Midland BT2-D Bluetooth Helmet Intercom Review

A solid bluetooth communications solution with a few flaws that impede easy operation.

The great debate about on-bike communication will continue indefinitely, but for riders who embrace the brave new world of bluetooth accessories, the options are greater than ever.

Midland's BT2-D comes with two communication units, each of which includes two flat stereo speakers and a boom microphone. The unit clips or sticks onto the side of your helmet (both worked well for me, though the sticky solution is unnecessarily permanent), and an L-shaped wire connects the unit to the mic and speakers, which attach easily to the helmet liner via velcro.

Physical setup is easy, but actual operation is a bit trickier; each unit has a "Phone" button (at the front), an "Intercom" button (in the middle) and a "Aux" button (at the back.) Additionally, two volume buttons rest at the top rear of the unit... all of which can get confusing. Intercom functions were configured effortlessly, and a day of helmet-to-helmet chatting offered clear audio and relatively few glitches, though the L-shaped connector can get misplaced with errant glove pressure, forcing undesired silence (or worse, interrupting the ride to fix the problem.)

Mating the device to my Blackberry 8830 was relatively straightforward, and audio quality was decent (though folks on the other end sometimes heard background noise.) Connecting to a bluetooth transmitter-equipped iPod proved more challenging, though a call to Midland customer service yielded friendly support, and roughly 15 minutes later I was able to hear audio of decent quality from my iPod, with volume and track control from the BT2 unit.

The Midland BT2 unit can handle loads of connectivity with a variety of devices, but non-intuitive operation requires more owner's manual reading than we'd like. A generally solid product with a few flaws, the BT2 should satisfy riders who want something more than wind noise on the road.