Everything You Need to Know About the Sena Communication Headsets

First Things First

We can all agree that a good communication network is one of the most important and critical things needed on a tree work jobsite! If you don’t agree, then you're taking the power of a good communication network for granted.

I mean let’s think about this for a quick moment. What would you rather do? Scream to your coworkers all day and strain your larynx, or speak in your normal everyday voice while doing your work? Save your throat!

I've found hand signals to be another effective way of communicating down to ground crews. Within my crew, we developed a couple of key hand signals for common situations we faced, and it seemed to work fairly well until the crew became out of sight or busy themselves. Too busy to look up! At that point, the hand signals lost their usefulness.

The importance of good communication cannot be stressed enough. There's plenty of information that needs to be exchanged between the climber and the ground crew. Miscommunication can cause mistakes. If your crew misinterprets what to do in a rigging situation and things go south, whether it’s causing property damage or injury, the outcome will not be good at all!

After having worked with wireless communication headsets, I now believe there is no better way to communicate with your crew. Working with an arborist headset not only saves you the strain of constantly yelling, but it also makes you and your team look much more professional to the homeowner.

Which Sena System is Best For You?

When it comes to choosing which wireless arborist headset to go with, there are a couple of options.

The Sena Tuff Talk Lite is a set that is easy to install and use. This particular set is compatible with most helmets and already comes hard installed into the earmuffs, so all you would have to do is snap them onto the helmet and go. The only helmet you won’t be able to mount it to would be the fan favorite Pfanner Protos. With the Sena Tuff Talk Lite, you are limited to four users only, which most average crews are between two to four people so this may not be an issue for you.

I have personal experience using the SENA Work4 Pro model, and it has worked wonders for me! Having the ability to essentially whisper into the microphone and having my crew instantly respond really is incredible. This typical setup does differ from the Tuff Talk Lite though. This specific arborist headset you would have to mount onto the helmet yourself. The main Bluetooth piece traditionally goes towards the back, and you do have to route all the wires as well. It may sound intimidating to some but if I could get it done, I one hundred percent think you can too! One thing that I will forewarn you on is having to channel a groove so that the wiring does not get pinched and severed (in the earmuffs). Now, keep in mind that altering earmuffs will void the manufacturer specs in most cases. The helmet that I wholeheartedly believe pairs hand in hand with this system is the Pfanner Protos. All the wiring is run through the inside, and they are never really exposed to any snagging factor increasing arborist safety.

For those of you that run a large crew, say up to 6 guys, I highly recommend the SENA 33i. Mostly the same as the SENA SMH10, except it can pair with multiple crew members, more than the Work4 Pro, thanks to their Mesh Technology. The very cool thing about this communication headset is that it allows a user to exit the zone and re-enter the zone without having to pair up again! For those that know, pairing can be a pain in the ass to deal with. So, the next time you find yourself yelling until your face turns red, maybe think about going wireless.

Want to see more!? Check out our YouTube video on the Sena Bluetooth Communication System.