Where Technology meets the Trail

As a die-hard thrill seeker, the main events I do not look forward to every winter season are the crash and burns, fallouts, missteps, and overestimations of sound footing on the slopes. However, I do look forward to rocking out to my adrenaline junkie playlists as I tackle peaks. Lucky for me, there is a way to conquer both needs. Throughout the years, I have found that sturdy headgear is not only practical to protect my noggin and all the good stuff spinning around in it, but that technologically has vaulted  protective helmets into a world unto their own.

Buying and selecting a “smart” helmet for my particular needs seemed like a daunting task. Is the helmet safe? Is the helmet reliable? Is it light? Will I be able to wear my goggles with it? And on the geek end, do I want Blue-tooth technology? An Mp3 player? An iPod hookup? My cell phone to transfer office calls? After all, what good is the Bluetooth technology if I can’t exploit it on the trail? These are some of the questions I had to ask myself.  With a little bit of research, I was well on my way to grabbing the best gear for my head and budget.

For me, selecting a helmet that allowed me to hook up my iPod Bluetooth adapter was essential so I settled on the Smith's Premise Plantronics Bluetooth Audio Helmet. Bonus feature, the helmet doesn’t make me look like a complete alien. More importantly, it offers a Smartshell on Mold protection, which cradles my skull so it won’t smash against a mogul if I happen to connect with one. It came in my color—black, my size—small, and it had the features I wanted—like a mute button on the side which works really well when on a lift. The wireless technology lets me connect the helmet and the built-in headphones with all of my Bluetooth devices—including my iPod adapter, cell phone, GPS tracker, whatever I can dream of.

 
There are several other great brands that I recommend checking out—the Giro, Smith, K2, and POC to name a few. Basically everyone in the market offers the same thing—removable headphones, audio system hook-up, cell phone hook-up et cetera. And they offer top notch ABS construction for safety. Just make sure when you are looking for a helmet it is ABS rated and offers you what you want in the price range you want to spend. You will find that there are plenty of great products that offer quality gear for under $100.

At any rate, get out in the open wild, grab your helmet and hook-up your gear. You can do almost everything you do in the office from a much better vantage point.