The Midland R1 Mesh has been great straight out of the box. Installation was quick and straightforward, with everything you need included to mount it to your helmet. Pairing it with a phone was simple using the three-button control layout, and while connecting it to a Midland Mini took a little patience the first time, once the two units recognised each other they connected automatically every ride after that. We’ll dive deeper into the Midland Mini in a future review.
Out on the bike, the R1 has been excellent. The 40mm RCF speakers produce clear audio for music, phone calls and rider-to-rider communication, while the large buttons are easy to locate and operate even with gloves on. Voice quality has been impressive too, helped by Midland’s Crystal Voice Processing and Digital Noise Killer technology, making conversations easy to understand without constantly repeating yourself. We haven’t had the chance to fully explore all of the Mesh functions yet and we only have one of these units so can’t connect with multiple other ones but early impressions are very positive.
One feature that has already proven incredibly useful is the optional Midland noise-cancelling headset. We paired it with a BT Mini so we could talk to Jax while he was out riding and I was sitting on the side of the track using the headset. It worked brilliantly. It opens up plenty of possibilities for coaching young riders, talking to kids around the track or communicating with someone working on a bike without needing everyone to be helmeted up. It’s a clever accessory that made us feel factory!
So far, the Midland R1 Mesh has delivered everything we’d hoped for. It’s easy to use, sounds great, connects reliably and the controls are intuitive enough to operate. Combined with the noise-cancelling headset, it’s already proving to be a genuinely useful communication system for teaching my kids to ride and getting Jax to stop so we can go home as he tends to pretend to ignore me when I try get his attention. Full review coming!
RRP: Midland Noise-cancelling Headset $44.99
R1 Mesh $319.99
Browser: midlandcomms.com.au
