This Ruroc Helmet Ruined My Ski Holiday

“I don't like talking to you wearing that. It's intimidating.”

A person said this to me—and he's not joking. His sanction is Stuart. Stuart is astir arsenic affable a idiosyncratic arsenic you could privation to meet, and we person skied unneurotic 3 oregon 4 times. Now, however, helium doesn't privation thing to bash with me. I haven't upset him, we are connected bully terms—but helium hates what I've got connected my head. By the extremity of the week, truthful bash I.

The intimidating headgear I'm wearing is the Ruroc RG2. It is, according to Ruroc, the world’s lone full-face snowsports helmet—and present I tin afloat recognize why, contempt initially reasoning it looked similar the perfect lid to regenerate my aging POC. On paper, the RG2 should beryllium a winner, contempt a starting terms of $379 (making it much costly than astir each of WIRED's picks successful our skis helmet guide). Only erstwhile you deterioration it bash the drawbacks go abundantly clear.

The RG2 is really an ISPO Award-winning helmet. It has a built-in Twiceme NFC chip, truthful you tin store captious aesculapian accusation that tin beryllium easy accessed by archetypal responders successful emergencies. To support your noggin, it's lined with Rheon, a breathable, energy-absorbing polymer (originally conceived from a NASA task looking astatine abstraction shuttle foam replacements) that's flexible successful its earthy authorities but instantly stiffens connected impact.

For adjacent much outlay, there's an optional JBL-powered Cardo Communication System that lets you watercourse music, instrumentality calls, link with a GoPro, and chat with up to 15 different arsenic intimidating Ruroc users connected a mesh network.

The large boon of the RG2 implicit the archetypal RG1, however, comes down to a elemental tweak successful this updated design. In the RG1, you secured the little look sheet utilizing integrative clips that slid—usually unwillingly—into place. It worked, but immoderate expected chill origin for wearers was instantly ruined arsenic others watched them effort to wrestle those clips into spot with nary adjuvant mirrors connected manus extracurricular your mean skis assistance oregon upland restaurant. The solution? Magnets. Ruroc finally made that telephone aft sifting done “15 years of nonstop feedback."

Gone are the integrative clips and successful comes the Magnetic Mask System, which “lets users easy region the helmet’s chin portion piece wearing gloves.” Trouble is, taking the chin portion disconnected was ne'er the problem. Putting the darn happening connected was the issue. Still, this caller magnetic strategy is decidedly easier, but it's by nary means foolproof, and you volition inactive apt person to instrumentality 2 oregon 3 stabs astatine getting it locked successful each clip you privation to adhd it to the helmet.