Cycle News

P114 CN III PRODUCT REVIEW SENA 10C LIST PRICE: $349 Website: www.sena.com/product/intercoms/10c/ Standout Feature So easy to use, awesome video tagging feature and smaller jog wheel over the 20S is not as clumsy on this model. Rider Analysis The Sena 10C is now permanently attached to my AGV GT Veloce. It's simple to use and although it's about twice the weight of my old 20S (which isn't even that old!), I really don't notice the weight while riding. Sena units are renowned for ease of use and the 10C is no different despite having the camera fitted. I've never really been one for using the FM tuner on any of my previous units, most of my tunes come from Spotify, so I just sync the phone and away I go. The sound coming from the two speakers is on par with anything I've had in the past, however the GT Veloce's cutouts are about a 1/15-in too small, so I've had to force the speakers into the helmet to make them fit – AGV's problem, not Sena's. Using the video is so simple. The large button atop the unit allows for scrolling through the different video modes (there's only two – normal recording and tagging, along with one-touch photo snapping), and that's where I leave it for most of the time. Honestly, 98 percent of any ride (except racing) doesn't warrant recording, but when something cool happens you're never recording! So video tagging is where my 10C remains most of the time. The picture quality is pretty good – it's not as spot on as a GoPro or a dedicated high-end system like that, but considering the 10C is primarily a Bluetooth system the picture quality is very good. However, I did have an issue with the lens fogging up in heavy rain (which ruined my test video on the S 1000 XR BMW last week, so that was annoying. The jog wheel is slightly smaller on the 10C over the 20S and surprisingly I think it's actually easier to operate because it is smaller than the housing it connects to. On the 20S the wheel diameter is a touch larger than the housing, meaning it can bend if you push on it too hard. If you leave the camera on recording mode but don't record, you'll drain the battery pretty quickly (under two hours), but if you just have the system turned on with video not active, you can get up to 10 days of standby power. All in all the 10C is a great system. I use it every day and it's become great for taking verbal notes in my bike testing. I'm surprised no one else has done this before Sena. Rennie Scaysbrook The Sena 10C is the latest offering from the Korean giant and is the first device of its kind to come with a built-in camera to go with the vast array of features found on the Sena 20S, which we reviewed back in issue 22 this year. The 10C also comes with the added bonus of dash cam-style video tagging, meaning if you see something cool on your ride and don't happen to be recording at the time, you can use video tagging to capture the 60-seconds before the incident, and 60 seconds after – just make sure you have put the device into 'video tagging' mode otherwise it won't record the part of your ride you want. You get all the usual features you'd expect from Sena on the 10C – Bluetooth intercom that you can pair up to four Sena-equipped riders up to one mile apart, voice prompts, a slightly smaller jog wheel than the 20S, built- in FM radio tuner with a station scan and save feature, and you can pair the system to the Sena app on your smartphone. The video features full 1080p recording capability shooting at 30fps (or 720p at 30 or 60 fps), as well as an instant 3.5mp photo shooting capability that can be in a single shot, burst or time-lapse function. The recording time is stated at 1.5 hours with a field of view of 125°. The 10C also has the ability to record your voice over the footage you capture so you can give your own commentary to the ride. There's basically no reason to go for the Sena Prism anymore, because this 10C combines the best of the 20S and Prism into one unit.

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