How to actually talk to your friends on the mountain
Everyone has lost their group on a mountain. Someone drops into the trees, someone else takes the wrong cat track, and twenty minutes later you are all waiting at different lifts until somebody finally makes a call. Here is an honest comparison of every way to stay in contact while you ride, and the issues with each.
Texting and phone calls
The default, because everyone already has a phone.
Where it fails: You have to stop, take a glove off, and get your phone out — and mountain signal is unreliable in exactly the places you get separated. It is also strictly after the fact. You find out where someone went once you have already lost them, not while it is happening.
Walkie talkies
Handheld radios, usually clipped to a jacket strap. They work with no phone signal at all, which is their real advantage, and the mountain-specific ones are built tough and glove-friendly.
Where they fail: Push-to-talk means a hand on the radio, which means a hand off your poles. Range claims assume clear line of sight, and trees, ridges and terrain cut it down hard. Everyone in the group has to own one and have it on the same channel. And you are broadcasting — anyone else on that channel hears you.
Helmet intercoms
Bluetooth units that mount to a helmet and connect riders directly, borrowed from the motorcycle world. Sound quality is good and they are genuinely hands-free once connected.
Where they fail: Group pairing is fiddly, and the further apart you get the more the connection drops — which, again, is precisely when you need it. Check group size, range and compatibility before buying; these vary between intercom systems.
App-based voice chat
A live voice channel over mobile data, like a party chat in a game. No extra radio hardware, and it works at any distance as long as everyone has signal.
Where it fails: It depends on data coverage, and it usually depends on your phone being reachable — which puts you back to taking a glove off, unless something else is handling the controls for you.
What we are building
Off Piste pairs app-based voice chat with Maestro’s wrist-worn gesture controls. The app runs a live voice channel so your group can talk mid-run without stopping, and Maestro, our wrist-worn gesture controller, puts voice-message controls on your wrist while your phone stays in your pocket. A double tap from the wrist sends a voice message to the group. Gloves stay on, eyes stay on the run.
Where it falls down: Off Piste voice chat needs mobile data. It does not replace off-grid communication equipment in areas without coverage.
So which should you pick?
- Areas without mobile data coverage — Off Piste voice chat needs a connection. Choose communication equipment suited to your route and conditions.
- A pair of you who always ride together — helmet intercoms, if you are both willing to buy matching units.
- A group riding a resort with mobile data coverage — app-based voice chat lets you share a voice channel. Check the app’s group limits and requirements.
Maestro is coming to Kickstarter
Maestro is a wrist-worn gesture controller for hands-free music and voice chat while skiing and snowboarding. Join the community for 15% off your first order, Maestro updates, and a say in what we build next.