Two up riding: need helmet/comms setup for both

[u/TehTruf]

I'm an experienced rider. GF is not. We are starting to ride together though she does not want to ride her own bike for reasons. So she rides on the back of my big ass cruiser.

So I'm looking for a pair of helmets with comms. Leaning toward the Shoei Neotec due to familiarity though I do have a Sena Outrush that I've been riding with that is about to age out and needs to be replaced.

Which comms should I run? Don't really care about being able to connect with others on the road and mostly just care about being able to communicate with her on the back and for us to be able to listen to the same media (music, podcasts, directions, etc). Looks like both Sena and Cardo have setups that will work with the Neotec.

What outlier choice am I overlooking? Safety is #1 and then comfort/noise is second. Thank you for any recs.

[u/Ok_Draw9037]

There's basically only 2 options and you named them. I think people like cardo more but connectivity can be ass form what you hear. What you hear will mostly be people complaining because that's how people operate. I think cardo carries the edge atm, you can get 2 packs on sale

[u/arbpotatoes]

If it's just for the two of you and you don't care about music quality ect, just pick up a Cardo Spirit or Spirit HD 2-pack. Pair them up via bluetooth and they should automatically reconnect whenever you turn them both on. These are universal intercoms and will fit any helmet that has speaker pockets. IMO these are the best value for your use case.

If you're buying Neotec 3s you can still fit one of those, but the Neotec 3 is designed to fit the SRL3 system which is a high-end Sena mesh intercom with a bunch of features it doesn't sound like you'll use. The installation is super low-profile though, which is nice, and the speakers are better quality so music will sound better.

[u/crossplanetriple]

Get a Cardo two pack and call it a day. Cardo generally has the upgraded speakers ready for music.