One negative thing about riding with others is that you tend to cover less distance in a certain amount of time. This is because for various reasons, there's a need to communicate with each other. You know the scenario. For instance, you see a bear off to the side of the trail. You then speed up to talk another rider and either slow down to avoid crashing into each other or pull over altogether. You flip up your visor, and over the engine noise you shout, "Hey, did ya see that bear?" I could only imagine what kind of time we'd make on a 2,000 mile stretch!

When Jay mentioned that we should have some kind of communications equipment for our upcoming Labrador trip, I agreed. However, my next thought was, "Cha-ching; those motorcycle helmet radios are expensive!" We then started to consider FRS radios. I remember when these things were over $100.00 each. However, you can now score some at your local X-mart for about $25.00 each for full-featured models.

With the radios taken care of, there was still the concern over wind noise in the helmet with a standard boom-microphone headset. So, I started to look for throat mocrophone headsets, like the ones I saw in the movie 'Navy Seals' back in college. The first model I came across was the same one that the Los Angeles SWAT team uses. At $115.00, I decided to keep looking. Some more scrolling through Google took me to FireFox Technologies. At under $35.00, this headset looked like a winner...if it worked.

Looking at them, if you didn't know what they were, you'd think they were mutant Walkman headphones with some strange third earbud growing out of them. The earbud is housed in soft rubber and can be mounted in an optional ear hook for increased stability. The microphone part is one-size-fits-all, with the actual microphone pickup being in the side nearest the earbud. The throat mic headset comes with a coiled PTT (push-to-talk) switch, with a T-connector that plugs into the radio and velcros to the handlebars. The headset then plugs into the PTT switch at the T-connector. With this arangement, the radio can either be worn on the body, or placed in a tank bag, etc. For radios that support VOX, the headset can be used without the PTT switch. During initial tests, we found that with our Motorolas, there was a 1.5 second delay after talking ceased. This was annoying feature of the radio, thus we preferred the PTT.

Armed with fresh double A's and full tanks of gas, Jay and I rolled on a shakedown run with the FireFox throat mics and our Motorola FRS/GMRS radios. The ride covered about 160 miles on roads, trails and in between, with speeds ranging up to 75 mph. So, how'd they work? Simply put, we were pleased with the performance. For the most part, the sound came through clearly. What's more, is that Jay still sounded like Jay. It was so nice to be able to tell Jay that I was going to be turning soon or relay other important information without having to slow down or stop. The FireFox units rally came in handy when I suspected a rear wheel problem. Just a tap on the PTT, and I was able to ask Jay to look at the wheel while we were still rolling.

As the speed increased, we found ourselves asking each other to repeat more frequently. This was a function of the helmets and not the microphones. With the wind noise inside the helmet, I found myself needing to concentrate more on what was said. FireFox includes ear plugs with the ear hooks. For the same reason you find yourself wanting to shut one eye when looking through a telescope, I receommend using an ear plug for the ear without the ear bud. It also helps to crank up the volume on the radio. Underneath our jacket collars, the microphones picked up zero wind noise.

Ups:
-Function as advertised. Voice is clear and extraneous sound is not picked up.
-The microphone is very sensitive such that placement is almost fool-proof.
-Easy to don, mic stays put and is comfortable.
-Optional ear hook works great for keeping the ear bud immobilized.
-Soft rubber earbud and pliable ear hook maintains comfort for extended use.
-Compact, lightweight and easy to stow in a small case or Zip-Loc bag.

Downs:
-If you're not careful, speaker can pop out of the flexible rubber earbud. It would be nice to have it cemented in place.
-If you're one who likes to leave the radio in a tank bag, you'll need to unzip the bag, locate the radio and disconnect before getting off the bike. I would like to see a connection closer to the mic unit versus at the radio. An extension cable would also fix this.

Overall, the Fire Fox throat mic headsets are an excellent tool for communications on the move AND they're a good value.

To take a closer look at the Fire Fox throat mic system or to place an order on their website, Click HERE.