During a group ride, two of us wore the all-mesh intercom Sena Spider ST1 that I recently reviewed. A third buddy had an older one Sena Device with Bluetooth-only intercom function. Even though Sena told us they wouldn’t connect, we spent half an hour trying to accomplish this, to no avail. Enter Senas + Mesh.
Sena + Mesh, which features Mesh 2.0 technology, is the perfect intercom solution for owners of older Senas models to jump on the mesh bandwagon for $ 119 MSRP. As I mentioned in the ST1 review, my experience with the mesh intercom on a 1000 mile trip showed that bluetooth is dead; Long live mesh.
Mount the 2.1 oz + mesh on your handlebars, on the side of your helmet, or anywhere on your bike away from the rider’s body as bodies will limit the range of the radio. Pair it with your phone or connect via an iOS or Android app and you’re in business. Pairing is a simple one minute process and when complete, the user is added to any Sena Mesh intercom group with the press of a button.
In fact, I go so far as to suggest that if your crew use the bluetooth intercom, all of you get the + mesh, and make life so much easier and better. All you have to do is pair your headset with the + Mesh. Once that’s done, it’s a push of a button to activate the mesh intercom and you no longer have to fumble in the parking lot to connect all of your friends. It even connects in no time with anyone who takes part in the ride or swaps places on the line. Mesh is relatively failure-free, works over longer distances and reduces noise and static electricity.
The + Mesh is a great choice for Sena 10C Evo and 10C Pro drivers. These are the Sena’s devices that have a built-in camera but still use BT intercom technology. It also applies to some of Sena’s Momentum helmets.
As with most devices, I charge it upon receipt and check the firmware for updates. Sena devices require the use of Sena Device Manager software, which is easy to use and can be found on their website.
On a trip with two buddies, both had a Sena 10C and + Mesh, while I was equipped with a Sena Spider ST1. Pressing each + mesh for five seconds puts the units in pairing mode. Next, pressing each Sena dial for five seconds puts the devices in intercom pairing mode. They connect within a few seconds. After a last press of a second on + Mesh, we all had a clear conversation.
In addition, these 10C units can still pair using their native Bluetooth functionality. If you turn on + Mesh, you will be connected to my intercom. If you turn off the + Mesh, your units will return to the bluetooth intercom without giving any further commands.
On the road, we enjoyed a strong connection and clear audio, as well as the ability to reconnect seamlessly. When a driver was too far ahead in the canyon and rounded a hill, we lost him. But as soon as he was within range, we were automatically reconnected.
Sena claims that the working distance between two drivers in open terrain is up to half a mile. That can extend up to nearly two miles when six drivers are hooked up in series. With three mesh riders, we found that half a mile is correct.
The + Mesh supports Open Mesh Intercom with a practically unlimited number of driver connections. We couldn’t test this as we were limited to the three units we had on this test. Sena claims a talk time of up to 13 hours. We used it all day with no hiccups. The specified charging time is two hours. The + Mesh device comes with three accessories – an adhesive mount, a handlebar mount, and a micro-USB cable.
There are so many advantages to this newer technology that I can predict that bluetooth intercom will be a thing of the past. With native Mesh or Sena + Mesh there is no pairing before the ride and no one-button connections – good avoidance of Bluetooth.
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