Review: POC Obex Connect Helmet Audio System

I spend most of my winter weekends in Colorado snowboarding at resorts around the state. The best part for me is the social aspect—there is no tea hotter than that spilled on the chairlift. But if you've ever been skiing or snowboarding, you know that sometimes communication is limited, like when they’re zooming ahead of me. (It’s cool, it’s only my second season!) If I’m practicing on my own, it’s also nice to have some entertainment.

I’ve used Bluetooth earbuds to listen to podcasts and music when I ride, and I’ve tested some helmet audio systems, but the sound is typically meh. I’ve never really gotten into regularly listening to anything on the slopes. Recently, I had the chance to try the POC Obex Connect headset, a helmet audio and communication system the brand recently launched with Harman Kardon. The audio quality of this thing blew my mind and officially turned me into someone who always needs a few soundtracked runs every time they snowboard.

Go With the Flow

The Obex Connect headset can be paired with any of the helmets in POC’s Obex line, or you can get it included with the Obex Connect backcountry helmet. I tried it with the Obex MIPS, and it was easy and intuitive to install. I pulled the regular ear pads out of the helmet and snapped the Obex Connect ones in, then tucked the connecting cable behind the adjustment dial in the back of the helmet. The audio ear pads felt just as soft, well-cushioned, and warm as the ones that came with the helmet.

Photograph: Kristin Canning

They also include just as much space for your ears—I never felt like the pads were pressing against my head. Instead, they cradled my ears. If you have earrings that you don’t take out, you know how important this is!

The Obex MIPS helmet itself is a solid piece of gear. It has a comfortable, lightweight feel, with an interior size adjustment dial, adjustable overhead vents, a goggle clip, an adjustable plastic clip chin strap, and front ventilation over the goggles to help prevent fogging. As indicated in the name, the helmet features a multidirectional impact protection system (MIPS), the gold standard in helmet construction that allows your head to move relative to the helmet during impact and limit rotational force.

Once I had the system installed in my helmet, I downloaded the POC Connect app (iOS, Android), and tried to pair my phone with the headset via Bluetooth. I couldn’t do this directly from the app—I had to go into my iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and select the headset, but it was visible there and paired right away. The process was quick and easy, even on a windy mountain road on the way to a ski resort. After that, I could control my music, calls, and voice assistant from the helmet itself.

Screenshots courtesy of Kristin Canning

After a few laps with friends, I ventured off on my own to listen to the Severance podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott while I made my way down the mountain. I was shocked by the sound quality right away. With the Connect headset, voices were crisp and clear, and I could actually understand what was being said, even as the wind rushed by me while I was riding.

On my next run, I excitedly switched to music, turning on Doechii’s “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” I was enveloped by the bass and felt giddy at how well the headset transported me into my own little world (though not so completely that I felt unsafe, thankfully). This experience flipped a switch for me. I felt more focused and confident, and it was just more fun! The sound was smooth, bright, and dynamic; even the little details in each song came through. It made me want to dance as I flowed through the snow. By the end of the day, I was seriously considering wearing my helmet the next time I lifted weights. My earbuds just aren’t as fun to listen to anymore.

Phone-Free

I appreciated that I could adjust everything without taking my phone out of my pocket. You can use the buttons on the right side of the ear pad to manage everything phone-related, and they’re big enough to control with gloves on. You can press the large button once to turn your music on or off, and it can be pressed twice and held down to turn up the volume and pressed three items and held to turn it down. If you have a call coming in, you can press the same button once to accept it, and press twice to reject or end the call.

I was able to call up Siri to text my partner without taking out my phone, which saved my fingers from freezing unnecessarily. I just pressed and held the large button, and when I heard a chime, I knew I could make my request. I also changed my music throughout the day this way. The only downside here is that the voice assistant was very quiet, while the associated chimes were annoyingly loud and startling. I was later able to balance the volume between those two things in the app, though.

The Connect headset has a bunch of other cool features that would be extremely useful if you’re a backcountry skier or snowboarder. The mesh technology is particularly impressive and could really improve your safety on the mountain. This feature allows up to eight people (who are also using the Obex Connect headset) to communicate with every other member of the group, even without cell service.

Photograph: Kristin Canning

Your group members just need to be within roughly 500 to 600 feet. You can set up your group through the app (your friends will use a QR code to join). It works a bit like a walkie-talkie—you’ll want to send messages and then mute yourself, so your friends don’t get blasted with wind noise as you ski.

The mesh doesn’t interfere with your phone, so you can still use its features and make and receive calls at the same time. If someone in your private mesh group skis out of range and drops out, the rest of the members still stay connected. And the member who dropped out will automatically be reconnected once they get close enough. If you use this feature, you can also join a public mesh network, so anyone who has the Obex Connect headset and is in range can communicate with you.

My colleague Chris Haslam tested the communication feature and noted that it is simple to operate, the range was accurate, and the call quality is solid, although it's not great at filtering out wind noise so you might want to be standing still. It's also nice that taking a phone call doesn't log you out of the mesh system, and you can mute it so that your friends can't hear you singing along to whatever you're listening to.

The mesh feature is also what makes the Obex Connect system stand out compared to other headphones and communication systems. It’s much pricier (like, roughly $200 more) than popular headphones sets like the Outdoor Tech Chips 3.0 (which can be paired with any ski helmet and only offers Bluetooth audio) and the Alek Nunchucks (which is also a universal ski helmet system that offers audio and a comms system which relies on a phone app). But the Obex Connect allows you to use the mesh system without cell service. Its price is on par with other mesh group communication devices, but if you aren’t using that feature, I’d opt for a regular universal headphones set.

The Obex Connect headset is kind of a nonstarter if you don’t have a POC helmet, though. If you’re looking to upgrade your whole system, I recommend it. It charged quickly and didn’t die during a full eight-hour ski day. The app keeps you informed about battery life and allows you to adjust sound quality settings and phone call and mesh group preferences. The ear pads are dust and splash resistant. Overall, the Connect headset really impressed me, and I’m much more likely to use my POC helmet now over other ones I have because of it.