Best Value Ski and Snowboard Helmet

Giro is an innovative helmet manufacturer with a well-known range of ski and snowboard helmets that have long been on the cutting edge of the sport. However, while their top of the line offerings are impressive, it is the cutting edge features that have trickled down to their more budget oriented helmets that impressed us even more. This is what helped to make the Giro Nine our top pick for the best budget ski and snowboard helmet of 2021.

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See Our Best Ski & Snowboard Helmet Review 2021 HERE!

Comfort and Fit

The Giro Nine MIPS helmet doesn’t feature any crazy fabrics or bells and whistles when it comes to comfort and fit. It is just comfortable. While the InForm fit system featured on the Giro Nine is not quite as impressive as the one featured on the Giro Range, we can easily forgive that for the price difference. Unlike with the Giro Range or the BOA helmets in our review, there is definitely the sensation of a headband tightening in the back of the Giro Nine, but the sensation is not uncomfortable. It is just more noticeable than some of the higher end helmets.

Meanwhile, the padding overall is fairly thin but soft, although the earpads received ample padding, making them soft and warm in wintry weather.

Warmth

10 of the Giro Nine’s 12 vents seal off via a simple slider on the top of the helmet. These close tight, and the only two left exposed are on the backside of the helmet, allowing moisture, and a bit of heat, to flow out of the helmet without letting cold air rush in.

As noted above, the cheek pads are more insulated than the rest of the helmet and will help to keep you warm on cold days.

Ventilation

The glaring weakness in the Giro Nine’s ventilation is that its cheek pads are not removable, and they will leave you with a sweatier face than they would if they weren’t there on those late spring days.

Meanwhile, the actual vents of the Giro Nine do a solid job of keeping the rest of your head cool and aired out when the temperatures rise, particularly for a helmet at this price point and with only 12 total vents. Giro’s stack ventilation ports in the front of the helmet also do a fair job of keeping your goggles fog-free, though not to the same degree as those found on more expensive helmets like the Smith Quantum or Giro Range.

Safety Tech and Additional Features

The Giro Nine MIPS uses a standard MIPS insert to provide protection against rotational impacts, which are seen as more and more of a culprit in the case of gravity sports related concussions. As noted, we are extremely safety focused here at Gearhacker, and we think any extra protection is good extra protection. With that in mind, we are thrilled to see top of the line safety features making their way into mid and budget priced ski and snowboard helmets like the Giro Nine MIPS.

Goggle Compatibility

The Giro Nine works well with a fairly wide range of ski and snowboard goggles, and features a basic clip in the back, as well as a pronounced ridge around the sides of the helmet, to keep your goggles and straps in place.

Overall, we prefer the Giro Nine with a larger framed set of goggles, as smaller ones can result in a bit of a gap between the goggle and your forehead. However, larger framed goggles fit perfectly, and the stack ventilation ports help to keep them fog free.

Weight

Lower prices tend to come with higher weights in almost every gear category. However, the Giro Nine MIPS bucks that trend, and is on the lighter end of the ski and snowboard helmet spectrum when it comes to weight, at only 436g.

The Bottom Line

The Giro Nine MIPS snow helmet doesn’t blow your socks off or wow you with any particular feature. But it doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel in any category either. All in all, it is a solid all-around helmet that brings top of the line safety features to riders who don’t want to break the bank. If you are looking for a good ski or snowboard helmet that keeps your melon safe but doesn’t wax your car for you, then with prices from $90 to $120, the Giro Nine MIPS might be the one for you.

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