Best Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets for 2023

Welcome to my guide to the best Bluetooth motorcycle helmets in 2023.

This guide is your chance to skip all the terrible ‘smart’ helmets my friends and I suffered through trying. We left just the chiseled gems.

With these helmets, you and your crew will be chatting, taking calls from your wives, and blasting Taylor Swift (right?) in your helmets. Without hangups or forced firmware updates.

Integrated Bluetooth helmets are game changing. No annoying unit hanging off your helmet, no fussy kit to install, and MUCH more battery life.

But which ones rock and which suck? Let’s get in to it.

I’ll cover:

• The best Bluetooth helmets in 4 categories: full face, modular, open face, and half helmet
• Several Budget Bluetooth helmets (including one off-road lid)
• Amazon’s top selling Bluetooth helmet (that you shouldn’t buy)
• Cost, cost, cost – how much will these high tech helmets set you back?

The Best Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets

Usually the Moto Gear Nuts team likes to kick back and have a few brews on a Friday night, but we decided instead to create a rating system for all the Bluetooth helmets we’ve ever worn. We called up some friends too, to get other opinions.

The result is what you see here – the top Bluetooth helmets rated on their tech and build quality. Unsurprisingly, Sena has absolutely crushed it, winning every category. Sena’s Quantum release for 2022 knocked it out of the park.

	Sena Stryker	Sena Savage	Sena Impulse	Sena Cavalry
Winner of…	Editor’s Choice	Best Open Face	Best Modular	Best Half Helmet
Reviews	Our Review	Our Review	Our Review	Our Review
Style	Full Face	Open Face	Modular	Half Helmet
Intercom Range	5 miles / 8 km	1 mile / 1.6 km	5 miles / 8 km	0.5 miles / 0.8 km
Participants	4 (BT), 24+ (Mesh)	4	4 (BT), 24+ (Mesh)	4
Bluetooth Tech	Sena, v5.0 + Mesh 2.0	Sena, v4.1	Sena, v5.0 + Mesh 2.0	Sena, v4.1
Talk Time	18 hrs (BT), 11 hrs (Mesh)	11 hours	18 hrs (BT), 11 hrs (Mesh)	10 hours
Weight	3.85 lbs	2.42 lbs	3.79 lbs	2.13 lbs
Sun Visor	Drop Down	Snap-on	Drop Down	None
Safety Ratings	DOT	DOT (ECE option)	DOT	DOT

The bluetooth helmet is a fantastic piece of technology, but like many other tech products out there, it’s hard to tell which ones are overpriced, under-featured, or downright frustrating.

That’s why we put together…

• Our opinions
• Our friends’ opinions
• The internet’s opinions (forums)
• Reviewers’ opinions (Revzilla and Amazon)
• My lovely grandmother’s opinion (just kidding)

to pick out the best Bluetooth motorcycle helmets.

YOOHOO: Interested in going beyond helmets? Check out our recently updated review of the best motorcycle jackets for multiple riding styles.

Best Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmet: Sena Stryker

Sounds like a vehicle in Star Wars… and packs about that much punch.

The best motorcycle helmet with Bluetooth for 2023 is the Sena Stryker. Full stop. For any form factor. This thing is impressive any way you slice it.

Sena built on the old Sena Momentum EVO to make this helmet. But the EVO is a bicycle compared to the Stryker. The Stryker runs laps around the EVO, from its intercom supporting unlimited participants in an Open Mesh to its whopping seven vents.

The Stryker is DOT and ECE certified, making it legal everywhere and safer than most helmets.

It has a drop down sun visor, which is uncommon in lids of this quality.

Sena even put an LED taillight in this lid, improving your visibility. Even with that, it still provides EIGHTEEN hours of talk time on Bluetooth.

The 40mm speakers and microphone built in to the Stryker? Made by Harman Kardon, meaning studio-quality sound.

This might be the best value helmet money can buy these days. You’d need to spend much more to get anywhere close to what the Stryker offers.

Highlights of the Sena Stryker

On the Stryker, you’ll find everything you would expect from a high-tech motorcycle helmet: top-notch Bluetooth 5.0 technology that connects to your phone for music, calls, and GPS; intercom for 4 people on bluetooth and 24 on Mesh; and a stellar 18 hours of talk time on bluetooth with 11 hours on Mesh.  

Sound quality also doesn’t disappoint, thanks to great sealing around the neck and the amazing Harman Kardon speakers and microphone. Best of all, the designers of this lid packed all of these features into a 3.85 pound shell (medium), one of the lightest we’ve reviewed in this category. 

Mesh technology is one of the standout features of this motorcycle helmet. Mesh beats Bluetooth in range, number of participants, and pairing process. Open Mesh means virtually limitless riders communicating across up to 9 channels, like good old CB radio.

Going out of range doesn’t require a stop to re-pair. Mesh automatically heals the connection, unlike Bluetooth.

I’m a big fan of a good deal, and that’s where the Stryker really shines.

To get a similar tech experience with another helmet, you’d need to purchase a Mesh 2.0 enabled headsets. The cost of a decent helmet plus the cheapest Mesh-enabled headset – the Sena 30K – will run you more than the cost of the Stryker.

For less battery life. And a chunky rock on the side of your helmet.

Sena Stryker Specs

Tech

• More Intercom Space than Friends: 4-way Bluetooth Intercom, 24+ on Mesh – universal pairing to other brands
• Stellar Range: 1.2 mile / 2 km Intercom Range (Have 6+ people? Extends to 5 miles / 8 km)
• Best Battery Life: 18 hour battery life on Bluetooth, 11 hour on Mesh with 1,300 mAh battery that charges in 2.5 hours
• Voice Commands: Control GPS, make calls, command music – anything you can do with Siri or Hey Google – with just your voice.
• Smart Sound: Harman Kardon 40mm speakers with Advanced Noise Control for better sound quality and dynamic volume.
• FM Radio: For you old-school folks. No hate, only love.

Helmet

• Full-face style
• Integrated Drop down sun visor
• Better visibility: Integrated tail light
• High impact absorption from composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS
• Lightweight: 3.85 pounds – incredible for a full-face helmet
• DOT and ECE safety certified

Best Modular Bluetooth Helmet: Sena Impulse

The Sena Impulse is basically the Stryker, with a flip up chin bar. That means everything is built in, including the Harman Kardon boom mic, so you can pop this baby on for a ride right out of the box. Plus, you get that awesome integrated tail light from the Stryker too.

Sound is great since you get the same Harman Kardon speakers in this lid as in the Stryker.

Build quality is solid, and you get a lot of nice features. Drop down sun visor to shade your eyes, easy chin-bar operation with a gloved hand, and simple 3-button controls on the left side of your helmet.

You also get voice controls, so you don’t even have to touch the helmet to change songs, make a call, or set up GPS directions. Anything your phone can do with voice commands, you can do in this helmet.

Highlights of the Sena Impulse

This is basically the best modular helmet I’ve ever put on my head. It does what you need a modular to do – get out of the way when you want to take a drink or get some air.

But this lid comes packed with so much more: Integrated tail light, Harman Kardon sound, flip-down sun visor, nicely integrated controls.

And the battery life is stellar too: 18 hours of talk time. And the magnetic charger means you won’t break a cord by picking up the helmet without unplugging it.

While the price is steeper than some other modular lids like the BILT Techno 3.0 and the Sena Outrush R, you get your money’s worth with this lid.

The modular category is heating up lately, thanks to many manufacturers creating flip-up variants of their existing full face bluetooth helmets.

We previously rated the BILT Techno 3.0 as our top choice for smart modular helmet, but the Impulse knocked it off the pedestal. We also looked at the Torc T-28B, which is an improvement on the T-27B and a modular version of the popular T-14B and T-15B full face models. Finally we compared the ILM 953, but found the construction of the ILM helmet to fall short of the others.

Sena Impulse Specs

Tech

• Good for Big Groups: 4-way communication on Bluetooth, 24+ on Mesh – universal pairing to other brands
• Insanely Long Range: 1.2 mile / 2 km Intercom Range (Have 6+ people? Extends to 5 miles / 8 km)
• Big Battery with Quick Charge: 18 hour battery life on Bluetooth, 11 hour on Mesh with 1,300 mAh battery that charges in 2.5 hours
• FM Radio to listen to classics – or traffic updates
• Voice Control: Access Siri and other phone voice commands without touching a single button, using voice prompts and Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
• Advanced Noise Control keeps music and intercom clear through wind, engine, and traffic noise.
• Auto-Updating: When you charge the Impulse, it connects to WiFi and automatically updates itself.

Helmet

• Modular style – lift up the chin bar for some air
• Better impact absorption due to composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS
• Drop down sun visor
• 3.79 pounds – lightweight for a modular
• DOT certified

Too expensive for you? Check out the much cheaper Sena Outrush R on Revzilla or Amazon.

Best Open Face Helmet with Bluetooth: Sena Savage

The best Bluetooth open face helmet goes to the gorgeous and aptly-named Sena Savage. This helmet captures the iconic ¾ or open face style while enabling you to chat with your crew and listen to music.

The slim controls retain the stylish look of an open face without any standalone Bluetooth unit hanging off.

This helmet was discontinued by Sena in 2022, so it’s selling at a deep discount while supplies last!

Highlights of the Sena Savage

We don’t wear an open face helmet for safety, right? We wear one for the LOOK! You need that retro vibe on a cafe race.

You know what ruins a good retro look? A Bluetooth unit.

Hanging off the side of your head, it looks like what humans imagined the future would be like in the distant past.

Sena avoided ruining your look with the Savage by putting the electronics INSIDE. Battery, control board, everything is tucked away.

Even the microphone is hidden! No boom mic!

First, engineers tucked the microphones inside the edges of the helmet’s open face. Then they added a whole lot of signal processing technology. And what’s the result?

“Noise canceling and intercom quality surprised me with how well it works.”

Revzilla Reviewer

That means clear phone calls and crisp conversations with your crew. 

Range is also excellent at a full MILE, and you can connect to 3 other riders using any brand of headset. Talk time for that battery is rated at 11 hours. The jog dial control on the left is easy to operate with a leather-gloved hand.

As for the helmet itself, you get two visor options in the box to provide a bit of shade and wind protection. The lid is DOT certified and there’s an ECE rated version for the European market.

The Sena Savage is in a league of its own. No other open face helmet with Bluetooth comes even close!

Sena Savage Specs

Tech

• Hidden microphones for easy conversation without an annoying and unsightly boom mic.
• Decent Intercom: 4-way communication, universal pairing to other brands
• Range suitable for city riding: 1 mile / 1600 meter Intercom Range across open terrain, shorter but still impressive in a concrete jungle.
• 11 hour battery life (talk time)
• FM Radio
• Control via your voice: Voice Prompts via Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
• Advanced Noise Control – cuts out wind noise without needing a boom mic hanging over your mouth. 

Helmet

• Open-face style
• Composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS
• 2.42 pounds – very light
• DOT certified (with an ECE certified option in the European market)

If you can’t find the Savage in stock, first off: I’m sorry! Second, you should check out the Bell Custom 500 on Revzilla or Amazon. It has the same shape and style as the Savage, without the Bluetooth integrated. Then you can pick up a slim unit like the Cardo PackTalk Slim. You’ll still have the boom mic, but it’ll look a lot better than most units.

Best Bluetooth Half Helmet: Sena Cavalry

Half helmets aren’t really for the safety-conscious.

They’re for the wild souls that want wind in their hair, but don’t enjoy getting pulled over and roughed up by the cops.

Sena understands you, and they built the Sena Cavalry to be your perfect half helmet.

This helmet was discontinued by Sena in 2022, so it’s selling at a deep discount while supplies last!

Highlights of the Sena Cavalry

The major selling point of this helmet is that there’s no visible mic!

No annoying thing in front of your face making you look like a telemarketer. But still, clear sound for voice prompts and intercom. Mics in the brow of the helmet plus smart signal processing cut down on wind, road, and engine noise.

On a road test, you can clearly hear the rider speaking through the Cavalry, with no boom mic.

Reviews also say the speakers – after some fiddling with the included ear pads and plates – are able to direct sound to the ears effectively while deflecting wind, making for clear intercom and phone calls on both ends. 

This helmet is pretty old now, so the specs aren’t groundbreaking. However, as a basic music and communication machine that looks great, it gets the job done.

Sena Cavalry Specs

Tech

• Intercom for small groups: 4-way communication, universal pairing to other brands
• Great range over flat ground: 0.5 miles / 800 meter Intercom Range 
• Long battery life: 10 hour battery life (talk time)
• Pre-integrated Sena 10R Bluetooth unit with Bluetooth 4.1
• FM Radio
• Voice Prompts via Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
• Advanced Noise Control – works beautifully on this helmet

Helmet

• Half-helmet style
• Composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS
• 2.13 pounds – super light
• DOT certified

Can’t find the Cavalry in stock? Check out the Bell Pit Boss helmet on Revzilla or Amazon. Install a Sena 10R from Revzilla or Amazon to get the same intercom and music capabilities, except with a boom mic.

Other Top Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets

We also looked at Bluetooth motorcycle helmets from a few other brands that didn’t make the top rank, but have unique advantages to highlight.

Torc Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets

Torc is known for their budget-friendly helmets and its retro Torc T-1. They’re one of the few helmet makers that integrates Bluetooth tech in to decent lids as a pre-packaged deal.

The two pre-integrated Bluetooth helmets from Torc are the Torc T-15B and Torc-28B. The 15 is a full face, while the 28 is a modular with chin bar you can lift up.

You get what you pay for with these. The speakers and microphone are not great, and wind noise is a problem on the highway. Battery life will take you through a full day, and they’re at least DOT rated. The inclusion of a sun visor is welcomed on sunny days.

However, these helmets come on the heavier side at 5.15 lbs each. The Bluetooth tech is from Blinc, which is a knockoff of Sena and Cardo.

The Blinc bluetooth system lacks the popularity of Sena or Cardo units, and for good reason. They don’t have the same universal pairing ability you’d expect from an intercom device.

However, if every rider in your group has a Torc / Blinc headset, you can connect up to 6 riders together.

If everyone your ride with is using Blinc Bluetooth, Torc might be a good choice for you. The price is certainly right.

HJC Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets

HJC sells a few pre-integrated Bluetooth helmets using Sena 10B and 20B headsets designed to fit the HJCs like a glove.

They aren’t quite as nice as Sena’s helmets, however. You still have a dongle hanging off the side. But on the bright side, you get a high-quality HJC helmet. And HJC sells pre-integrated kits for many of their helmets.

The F70 full face (Snell certified), i90 modular, i30 open face and more come pre-integrated with the Sena 20B on Amazon.

Keep in mind these units unfortunately don’t support Siri or Google voice commands. They only support “Hey Sena” with a limited number of commands. You won’t be able to reply to texts or change your playlist with this unit, although you can with other Sena units.

You’re better off slapping an aftermarket unit from Cardo or Sena on another helmet and doing the installation yourself, if you ask me.

Sedici Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmets

Sedici is another budget-friendly motorcycle helmet maker entering the Bluetooth integrated helmet space with two lids.

1. The Sedici Strada II Parlare full face helmet
2. The unique Sedici Viaggio Parlare off-road, adventure helmet

Both lids use decent Sena systems providing 8 hours of talk time – enough for a full day’s ride. And they’re lightweight at 3.3 pounds for the full face and 3.75 pounds for the ADV helmet. Both are DOT certified.

The Strada II Parlare uses super-premium materials for its shell (fiberglass and Kevlar) which keep weight down while improving impact absorption. That helped them earn ECE 22.05 safety certification on this lid.

Three shell sizes also means a better fit no matter what size you are. Often times an XL will have no padding, while a small will look like a bobblehead. Not with Sedici’s lids.

Sedici also achieved stellar sound quality according to reviewers. That seamless face shield gasket is doing its job cutting out wind noise.

This is a premium full face lid without the brand-name pricetag.

The Sedici Viaggio Parlare helmet gives riders a wide field of view (critical for googles when off road), removable peak visor (for sun and mud protection), and even a drop down sun visor. It’s the best off-road helmet with integrated Bluetooth, hands down.

All that at about the same price as a standard ADV helmet WITHOUT Bluetooth.

ILM 953 Bluetooth Helmet

The ILM 953 Pro is “Amazon’s top selling bluetooth helmet.”

But you shouldn’t buy it.

That stat might have more to do with its low cost than its quality.

The ILM comes with decent Bluetooth technology from FreedConn that supports 6-8 riders speaking simultaneously, but the unit can only pair with other FreedConn units.

The lid itself is basic – DOT certified, with a built in sunshade, but otherwise not built well.

The ILM 953 is a good choice if you’re on a budget and want a simple way to communicate between a few riders or with your passenger. However, I’d sooner buy a better helmet and integrate my own basic Bluetooth unit like the Cardo Spirit.

FAQs

Should I buy a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet?

The question of whether a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet is worth it for you depends on how you ride. If you want a seamless experience for communication with your buddies, GPS directions, media and phone calls, an integrated bluetooth helmet from our list of best bluetooth motorcycle helmets might make sense for you. Save some money to spend on a custom paint job.

Read out full rundown on whether Bluetooth motorcycle helmets are worth it.

If you just want audio GPS directions or tunes, the right set of headphones or speakers could do the trick. If you want the absolute newest tech, buying a more expensive add-on system might make more sense.

An integrated bluetooth helmet is advantageous over an add-on unit for several reasons: 

• Better deal: A helmet plus bluetooth system will run you over around $300, depending on the exact models you choose. An integrated bluetooth helmet will run you around or below that anyway, without any installation hassle. 
• Bigger batteries: Integrated helmets offer more talk time by hiding batteries in the shell. 
• Better microphone and speaker placement: The placement of mics and speakers with a built in bluetooth system is determined by expert sound engineers – leading to better sound quality than self-installed systems. 
• Lower profile: An integrated helmet hides all the electronics inside – no bulky bluetooth device hanging off your helmet. 
• No installation: Save the obvious for last – no hassle installing a system onto another helmet! 

Cons of integrated bluetooth helmets:

• Less choice of bluetooth device and helmet: Buying an add-on unit means using any helmet you like, and accessing the latest tech. Pre-installed bluetooth technology usually uses mid-range tech, not the latest and greatest systems.
• Device not removable: If you ever want to remove your device from your helmet – say, to charge it without carrying the helmet or switch to another helmet – an add-on device gives you that flexibility. 

Can you listen to music with a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet?

Listening to music is one of the key functions of a bluetooth motorcycle helmet. If this is what you’re looking for, then you can rest easy because the best bluetooth motorcycle helmets for you will be on the cheaper end – like the Torc T-15B or ILM 953.  

You’ll want to look at reviews to see whether owners like how the speakers sound and whether the helmet seals well to block out wind noise. Remember that many bluetooth technology units come with apps to help you tune and customize the audio profile.  

How much does a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet cost?

Bluetooth helmets are surprisingly affordable, especially when compared to the alternative option of installing an add-on unit to another helmet. Here’s what to expect:

• Under $150 for Bluetooth-ready helmets: You’ll have to add your own unit, but sometimes the helmet makes it easy to at least hide away the bulky bits. 
• $150 – $300 for Entertainment-style Bluetooth-integrated helmets: You’ll find solid helmets with a decent bluetooth system from Blinc or Freedconn. Great for rider-to-passenger or a ‘smart’ helmet with speakers and a mic.   
• $300+ for Top-Notch Bluetooth-integrated helmets: These are lightweight and well-ventilated helmets with high-quality bluetooth technology already pre-installed. You’ll be able to communicate with a large group, listen to music, and have a high-quality helmet shell to boot. Take the Sena Stryker for example, our pick for the best bluetooth motorcycle helmet.