In the Press

Let’s get excited; it’s a new snowboarding season. That means you’re limbering up, getting the pre-season training in, digging out your snowboarding gear, seeing what needs to be updated, and making sure your boards are waxed and primed. But a new season also means making new plans, getting hyped for all the new snowboards about to hit the market, all the gear that will make a dent in your bank account, and making plans that will shape your season.

We put over a dozen helmets to work in a variety of conditions. These six got our vote.

Editor’s Choice: Salomon Brigade MIPS

Best For Plus-Size Heads: Giro Owen

Best For Backcountry Use: Marker Confidant Tour

Best For Eco-Conscious Skiers: Bollé Eco Ryft Pure MIPS

Best For Park and Freeride: Smith Method

Most Cushioned: Uvex Ultra MIPS

The Smith Dispatch Helmet is a pricey but high-end, feature-packed commuter lid, featuring a relatively low weight, decent ventilation and a handy rear light. It also includes some enhancements to protection too, with both Mips for rotational force reduction and energy-absorbing Koroyd in key areas.

How much should you spend on a mountain bike helmet? $100, $200 or even $300?

No one wants to put a price on their head. But price still plays a role for most of us when shopping for a bike helmet. So, what’s the difference between a $100 mountain bike helmet and a $250 one? Aside from obvious design features like a full-face shell versus a traditional open design and non-safety features like venting, adjustability and weight, the difference comes down to higher-tech crash protection technology.

“Smith pioneered this category, and it continues to innovate this season with the new Method snow helmet, carrying over some of the brand’s proven technologies while integrating Koroyd — one of the lightest, most breathable crash protection materials on the market. It is designed to crumple instantly on impact, absorbing force and minimizing the impact to your head.”

Koroyd tech inside
“Ekoi says they partnered with Koroyd to benefit from increased rider protection over conventional light in-mold EPS foam construction, without sacrificing on weight or ventilation.”

“Over the past 18 months, KOROYD has doubled its highly renowned and skilled team of established innovators, engineers, and developers, and opened a new state-of-the-art research & development lab within the expanded KOROYD headquarters in Monaco. … We’re proud of the products we’ve developed to date – rooted in lab testing and backed by scientifically proven results – and excited to share KOROYD’s next phase of innovation with the world,” said John Lloyd, KOROYD Founder and Managing Director.”

KOROYD is dedicated to engineering a safer tomorrow

“The Koroyd crumple zones add an additional layer of protection in the most common impact areas, and serve as a solid indicator of a hard hit that requires the helmet to be retired.”

“Koroyd, which is featured on most of Smith’s adult and youth helmets, like the Code above, is a unique, incredibly light, and breathable material.

Engineered to crumple at a certain impact threshold, Koroyd zones are placed strategically throughout the helmet where critical energy absorption is most likely needed. Impact safety isn’t Koroyd’s only advantage.”

“The Trace is created with an integrated skeletal structure making a “roll cage” for strength and impact protection, which is also enhanced with MIPS and Koroyd, a double-whammy on top of the EPS foam structure.”

“But one other key thing that Smith has pioneered in its helmet lineup is the use of Koroyd, a ventilated protection technology that looks like foam honeycomb and is molded into the shell in strategic, zonal impact areas to offer safety coverage where it matters most.”

“One of the most convincing alternatives is Koroyd.

Many cycling frame brands reference ‘aviation grade’ titanium or carbon in their marketing. But in the context of Koroyd, the aviation technology connotation is authentic. 

Peter Sajic is the inventor of Koroyd.”

“Pros

Lightweight

Koroyd and MIPS protection

BOA fit technology

Magnetic chin strap

Breathable

Cons

Bulky

Magnetic chin strap can be fussy

Smith Nexus snowboard helmet: packed with tech

Smith says the Nexus is its most advanced snowboard helmet to date, and it shows.“

“Although the internal back and spine protector are removable, the fact that the insert of Koroyd material weighed very little encouraged us to keep it in place for most of our test. 

We went for a few rides with it removed, however, and the pack was still able to keep its shape well. Overall, whether packed to capacity or filled with just a minimal amount of water, the Thule Rail 12L Pro is a solid choice for any ride.”

“Smith Trace – There’s a Star Wars stormtrooper vibe about this top-end design from America. As well as having futuristic looks it’s super-safe with both MIPs and Koroyd crash protection. As you would expect from a company that made its name creating optical wear, there are channels to hold your sunglasses securely either facing forwards or backwards. We found it to be a great fit and you can buy it in a range of colours including the intriguingly named matte gravy.”

“The green tubular material known as Koroyd almost looks like a piece of honeycomb from another planet. Koroyd is a lightweight material comprised of straw-like, co-polymer, dual-core tubes that are thermo-welded together. The outer-core is for thermo-welding, which holds the tubes together. The inner-cores have impact-absorbing properties. The material has been popularized by use in Smith helmets but is equipped on other brands now, like Endura. If the helmet is impacted, the tubes crumple in a consistent and predictable manner and disperse the force amongst other tubes to slow linear acceleration. Koroyd says that the material will absorb 48x more impact than a traditional EPS foam lined helmet, and it’s said to crumple and compress more predictably than foam.”

“The new MT500 full face helmet is Endura’s full coverage but lightweight helmet, weighing in at a claimed 640 grams with padding on the M/L size. It features Koroyd’s energy absorption technology to help dissipate impact forces and is designed around the needs of enduro, dh, and bike park riders. It is fully DH certified and meets ASTM F1952 and CE Standard EN1078:2012 + 1 A1:2012.”

“I have yet to take a fall while wearing the Rail, (knock on wood), but would definitely trust the Koroyd back protector from sharp, pokey rocks.

I do a few enduro races every year usually and wear a hip pack, but since the Rail doesn’t jump up and down under movement nearly as much as other packs, I’d feel good about wearing one in an enduro, especially with the back protection it offers. Plus, the pack is designed to carry padding on transfers and has storage for all the tools I might need on a backcountry race.”

“The Kore 99 shares many of the qualities of the award-winning Kore skis. It transforms you into an all mountain racer. The ski has the carvability of a race ski and can still hold its own on variable conditions found on the mountain. The Graphene-Koroyd-Carbon sandwich cap construction works well to dampen the ski, while the karuba lightweight wood core keeps the weight of the ski to a minimum.

This ski excels on a mountain where you are just ripping around on wind buff at top speeds. While skiing through tight trees and variable snow conditions at Red Mountain, this ski became more work. While it initiated turns like a dream, getting the tails to release and quickly dump speed became a real job.”