The Best Ski Helmets of 2024 Helpful Guide – Reviews and Ratings

Updated December 4th, 2023

A good ski helmet can keep you safe on the mountain, keep your head warm or cool, and help keep your goggles fog free. The wrong ski helmet can make you feel uncomfortable and not provide the safety you are looking for. Ski helmets come in a wide variety of styles and prices with features such as MIPS, WaveCel, and BOA. We spend our time on the mountain putting gear to the test so we can help you find the perfect ski helmet this winter.

See below for our best ski helmet top picks. Keep reading for reviews and ski helmet guide.

How we test

We ski throughout the winter in a variety of conditions. We ski everything from east and midwest icy conditions to powder out west. There is no one helmet that is perfect for all conditions. We try to use everything we test and review in as many situations as we can. We considered performance, features, safety tech, and price, in our ski helmet recommendations.

Ski Helmet Guide

There are a lot of ski helmets out there to choose from in a wide range of prices and styles. What helmet is best for you? Let’s discuss some common ski helmet features so you can better understand what to look for when you go shopping.

1 – Safety Certifications

The 2 most common safety certifications for ski helmets are ASTM2040F and EN1077. ASTM is the US certification. EN is the European certification. Ski helmets sold in the US will comply with one or the other. We would not recommend any helmet that isn’t certified. They both involve hitting a ski helmet with an impactor and measuring forces. Both standards produce helmets that are equally safe. You will find a sticker or tag inside your ski helmet that shows which standards it is certified to.

2 – Price

Ski helmets can run from $25 to over $500. How much do you need to pay to get a safe ski helmet? Every ski helmet sold in the US has to comply with some safety standard. The 2 common standards are ASTM2040F and EN1077. Even the cheapest of helmets will meet these and provide some level of protection.

A $50 to $100 ski helmet will not have MIPS or other features such as adjustable vents. Almost all of these helmets will be missing features you will want as an experienced skier. There are a few exceptions such as the Outdoor Master Diamond MIPS that is full featured (adjustable vents, MIPS, goggle defog, audio compatible) for under $100.

You will find that ski helmets in the $100-$200 range can have all the most popular features. These include MIPS, adjustable vents, goggle defog vents, size adjuster and audio compatible ear pads. This is where the best value is found in ski helmets.

When you go above $200 you are getting features such as Koroyd or Spherical energy absorbers. When you go above $300 you are buying the latest and greatest helmet from any vendor. You are only getting small improvements over the $200 helmets and for most people they are not worth it.

3 – Ski helmet construction

Ski helmets use 3 main types of construction these days. They each have advantages and disadvantages. The construction types are hard shell, in-mold, and hybrid.

ABS Hard Shell

Hardshell is the most simple and cheapest ski helmet construction. It consists of an ABS plastic outer shell and an EPS foam liner. The foam liner is molded separately from the ABS shell. They are glued together to make the finished helmet. This construction is cheap to make. Vents and other features cannot be as intricate with hard shell construction. Helmets with hardshell construction tend to look plain with too many features. ABS is heavier and more scratch resistant than polycarbonate.

Polycarbonate In-mold

In-Mold construction ski helmets use a single mold to make both the outer helmet shell and EPS foam liner. The outer shell is made from polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is lighter and stronger than ABS plastic. It is 3 times more expensive than ABS plastic. Polycarbonate also scratches easier than ABS. To make an in-mold helmet, a polycarbonate outer shell is created. The foam is molded and attached directly to the shell in the mold which is where the name in-mold comes from. In-mold construction is lighter weight, allows more venting channels and detail in the vents and other features. The downsides to this method are higher cost and easier to scratch.

Hybrid

Hybrid ski helmet construction is a mix of In-Mold and Hard Shell. They use a hard ABS shell for the top of the helmet. They use in-mold for the sides of the helmet. The top of the helmet will have a harder surface for absorbing impacts and not getting scratched. It makes an overall lighter weight helmet as well. Hybrid construction can be cheaper than pure in-mold construction but it depends on how intricate the molds and parts are. It can also cost a lot more than in-mold construction.

4 – Safety technologies

There is safety tech that take ski helmet performance beyond the basic ASTM and EN certifications. The most common is MIPS. There are several others such as Spherical and WaveCel and more are on the way. What do these technologies do?

MIPS

MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. It uses a separate plastic layer inside the helmet that can slide and rotate relative to the EPS foam liner. When you hit something at an an angle or glancing blow that tries to rotate your head, MIPS slips and reduces the load on your head. Most real world accidents don’t involve perfectly head on impacts. I always get MIPS version of any ski helmet I am buying.

Spherical

Spherical is an enhanced version of MIPS. It uses 2 layers of foam in the energy absorbing liner. A high density layer outside and a low density softer layer inside. The 2 layers act as a ball and socket joint. When you impact something, the 2 layers can rotate relative to each other. This further reduces the rotational impact load on your head.

The second benefit comes from the 2 foam densities. If you hit something not that hard, the softer layer of foam will absorb the impact. This means less impact on your head. If you hit something really hard, you will crush the soft layer and then the stiff layer will absorb the impact. This improves the overall safety of the helmet. Your head sees lower forces for both low severity and high severity.

WaveCel

WaveCel is an alternative technology to MIPS. It uses a wave shaped plastic energy absorber in place of EPS foam. The plastic wave can bend and crush to absorb impacts. It allows for softer or stiffer resistance depending on how the impact happens.

When you get hit by a glancing blow that causes the helmet to rotate, the plastic waves can rotate relative to each other and the helmet shell. This acts in a similar manner to MIPS. The WaveCel structure lets the helmet shell rotate without rotating your head.

EPS4D

EPS4D is a more advanced EPS foam energy absorber than the standard EPS foam liner. EPS4D uses 2 layers of foam with a softer layer in areas where your head is more prone to injury. This gives a softer impact force for your head. It also improves the effectiveness of MIPS by also allowing some rotation inside the EPS foam layers.

5 – Fit and Sizing

Ski helmets tend to come in adult or unisex sizes. Most helmets come in small, medium, and large. Some have an extra large size as well. Most ski helmets are unisex. A few helmet makers produce separate men’s and women’s versions. The difference is more colors than anything else. The size ranges may be shifter slightly smaller as well. There are a few ski helmets have also have a youth version. This is a size smaller than the Adult Small.

Round Contour fit or Asian Fit

For people with more round head shapes such as Asians, some helmets come in a “round contour fit” or “Asian Fit” version. This helmet has a wider profile than the standard adult helmet size. If you have a wider head, you may need to go up a size with a regular fit helmet. This will leave you with a helmet with lots of space in the fore/aft direction no matter how tight you make the size adjuster. The round fit version of the helmet solves this problem.

6 – Goggle Compatibility

Most ski helmets and goggles have a similar shape these days. Almost any new ski goggle will work with almost any ski helmet without giving you a goggle gap. There are some small shape differences. You will get more gap towards the edges of your goggles mixing some brands. Giro seems to have a little different shape than everyone else.

You want a tight fit between the top of your goggles and the bottom of your ski helmet. This helps the goggle defog vents work better. You won’t look like a Gaper (someone who doesn’t know what they are doing) to everyone on the mountain.

Every ski helmet will have some kind of clip or hook to hold goggle straps on the back. These can range from a plastic clip to a rubber strap to a bungee. This comes down to personal preference. I prefer bungee straps. A lot of people wear ski goggles inside helmets. They tend to prefer plastic clips because they are removable.

7 – Helmet ventilation

A ski helmet can function as an insulator on cold days. Every ski day isn’t cold. This is where helmet ventilation comes in. Air vents in the helmet transport hot air and sweat out of the helmet. More vents are better on warm days so your head doesn’t overheat.

Adjustable vents are preferred on almost all ski helmets. This means that the vents can be opened or closed depending on the temperature.

If a ski helmet has fixed vents then they are always open. This means you get cold air flowing through your helmet on cold days which will make your head cold. You will also get snow and if you are unfortunate rain going into your helmet through the open vents. A thin hat can help on cold days if you can’t close the vents.

Helmets meant for backcountry skiing or ski touring will have more vents. You build up a lot more heat while climbing, skinning, or walking with skis.

8 – Goggle defog vents

Some ski helmets have vents on the front that help draw air through your ski goggles. This reduces fogging in your goggles. It works quite well. If you get fog in your goggles while standing around, start skiing. The combined helmet and goggle vents will clear the fog right out of your ski goggles.

9 – Removable Ear Pads

Ski helmet ear pads can vary a lot from helmet to helmet. Removable ear pads are good for warmer spring days when the helmet is too hot with all the vents open. Ear pad material can vary from fuzzy fleece feeling material to smooth neoprene material. The Oakley Mod1 has a very thin smooth feeling earpad. The Outdoor Master Diamond has a very fuzzy thick feeling ear pad.

All earpads do not go on and off easily. Smith Optics earpads tend to be difficult to remove and need you to unhook the size adjuster to do it. Other brands can go on and off easier.

10 – Audio compatible ear pads

Some people like listening to music on the slopes. There are small Bluetooth speakers made to fit inside the ear pads of some ski helmets. Audio compatible ski helmets will have small pockets in the ear pads where you can place speakers. They will have neoprene or mesh where the speaker will go instead of fleece so you can hear the speaker better.

See our guide to the best ski helmet speakers to learn more.

11 – Helmet weight

Ski helmet weights range from about 12 oz to 22 oz. A lighter helmet will not feel as heavy after a long day. The lightest helmets usually give up features to get that light such as size adjusters or adjustable vents. If you are backcountry skiing every ounce on you is another ounce you have to carry up climbs. If you are doing freestyle skiing, you want to be as light as possible for jumping and tricks. The average weight for a helmet for resort skiing is around 15 to 20 oz. (1-1.25 lbs).

Are you still confused about what to buy? Talk to an expert at Curated.com

Ski Helmet FAQ

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