Bye-bye, goggle gap
14.2.2019
Translation: Eva Francis
For many years, I’ve been wearing ski equipment that doesn’t match. A jacket by one brand; pants by another. I don’t mind. But I’ve changed my mind when it comes to goggles and helmet: it’s worth sticking to one brand.
You’ll only know how important this is when the weather around you gets really bad. Skiing in sunshine? No problem at all. Wet and grey weather with bad contrasts, condensing water and your goggles fogging up? That’s when you’re in trouble. Skiing without seeing a thing or stop-and-go skiing with regular breaks to wipe your goggles clean – that's just no fun. Believe me, I’ve been there. Both these uncomfortable scenarios can be avoided with good ventilation. Two factors are responsible for this: your goggles and your helmet. That’s why it’s absolutely worth seeing the two as a unity.
My old ski helmet has served me for quite a few winters now. It’s a simple hard shell model, featuring expanded polystyrene (EPS) that’s glued to the hard outer shell. It comes with passive ventilation, which means I can’t adjust anything myself. When you’re skiing down a slope, the airstream flows through the inlets, cooling you a little. But that’s it. The cool air isn’t funnelled to the goggles to support their ventilation. The gap between the helmet and the frame of my goggles isn’t ideal either. Plus, the vents on my goggles aren’t good enough to prevent my goggles from fogging up. The helmet and goggles combination by Giro I tested this winter was a lot better. They’re matched to each other, so the unwanted goggle gap isn’t an issue.
The Giro Jackson is an in-mold model where the outer and inner shell aren’t glued together but shaped and «baked» together. This allows for a lightweight construction, but rather simple ventilation systems. Giro tries hard and promotes «the new Passive Aggressive Venting system, inspired by the aerodynamic airflow of high-end autos», but it looks like usual air inlets to me – including one that extends over the entire front section of the helmet, but can’t be adjusted either. For me, what counts is that this helmet offers seamless compatibility with all Giro goggles.
The Giro Article Vivid connects directly to the helmet with its ventilation system and provides enough airflow in your goggles while you’re speeding down the slopes. It’s equipped with a spherical lens, one that’s horizontally and vertically curved, which creates more space and has an anti-fogging effect. On top of this, there’s an anti-fog coating and Vivid interchangeable lenses, which are designed to provide better contrasts.
This duo by Giro won me over on the very first day of skiing when the conditions in the Bernese Oberland were wet and foggy. When I was moving, the visibility remained good. Far and away superior to my former multi-brand combination. The only time my goggles didn’t perform as well was when I was standing still. And when I was sitting in the chairlift with a steaming head at an outside temperature of -10 degrees. That’s when even the anti-fog coating couldn’t keep up. Nevertheless, I’m definitely never buying separate ski helmet and goggles again. I’m sticking with a one-brand strategy. It's worth it. My fellow sports editor Patrick Bardelli couldn’t agree more. He got himself a new goggle-helmet combo, too.
What does he have that I don't? An adjustable ventilation system. And what do I have that he doesn't? A helmet with MIPS. In contrast to the Salomon Quest, the Giro Jackson is equipped with a technology that’s designed to deliver greater protection against angled impact and strong rotational movement. Does it work? We didn’t chance it. Our brains are too precious after all.
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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