As a group, we all had similar skills and speeds, so range rarely became an issue when skiing. When someone wandered away from the group, stopped for a couple of minutes, or even turned a particularly large rocky corner, we’d get a “Jeremy is out of range” alert. The Milos work best with a straight line of sight, and for our resort driving needs, they were more than capable. However, they didn’t always work from the resort bar which meant they missed drink orders, but we don’t blame Milo for this. Not much, anyway.
We were also impressed with Milo’s Proximity Mute, which lowers the microphones when you’re close enough for normal-volume conversation. This worked well, and anyone who wasn’t close enough could still communicate over the speakers with the assembled group.
Recent software updates have also added some voice commands to Milo, with more expected soon. We weren’t able to test them, but they include one-on-one side chats, allowing you to talk to people in the group with a simple message “OK Milo, talk to Chris.”
Milo founder and CEO Peter Celinski also told WIRED that they are about to launch a long-range messaging mode that will allow you to use voice commands to record and send messages to specific people in your group. You’ll receive a confirmation when your message has been received, and recipients can play messages whenever they want, even multiple times. This will be a useful extra and another reason to keep your phone safe in your pocket.
Harder button by button
Milo is intuitive and, once you appreciate its limitations, extremely useful. But he is not without problems. With the exception of the huge main mute/unmute button, the rubber controls are disconcertingly difficult to use with gloves, especially considering the company cites skiing as a primary activity for Milos (along with kayaking, surfing, hiking and surfing).
Using the main button also requires precision: we estimated a first-time hit rate of 70 percent, although this improved with practice. It is also very irritating that the volume of each Milo is reset to minimum when turned off.
Interestingly, Milo doesn’t give a specific battery life, but for the most part, our devices survived a long day on the slopes, although that did require each person to turn off their units during lunch to get to the last lift.
A maximum of six Milos can be linked in a group, which seems a bit limited, but given the high price of purchasing multiple units, it could be a blessing. At $249 each, can you convince your friends to invest? Milo offers group deals (ideal for families) with four units plus bracelet and action clips that cost $925 instead of $1,120.
We haven’t tested Milo on the bike or in the water, but in the mountains we quickly learned to appreciate how useful they can be. Chatting while you ski, sharing tips, and generally getting excited about being on the mountain is fun, and being able to keep tabs on a group and help where needed is a real bonus. And remember, the free alternative of telephone communication is not possible when browsing and the like.
If you have money to spend, we’re happy to recommend Milo, especially as the brand rolls out more voice- and AI-based features. If the price were a little lower, the battery life a little longer, and the fiddly volume buttons a little bigger, Milo’s modern take on walkie-talkies would be a clear win.