Why You Want a Helmet, and How to Pick One

A helmet isn't a force field, and nobody serious will tell you it is. What it does address is the ordinary way people get hurt on a groomed run: a head meeting firm snow or ice at a speed that felt entirely reasonable one second earlier. It doesn't need to be a dramatic crash. Catching an edge on a cat track is enough.

The catch is that a helmet only works when it fits, and fit is exactly what gets skipped when you're handed one across a rental counter with 40 people in line behind you.

What to look for

• A snow-sport certification on the label. Our gear data specifies an ASTM-certified helmet, and the certification mark is printed inside the shell where you can look for it.
• It stays put. Fasten the strap, shake your head, and look for movement. A lid that slides around on your head isn't your size, however comfortable it feels standing still.
• It works with your goggles. The goggle should sit flat against the front edge with no gap between frame and brim.
• An adjustable fit system, so you can dial it in for a thin liner or bare hair without changing helmets.
• Vents you can close. Overheating is a real problem on a spring afternoon and a hot head fogs goggles.
• A real in-person fitting if you can manage one. Heads aren't standard, and this is the one item where trying it on beats reading about it.

MIPS, Koroyd, and the acronym problem

Helmet marketing is a wall of trademarked systems, and we're not going to pretend we can rank them for you. What we can tell you is what our pick is described as: the Smith Vantage 2 MIPS, the flagship lid from Kai Jones' helmet and goggle sponsor, built with MIPS and Koroyd and a BOA fit dial.

If those systems matter to your decision, read what the manufacturers themselves publish about what each one does and how it's tested. What we wouldn't do is let a longer feature list talk you out of the helmet that actually fits your head. Fit is the mechanism. Everything else is a refinement on top of it.

When to replace one

Helmet makers generally advise replacing a helmet after a significant impact, because the protective structure is designed to be used once and the damage isn't always something you can see. Check the guidance for your specific model rather than guessing.

That's also the argument against buying a used helmet: you have no way of knowing what it has already absorbed. And it's why a helmet shouldn't live loose in the trunk under the chains, getting compressed all season.

Helmet questions