremely attractive setup. It may be one of the strongest arguments for the Venture from a UTV owner’s perspective.
Driver-to-Spotter Communication Is Even Better
Our favorite UTV application for the Venture may be rock crawling.
Anyone who has attempted a difficult obstacle knows how valuable a good spotter can be. The problem is communicating.
The driver may be surrounded by engine noise, other vehicles and spectators while the spotter is standing several yards away trying to yell directions or use hand signals. Sometimes the driver can’t even see the spotter.
With both people connected through Cardo, the spotter can simply talk to the driver.
- Move left.
- Passenger tire needs to climb.
- Straighten it out.
- Stop.
- Back up.
The instructions come directly through the driver’s helmet.
For technical rock crawling, that can be much clearer than shouting or trying to interpret hand signals through a windshield or around the vehicle’s cage. It also allows the driver to keep attention focused on the obstacle rather than searching for the spotter.
This is one of those applications that sounds useful on paper but makes even more sense once you actually use it.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication Was More Challenging
Our experience with vehicle-to-vehicle communication was more mixed.
We tested the Venture during a UTV ride near Big Bear, California, where the mountainous and forested terrain provided a much different communication environment than an open desert or dry lake bed.
Our group generally stayed relatively close together. Rather than testing maximum range across a wide-open area, we were using the system under the type of conditions UTV owners routinely encounter on trail rides: vehicles spread along winding trails with trees, hills and terrain between them.
One of the most important advantages of Cardo’s Dynamic Mesh Communication (DMC) technology is its self-healing mesh network. Unlike a simple point-to-point connection, DMC is designed to automatically adapt as members of the group move around, fall out of range and reconnect.
That capability is particularly interesting for UTV group rides. With multiple connected helmets spread among several vehicles, the riders between the front and rear of the group can potentially help maintain the mesh even when the first and last vehicles don’t have a direct connection.
That’s essentially the situation we encountered at Big Bear.
Our group was spread along the trail with multiple UTVs and connected Venture helmets between us and the lead vehicle. At times, the lead UTV would disappear around or over the other side of a hill and we would lose communication with it.
Losing a direct radio connection through a hill isn’t particularly surprising. What surprised us was that the mesh network didn’t always appear to bridge that gap.
Based on the spacing of our group, we believed the intermediate vehicles and helmets were close enough—and generally had line-of-sight to the next members in the group—for the self-healing network to keep everyone connected.
There were times when each vehicle was approximately a quarter-mile or less from the next vehicle in line, yet we still couldn’t reliably communicate with the lead vehicle.
That was probably the biggest disappointment during our initial Venture test.
It’s difficult to know exactly what was happening inside the mesh network during those moments, so we can’t say whether terrain, rider spacing, RF conditions or another factor caused the connection to drop. But from a user’s perspective, the result was straightforward: despite having multiple connected users positioned between us and the lead UTV, communication didn’t always make it through the group.
That’s an important distinction from a maximum-range test. We weren’t trying to determine how far two Venture helmets could communicate across an open area. We were testing something arguably more relevant to UTV owners: whether a group of connected helmets could maintain communication as several vehicles traveled through mountainous, forested terrain.
For nearby vehicles, communication was useful. Based on our initial experience, however, we wouldn’t rely on the Venture as a replacement for a long-range vehicle radio when dependable communication with every vehicle in a spread-out UTV group is essential.
There’s an Important Mesh Boost Caveat
There’s an important qualification to our communication observations.
Our Cardo Venture testing took place before Cardo released its new Mesh Boost software.
Mesh Boost is a free update to Cardo’s Dynamic Mesh Communication platform that expands DMC groups to as many as 31 users while retaining Cardo’s multi-hop mesh networking. It also introduces Public Mesh, Remote Grouping and redesigned intercom and group-management features.
The Cardo Venture supports Mesh Boost.
Because the update wasn’t available during our original test, our vehicle-to-vehicle observations apply specifically to the software installed in the helmets at the time.
That’s an important distinction. We aren’t assuming Mesh Boost fixes the communication issue we encountered, but we’re also not going to judge the updated system based solely on testing conducted before the update existed.
We’ll need to repeat the same type of UTV group test with Mesh Boost installed and see whether the self-healing network does a better job of maintaining communication through a line of vehicles when terrain blocks direct communication with the lead UTV.
What About the $799 Price?
At an MSRP of $799, the Cardo Venture isn’t an inexpensive helmet, particularly if you’re considering putting several of them in a four-seat UTV.
But the price makes more sense when you consider what you’re getting. This isn’t simply an $799 moto helmet. It’s a premium off-road helmet with Cardo’s communication hardware, Dynamic Mesh Communication and JBL audio already integrated.
The more relevant comparison is the cost and complexity of buying a premium off-road helmet and adding a high-end Cardo communication system separately.
The factory integration also has value beyond the price of the individual components. There’s nothing hanging off the side of the helmet, no speaker and microphone installation to deal with, and no communication wiring permanently installed in the UTV.
Whether that makes $799 worthwhile will depend heavily on how you ride. For someone who primarily rides alone, it’s a much tougher sell. For a family that rides together or a rock crawler who regularly communicates with a spotter, the integrated system becomes considerably more compelling.
Dustin Jones with his Cardo Venture Helmet
Where the Cardo Venture Works Best in a UTV
After using the Venture off-road, three UTV applications stand out.
In-vehicle family communication: For passengers inside the same UTV, it’s an exceptionally clean wireless alternative to a traditional wired intercom. Everyone can communicate without being tethered to the vehicle.
Driver-to-spotter communication: For a driver and spotter, it may be even better. Direct voice communication makes technical rock crawling easier without requiring either person to yell or rely entirely on hand signals.
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication: Our experience was less convincing. Our pre-Mesh Boost testing revealed communication gaps when terrain blocked the lead vehicle, even though multiple connected vehicles and helmets remained between us and the front of the group.
That doesn’t negate the advantages of the Venture. It simply means understanding what type of communication system you’re buying and where it works best.
Cardo Venture Helmet Review: Our Take
The Cardo Venture succeeds first because it’s a very good moto helmet. It’s comfortable, looks great and doesn’t feel compromised by the technology built into it.
The integration is also excellent. Cardo’s hardware looks and feels like part of the helmet rather than an accessory added afterward. That’s exactly how an integrated communication helmet should feel.
For UTV owners, we see two particularly compelling reasons to consider it.
A family can equip everyone in a four-seat UTV with wireless communication without installing an intercom system in the vehicle, and rock crawlers can give the driver and spotter clear two-way communication during difficult obstacles.
Our biggest reservation from the initial test is vehicle-to-vehicle mesh connectivity and consistency. When the lead UTV moved behind terrain, we weren’t always able to maintain communication through the intermediate vehicles and helmets in the group, even though we believed the spacing between members should have allowed the self-healing mesh to keep everyone connected.
But that isn’t the end of the story.
Cardo released Mesh Boost after we completed our testing, so the next step is obvious: update the Venture helmets, return to the trail and repeat the test.
If Mesh Boost improves the self-healing mesh performance we experienced at Big Bear, it could address the biggest weakness we found with an otherwise impressive integrated off-road communication system.
