A Way to Put Phones Into Helmets People are loath to give up their mobile phones, even when engaged in sports risky enough to make it wise to use a helmet, like skiing, snowmobiling, motorcycling or bicycling. On top of the safety concerns, there is wind noise to contend with. A company called uClear is employing a unique technology to let people communicate clearly, hands free, despite wind and motor noise. Most helmet communications require some kind of microphone that has to be encased in foam and pushed against the mouth. But uClear's system puts microphones in the two earpieces, which coincidentally makes it easier to install than many other systems. The controller, which mounts on the side of the helmet, connects by Bluetooth to phones, a music player or a GPS device. The company's technology was developed for hydrophones used in detecting submarines. The trick is that it uses two microphones to single out your voice. By measuring tiny differences in the speed at which sound arrives at each microphone, it can eliminate anything that isn't coming from the center of the field, which is where your mouth is. In a test of the HBC 200 Force, I called my messaging service while riding a motorcycle. The resulting recordings sounded clear, although I wouldn't call them high fidelity. The bigger problem was operating the helmet-mounted Bluetooth controller while wearing gloves. The buttons are appropriately large, but you have to push them in exactly the right spot to activate them. Because some operations require you to press two buttons simultaneously, I sometimes turned on my iPod when I tried to make a phone call. Then I couldn't turn it off. A raised bump, or better yet a divot, to guide gloved fingers would help. I don't generally recommend using the phone while engaged in the activities the uClear is meant for, but it also has an intercom system that lets you communicate over short distances with passengers and others in your group. And it lets you get GPS directions, saving people from choosing between fiddling with a screen or getting lost. Used judiciously, it can be a safety plus.