Name: The Best Budget Ski Helmets of 2023 Helpful Guide
Brand: adventuregearinsider.com
SKU: adventuregearinsider-com-2
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

The Best Budget Ski Helmets of 2023 Helpful Guide

preview

Skip to content“Adventure Gear Insider is reader supported. We may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase through links from this site.”Skiing and snowboarding are a lot of fun. Accidents do happen no matter how good a skier you are or how careful you are. One of my ski friends got a concussion standing in the lift line after being run over by an out of control skier. Wearing a helmet can help protect your head, keep you warm, and help defog your goggles. Good helmets don’t have to be super expensive. There are many good options under $100.See below for our top picks for best budget ski helmet. Keep reading for ski helmet reviews and our helmet guide.Table Of ContentsThe 7 Best Budget Ski Helmets Under $100 Of 2023Budget Ski helmet guide – What to look forBudget Ski Ski Helmet FAQYou might also like:☆&nbsp;Best OverallUse the Coupon Code&nbsp;SUMMER20&nbsp;for up to 20% off or code SUMMER25 for 25% 2 items at&nbsp; during their 8th Anniversary SaleView at OutdoorMasterView at AmazonA great value MIPS ski helmet that is very comfortable with the latest freestyle trends in stylingThe OutdoorMaster Diamond MIPS Ski Helmet is the latest offering from OutdoorMaster. I have personally been wearing one for most of this winter. It is very comfortable with a lot of good features. It is a large improvement over the popular Kelvin helmet while still keeping the price low under $100. This helmet uses advanced in-mold construction with a PC shell and EPS foam inner. It has MIPS technology to make the helmet safer in angled impacts and glancing blows. The ear pads are deep and have pockets to use with speakers for those who like listening to music on the slopes.See our full review of the OutdoorMaster Diamond MIPS helmet to learn more.Check Price and Reviews☆&nbsp;Top PickView at SmithView at evoView at BackcountryView at AmazonThe Smith Maze MIPS helmet is a lightweight freestyle helmet that offers great protection and style. It is one of the lightest helmets available and still has MIPS.The Smith Maze MIPS helmet is a lightweight freestyle ski helmet. At 13 ounces, it is one of the lightest ski helmets made. It is designed with a simple low profile skater look. It uses in-mold construction with optional MIPS. We always recommend getting the MIPS version of a helmet. It’s worth the extra few bucks.The Maze has no dial for adjusting the size. It uses an elastic band combined with removable foam pieces to adjust the size. It works okay but the fit can’t be fine tuned as well as helmets with a dedicated size adjuster. It’s one of the items that was left off the helmet to get it as lightweight as it is.The helmet has fixed vents. There is enough venting to work for most resort skiing. There is not as much venting as helmets with adjustable vents. Most skiers will need a thin hat for colder days.Goggle compatibility is excellent, especially with Smith goggles. Smith Mag Squad goggles with flat lenses look great with this helmet.See our full review of the Smith Maze MIPS helmet to learn more.Check Price and Reviews☆&nbsp;Best ValueUse the Coupon Code&nbsp;SUMMER20&nbsp;for up to 20% off or code SUMMER25 for 25% 2 items at&nbsp; during their 8th Anniversary SaleView at OutdoorMasterView at AmazonA solid basic starter ski helmet with good amounts of ventilation available in a lot of colorsThe Outdoor Master Kelvin Helmet is one of the best cheap ski helmets available today. It is one of the most popular ski and snowboard helmets on Amazon. It has many features that make it a great value for its price. This helmet has a tough ABS shell and EPS foam liner with 14 vents. The ear pads are easily removable. It is ASTM 2040F certified for head protection. This helmet is available in sizes small-large. The large size runs a little small compared to most other helmets. There is no extra large size available.See our full review of the OutdoorMaster Kelvin helmet to learn more.Check Price and ReviewsView at evoView at CuratedView at MoosejawView at AmazonA cheap durable basic ski helmet that will last and protect for years of use on the mountain.The Giro Ledge helmet is the Giro entry level helmet with minimal styling. The helmet has conventional hardshell construction with an ABS shell and EPS liner. It has fixed vents that do not close and goggle defog vents. It is well made and durable feeling. I have used Giro helmets for biking for years and they have stood up very well to mountain biking abuse. Where this helmet shines is that it is one of the cheapest helmets available with MIPS if you buy the MIPS version.Check Price and ReviewsView at WildhornView at AmazonA good basic starter helmet with adjustable venting and audio compatible ear pads.The Wildhorn Drift Helmet comes from one of the official suppliers of the US Ski Team. It is a step up from the most basic ski helmets with a few extra features. The price is still very affordable under $100. The helmet is ASTM 2040 certified to keep you safe. It uses a standard ABS shell with EPS foam construction. There is no MIPS version of this helmet. The Drift has adjustable venting with a slider on top of the helmet. It does not have goggle defogging vents. The earpads are easy to remove. They come with pockets for putting in your favorite Bluetooth speakers.Check Price and ReviewsUp to 50% Off Bike Gear at Smith Optics End of Season SaleView at SmithView at evoView at BackcountryView at AmazonA comfortable ski helmet with advanced koroyd energy absorbers and MIPS that is great for any day skiing at a resort.The Smith Mission helmet is the mid level offering from Smith Optics. It has every feature almost any skier would want. It has adjustable vents, AirEvac goggle defogging vents, adjustable sizing, and removable ear pads. The ear pads have pockets that will work with blue tooth speakers. It has an ABS plastic shell with EPS foam energy absorber. It has Koroyd honeycomb for better energy absorption and weight savings around the sides. The Mission helmet is available with and without MIPS. It’s worth it to spend the extra $20 to get the MIPS version.See our full review of the Smith Mission MIPS helmet to learn more.Check Price and ReviewsView at evoView at BackcountryView at MoosejawView at AmazonA comfortable helmet with Oakley style and MIPS safety protection.The Oakley MOD3 is the mid-priced budget offering from Oakley. It is a high tech advanced helmet with many great features. It has the Oakley modular brim system that lets you get rid of goggle gap on almost any set of snow goggles. The MOD3 uses a combination of ABS shell and in-mold construction. There are both MIPS and non-MIPS versions of this helmet. The styling of Oakley Mod helmets is a little unconventional. Some people like the look of this helmet. Others do not.See our full review of the Oakley Mod 3 helmet to learn more.Check Price and ReviewsThere are many things to consider when looking for an under $100 ski helmet. There are basic features that almost all ski helmets will have. These include vents, adjustable size, and removable ear pads. There are other nice to have features such as adjustable vents and audio compatible ear pads. Let’s discuss what you should look for.If you are still wondering whether or not you need to wear a ski helmet, see our article 5 reasons why you should wear a ski helmet to help you decide.Low end budget ski helmets start around $50. A $50 helmet will be ASTM2040F or EN1077 certified so it will be safe. It will not have every feature that you will eventually want in a ski helmet. It might have adjustable vents but won’t have goggle defog vents. The ear pads might be speaker compatible but they might not be. Nothing in the $50 range will have MIPS protection. It will be a good basic helmet that will keep you safe on the slopes in most situations.Moving up to $100 ski helmets you add more features and less compromise. A $100 helmet should have goggle defog vents. The design should at least have MIPS available although it may be a $20-$30 extra.When we go up to $150-$200 helmets, they should have every basic helmet feature. MIPS should be available. They should have goggle defogging vents. Vents should be adjustable. The earpads should be Bluetooth speaker compatible. Helmets in this price range should not be missing any main ski helmet feature. A few will also have more advanced hybrid construction or honeycomb energy absorbers.Most budget ski helmets all have very similar construction. They all involve a plastic shell, either ABS or PC, and an EPS foam energy absorber. The 2 main helmet shell materials are ABS and PC or Polycarbonate. The 2 main construction methods are Hardshell and In-Mold constructionSee this article from&nbsp;ThingsThatFold.com&nbsp;to learn more about the differences between ABS and PC plastics.Both types of helmet construction use EPS foam for their energy absorber. Both offer the same protection for your head and are equally safe.See the below video for a quick explanation of hard shell vs in-mold helmet constructionThe main standards used to certify the safety of snow helmets are ASTM2040F and EN1077. One is the American standard. One is the European standard. Both do similar testing although there are subtle differences. They use different impactor shapes on the helmet. They have different acceleration limits. Both use 4 samples to get their results. Both test at a variety of temperatures. You can feel equally safe wearing a helmet that was certified to either standard. See these articles from&nbsp;Aurora Helmets&nbsp;and&nbsp;Satra Technology&nbsp;to learn more.MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. It is an inner liner in your helmet that lets the outer shell and energy absorber rotate about your head while the MIPS liner stays in place. In angled impacts such as a glancing blow to the side of your head, the helmet won’t force your head to rotate. This reduces the strain on your neck and brain.If you are skiing in the trees and hit your head into a tree but not straight on, MIPS will give you better protection. In any situation where you hit your head on something at an angle, MIPS will help. Go to&nbsp;mipsprotection.com&nbsp;to learn more about MIPS.The main features you’ll see talked about with ski helmets are venting, size adjustment, and earpads. Let’s take a quick look at each of these.Venting helps keep your head cool and dry. Without venting, sweat will build up on your head making you feel disgusting at the end of the day. In general more venting is better for most ski days. On really cold days too much airflow can make you feel cold.Adjustable venting that can be closed on colder days is a nice ski helmet feature. On some higher cost helmets, you can open and close front and rear vents separately. I’ve personally never owned a helmet with this feature and not sure it has that much real world value. Standard adjustable vents have worked fine for me.Smith pioneered the AirEvac goggle defog vent system. This puts vents on the lower front of your helmet that push air through your ski goggles and keep the fog out. Most helmet makers incorporate these into their mid to high priced helmets now. They are well worth the extra cost. I rarely ever have goggle fogging problems these days. If they do fog a little while I am standing around, they quickly clear up as soon as I start skiing.Almost every ski and snowboard helmet made has removable ear pads. They can come off for warmer spring days or if you want to use the helmet for biking or skateboarding in summer. Some are much easier to remove than others. Smith helmets have ear pads that need the size adjuster unhooked to take and are a pain.Some people like listening to music or other things while skiing. Bluetooth helmet speakers are a great way to do this. Some helmets have earpads with pockets built in for holding headphones or speakers. This makes installing them very easy.Every ski helmet sold has adjustable sizing now. There is a dial on the back of the helmet that you turn to adjust the size. It will tighten a band that goes around the helmet inside. Helmets with BOA cables such as Oakley and ANON work a little differently but the function is the same.A proper fitting ski helmet should have a good fit with your ski goggles. You want to have as small a gap between your goggles and helmet as possible. A large gap means your forehead will get cold and the goggle defog vents on the helmet won’t help. If you have a really big goggle gap people may call you a&nbsp;gaper.&nbsp;You want to reduce the goggle gap. Most helmets are designed to work with ski goggles these days.Different helmet brands shape their helmets and goggles a little bit differently. To get the best fit between your snow helmet and goggle, use the same brand goggle and helmet. If you use different brands, it is a good idea to try them on together to see how they fit together.See our Ski Helmet Gear Guide to see our ski helmet picks across all price ranges.Are you still confused about what to buy? Talk to an expert at Curated.comThere are a few MIPS ski helmets available for $75. You can get a full featured ski helmet with MIPS, adjustable vents, and audio compatible ear pads for $100. If you don’t care about those features you can get a sturdy basic ski helmet that won’t fall apart for $50. Ski helmets above $150 start having extra features like Koroyd, Wavecell or Spherical safety and advanced hybrid construction.If you go to any ski resort in the US and Canada you will notice that the majority of skiers and snowboarders are now wearing helmets. They are comfortable, warm, and help keep your ski goggles from fogging. They have many advantages beyond just safety which is why most skiers like wearing them.MIPS provides extra protection for your head if you hit anything with a glancing or off center load. It reduces the rotational forces on your head. I have had several glancing blows off of trees and other obstacles. I will would always choose the MIPS version of a ski helmet.Colorado has Silverton and Crested Butte. Silverton has 100% advanced terrain and is more of lift serviced back country than true resort. Crested Butte has Rambo which is the steepest man made slope in the US. Utah and Wyoming are a close tie for second because of Snowbird and Jackson Hole.The EPS foam in a helmet is stable and will likely still be good 20 years later. The plastic shell will grow brittle over time. The straps, padding and fittings can degrade. If you have an old helmet, inspect it carefully before using it or better yet, buy a new ski helmet.I grew up back east in Pennsylvania and learned to ski on a family trip to Killington, Vermont when I was 6. I immediately fell in love with the mountains and outdoors and have been skiing across the US and Canada ever since. I went to school for Mechanical Engineering, and have a Master’s Degree in Material Science and Reliability.I am a total gear nerd and love learning how things work and thinking about how they could be improved. Nothing excites me more than trying out new gear. I’d rather spend 3 hours taking my bike apart and learning how to change something than go to a bike shop. These days I reside in Michigan by the Great Lakes and go skiing, biking, and boating as much as possible.doug@adventuregearinsider.comAdventureGearInsider.com43000 W 9 Mile Rd Ste 109258Novi, MI 48375586-770-9075info@adventuregearinsider.com

Skip to content“Adventure Gear Insider is reader supported. We may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase through links from this site.”Skiing and snowboarding are a lot of fun. Accidents do happen no matter how good a skier you are or how careful you are. One of my ski friends got a concussion standing in the lift line after being run over by an out of control skier. Wearing a helmet can help protect your head, keep you warm, and help defog your goggles. Good helmets don’t have to be super expensive. There are many good options under $100.See below for...

The Best Budget Ski Helmets of 2023 Helpful Guide

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS