Husqvarna X-COM Active Communication System

The Husqvarna X-COM Active is a helmet-mounted communication system that combines hearing protection with wireless headset-to-headset talk and a Bluetooth link to your phone. It lets the climber and the ground crew talk in normal voices over a running saw or chipper instead of yelling, waving and guessing.

Why crew comms change the job

Most close calls on a tree job start with a miscommunication. A climber calls for a slack line and the ground hears tension. Someone steps into the drop zone because they did not hear "headache" over the chipper. The Husqvarna X-COM Active is built to fix that by putting a radio link right inside your hearing protection.

With every crew member on a headset, the climber can talk a groundie through a rigging cut, ask for a tool on the tag line, or call a pause, all without shouting. The ground crew can warn the climber about a car pulling in or a pedestrian walking under the work. Clear, normal-voice communication is quicker, calmer and safer than hand signals alone.

It is also simply less tiring. A full day of shouting over saws and hand-signaling through branches wears on a crew, and calm, clear talk keeps people focused on the cut in front of them rather than on figuring out what someone meant.

Hearing protection first

Under the electronics, the X-COM Active is still a set of ear muffs. Active listening lets quiet sounds like voices through at a safe level while still damping the loud noise from saws, chippers and stump grinders. That means you are not pulling a muff off to hear someone, which is when hearing damage happens.

A headset only protects you if the cups seal against your head. Keep the cushions in good shape, replace them when they harden or crack, and check that glasses arms or hats are not breaking the seal. Wear the muffs whenever the saw or chipper is running, not just for the big cuts.

Muffs that pass voices through also help with situational awareness on roadside jobs, where you need to hear traffic, horns and the flagger as well as your crew.

Setting up and using it

The system mounts to the helmet's accessory slots in place of standard helmet muffs. Confirm your helmet is compatible before ordering, and fit the cups so they sit squarely over your ears without pushing the helmet off level. Pair each headset with the rest of the crew at the start of the day, and pair your phone if you want to take calls in the bucket or on the rope.

Charge the batteries every night. A dead headset in the middle of a removal puts you right back to hand signals, so agree on a backup set of signals and use them if the link drops. Communications gear supports a good crew plan; it does not replace one.

Keep chatter disciplined. Agree on short, standard calls for things like "stand clear", "slack", "tension" and "all clear" so the important messages are not lost in conversation.

Who it is for

It suits climbing crews doing removals and rigging, bucket truck crews working with a spotter, and anyone running a busy site where the climber and ground need to coordinate all day. See more headsets and radios in our other climbing gear section.

It is also a good fit for training new climbers, since a lead climber or trainer on the ground can coach them through each step in real time.