Your opinion on helmet and gloggles.

[Capucine]

Your opinion on helmet and goggles.

Hello ladies!
I’m very happy to be back on the forum! I really hope we have tons of snow this winter!!!

Last spring discussion on helmets convinced me on buying one for this season (never had one before). I went to a few stores and I kind of like the Giro G10 in black. What do you think of this model? Is there another one I should consider?

I also looked at Oakley goggles to go with it (Oakley crowbar with a persimmon lenses — colour: carbon fiber).

In summary, I just want to know if I’m making a good purchase.

 

[Jilly]

Big thing is does the helmet fit. And do the googles fit with the helmet. I found the Crowbars too big for my face and went down to the A frames. They sat too low on my cheeks. So check out thinkgs like that. Your combination should look good though. Am I going to see you this winter?? Tremblant opens the 21st!!

 

[Capucine]

Hi Jilly!
I’ll definitely go to Tremblant this season (for the first time ever!). We just bought our first home in Lachine (just west of downtown Mtl on the island) so we’ll mostly ski in Vermont and upstate NY but I already bought tickets for Tremblant (had a 35% rebate on themby buying them with my sister through Qc government). With the new house (we move in Nov. 23rd) and a trip to Dominican Republic for New Year, I don’t think I’ll ski before Christmas but you should see me sometime in January or February. Are you at Tremblant only during weekends? Because I would prefer to go there a Friday or Monday so that it’s not too crowded.

 

[SkiMave]

I bought a helmet 2 years ago (at Tremblant in fact!) after one of our ladies had a severe accident a few weeks earlier. We were skiing out west, bombing down a black diamond. We were near the bottom of the run coming down the last pitch to the chair lift when some very foolish racing coach was leading his pack of 12 year olds on wide sweeping turns from one side of the run to the other.

My friend was coming down the tree line, the coach didn't look up hill as he came over to the edge of the run and they crashed. He was screaming his head off in pain, as they were both spinning out of control skidding donw the last part of the run. My friend ended up with a compound fracture of her femur (you would have thought that he had broken his leg as well, but I understand he just had a very bad soft tissue injury). Anyway, not fun. She's fine now (and she was the most careful skier of all of us) and has been back on skiis since then (she's a trooper !!). Ironically enough, the name of the run was "Surprise".

Ever since I witnessed that, I said "I'm getting a helmet". More people out west seem to wear them than in the east - which is strange because the hills tend to be much more crowded in the east. As my story points out, it's not only for your own spills, but more importantly for the times when other people might crash into you.

Jilly's right - as long as the helmet fits well, you'll be fine (of course looks are also important!!). What I really like about mine (pretty basic - a R.E.D.) is how snug and warm it is (doesn't help the look of your hair when you take it off at breaks though !!).

I bought high end Oakley goggle's from a few years back (and love them). May have to get a new pair soon though, just looking at them now and the foam is gettin' kind of long in the tooth.

I noticed when I was at the ski shop on the weekend that you can also get seperate ear flaps for Giro helmets that have built in speakers for MP3 players, iPods, etc. if you're into that.

 

[Pequenita]

My friend was coming down the tree line, the coach didn't look up hill as he came over to the edge of the run and they crashed. He was screaming his head off in pain, as they were both spinning out of control skidding donw the last part of the run. My friend ended up with a compound fracture of her femur (you would have thought that he had broken his leg as well, but I understand he just had a very bad soft tissue injury). Anyway, not fun. She's fine now (and she was the most careful skier of all of us) and has been back on skiis since then (she's a trooper !!). Ironically enough, the name of the run was "Surprise".

Not to be a total cynic, but for me, witnessing people with lower limb injuries (albeit pretty massive ones), wouldn't cause me to buy a helmet and would actually be my argument as to why one is not necessary.

That being said, I bought my helmet last season after suffering a mild concussion from a fall on the slopes that did not involve anyone else -- in fact, no one passed me for a good minute or so.

 

[SkiMave]

It was a pretty bad crash. Who's to say what else she would have suffered without the helmet.......at high speeds your head is like a canteloupe on a spring.

The good news is she's fine now...and back on her skis!

 

[Robyn]

I have the Giro G10 and like it very much, especially the venting on the fly switch. I also have the speakers in the ear flaps which I use when skiing alone at a fairly low volume (in fact, sometimes I can't hear it on the slope over ski/crowd noise).

I pair it with Smith Anthem goggles. I'm on my second pair of them and like that they are a smaller frame for smaller faces. Most goggles make me feel like they are pushing on my nose and restrict breathing. Not a good thing.

 

[lil mountain girl]

Noggin Lovin

Helmets are a very good thing!

And with proper fit and ventelation you'll actually wear it AND LOVE IT!!!

My 2 cents:

Whatever helmet and goggles you choose, just make sure both fit and work well together, so try them on together in the store if you can . . .

Do they vent well together?
Do the goggles fog because of improper venting due to helmet and/or other issues?
Are they comfortable?
Pressure spots?

Ultimately comfort, fit, and cohesion is the ideal combination

Have fun modeling lids!!!

 

[Shellski]

My choice - titanium Giro 9 and Oakley A-Frames black-to-clear fade with persimmon lenses, as you can see in my picture.

I lent my goggles to my sister several years ago, and her dog chewed all the foam off them! I should have known better than to lend her my 'good' gear, but I didn't want her skiing with second rate goggles.

Since then, I've tried several different types of goggles, including super high tech Alpinas, which fogged up in Chamonix, but nothing fitted or worked as well as the Oakleys. I find they fit my face really well with the helmet, give plenty of vision, but don't feel like they are covering my whole face.

So I scoured the country and I have just bought another brand new pair exactly the same as the old ones. And I got the Oakley hard case as well.

I might think about getting a new helmet next year, but it will probably be another new model Giro.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I have the Giro G10 and love it. Really depends on the shape of your head though as to what fits the best. I also have the Oakley Crowbar goggles-- they fit well with G10, though the Oakley A frames actually fit even better. I like the Crowbars though because you get such a wide field of view/great peripheral vision, as well as up and down. When I tried the A frames I felt like I was looking in a tunnel.

 

[Calgal]

I have a Giro Fuse (white) and my goggles are Smith Anthem, and they are made smaller to fit nicely on a women's face! Very comfy combo and the fit is quite nice. I tried on many helmets before I decided on the one that I bought. My first ever helmet choice was to just buy a cheap one and I couldn't stand the thing....

 

[persee]

I have a Giro 9 helmet and Smith Anthem goggles. I just love both of them! And they fit well together. My first year I had cheapy (ski show sale clearance) marker helmet and goggles which were ok, but not great. The improvement with the new gear was marked.

 

[skigrl27]

I have a Rossignol Helmet that has great vents. I also just bought a Bern helmet that is the most comfy best-fitting thing I've had on my head!

It boils down to how it feels - and how it feels with goggles. I would bring the helmet when you plan to buy goggles. I didn't...but got lucky. I have the Smith Pre-somthing or another women's goggles. They're so far so good...but I haven't skied w/ my helmet yet. All the stuff out there is good - Giro will protect your head. And most of today's goggles will do the trick - so it's really a personal preference thing.

 

[Quiver Queen]

That's a great helmet. Whether you have a Giro Fuse, 9, or 10, be sure that you have a wind-proof skull cap to wear under it on the cold days. These helmets are terrific for light-weight protection, but they are not the warmest on the mountain. I found that out the first time I wore my Fuse, after using a solid Buero for years, by having the worst case of brain freeze imaginable before I was half way up the lift. The pain was agonizing!!! Now I just wear the less fashionable Buero on the real cold days, and wear the Giro on the more moderate days. But I never leave home with the Giro without also having a skull cap in my pocket.

 

[Robyn]

That's interesting because on all but the coldest of days I am sweating in my G10. In fact, it's one of the only things I dislike about wearing a helmet.

 

[astridhj]

I've been using my old, cheap helmet for 5 years, so yesterday I went to the shops and bought the Giro G10. The only helmet that actually fit me. I've got a small head. Really looking forward to testing it tomorrow. I'm hoping it is good on warm days, because my old one was just too hot. Will try it with my old goggles, and hopefully that's okay. If not I have to buy new goggles as well...

 

[Jilly]

I agree with Robyn. I've never been cold in my helmet. The white one in my avitar is a Salomon Siam. Its been replaced with year with the Icon. In fact that picture is from the coldest day we had last year. Yeah no face mask - I am Canadian!!

 

[ski diva]

Just attended a presentation by the Giro sales rep at the ski shop yesterday (yes, I can say that now), and the Giro's have a lot to offer. Very nice helmets.

Anyone seen the Giro Fuse in the white gold leopard? I'm severely tempted.

 

[Ski Spirit]

I just got a Smith Venue helmet and Smith Anthem goggles that fit perfectly together. Had researched Giro helmets and was convinced I would get a Fuse but it didn't fit my head as well and also didn't fit with the goggles (in my case). Could have something to do with the fact that the Smith rep was in the store at the time and was the most helpful person there.

 

[num]

Does anyone have a RED Aletta helmet?