Sena Nautitalk Crew Headset – Clear Comms, No Fuss, No Shouting

I can’t shout into the wind, I lose my voice really quickly and trying to communicate on larger boats becomes really tricky for me. I tried out an Expand mesh Sena headset on a larger boat crossing the Atlantic and went from a sceptic to a fan-girl in an instant. It was a case of not knowing what you don’t know… until you try it.

When I saw at a the METS trade Show in November 2024 that Sena were launching a new, near ear headset, I was one of the first to put my name down to test it out. The Sena Nautitalk Crew intercom arrived in February of 2025 and it’s been on test ever since.

Specifications

Weight: 20 grams
Water Resistance: IPX5-rated, suitable for marine conditions
Mounting Options: Easily attaches to caps or water sports helmets; a neck holder is available as an accessory
AI-based noise reduction for clear communication
Mesh Intercom™ 3.0 technology (Supports both Mesh 3.0 and 2.0 for backward compatibility)
Open Mesh Intercom with 9 channels and virtually unlimited participants
Bluetooth 5.2 for over-the-air updates and device pairing

Sena Nautitalk Crew First Look – Small, Smart, and Hat-Friendly

The first surprise? It clips to your hat. No faffing with over-ear clamps or trying to wedge a slippery ear piece in or over my small ear. It’s designed to perch just near your ear—not on it, not in it, and that’s a big advantage I think.

The near-ear speaker design means I can still hear ambient sound—the change of engine note, the noises from a winch under tension and the crack of the spinnaker finally setting just right, or when I’m coastal rowing, I can hear the wild life around me.

Testing – From Rowing to Rigging

Sena Nautitalk Crew Intercom

I tested the Sena Nautitalk Crew across a range of on-water activities:

• Coastal rowing, I handed these to my coastal rowing instructor. He struggles with in ear or over ear headsets so he was keen to give them a go. They work well between instructor and student on the water. They also work really well between two instructors coordinating efforts out of earshot of students. I’d like to try out a few more of the head sets within a larger group of rowers on the water having a bit of a day out.
• Yacht docking, shorthanded with two people, one on lines the other on helm. It’s really useful being able to calmly relay info between each other. If I’ve got to go around again because I cocked up the approach, its much less embarrassing to be able to say this quietly in the ear of my mate than having to shout out that I made a mess of it. Equally, it’s lovely having the reassurance that the line is made off on the dock or that we are just 1 meter away, half a meter, and so on, just neatly and calmly docking, like a pro.
• Climbing the mast, I need no encouragement to go up a mast, so it was inevitable I’d be taking this up the big stick with me. I don’t generally like to wear a hat going up a mast, they get in the way. But for this job I didn’t really have a choice. I’d like to see a band made available, something like the one we find on a head torch, the exposure head torch band is especially comfortable and sturdy.  Anyway, comms were simple and clear. much easier to talk hands free with a lightweight non-vhf unit. 

Sena Nautitalk Crew Flip Mic

The flip-down mic design is one of those elegant solutions that makes you wonder why everyone else hasn’t been doing it for years. Need to speak? Flip the boom down. Want to stop transmitting? Flip it up. No buttons to fumble with, no muting drama. You just move it and it obeys, with a calm vice informing you that “mike off” or “mike on”. And it stays in place. Even with a decent breeze and plenty of head movement, the mic arm didn’t budge or flap about.

Sena Nautitalk Crew Battery, Fit & Comfort

Battery life easily got me through a full day of use, including a fair bit of chat during coastal rowing and on-and-off use during yacht docking manoeuvres. Sena claims around 8 hours of talk time, and I’d say that’s fairly accurate. Charging is USB-C and moderately quick.

It’s light enough that I forgot I had it clipped on. I did struggle a bit with my sunglasses and couldn’t quite work out the best way to balance the two without feeling that the intercom was standing away from my ear more than I’d like.  But I might find a better way with a little more practice. 

Sena Nautitalk Crew Range & Reliability

It uses Bluetooth Mesh for multi-user crew communication. Sena’s tech seems solid; it didn’t drop out once during our tests. No fiddly pairing, just switch on, press the middle button, get the green flash and audible confirmation that we’re all connected up and away we go, it takes about 2 seconds.

The range is no issue when you’re on deck talking bow to stern, or up a mast talking to someone below on deck or in the cockpit. When we were rowing, we were up to quarter of a mile away and audio was still clear.

Why I Love It

• No shouting across cockpits or down the mast
• Near-ear audio = safe, comfortable, and awareness-friendly
• Flip mic = intuitive control, even with gloves
• Works with hats and helmets

A Couple of Niggles

• If you’re not wearing a hat, the clip system gets fiddly—a headband would be useful
• Not waterproof, just weather resistant—fine for spray and rain, but don’t take it for an unintentional dip 

If you are interested in other intercoms I have looked at, then there’s a couple more options in my buyers guide to the best marine intercoms. For a Sena expand mesh model, I reviewed that too if you want something a little larger.