Clik here to view.
Visually, it's a cross between Shaun White and Darth Vader, Evel Knievel and Storm Troopers.
It's the Ruroc RG-1 helmet.
Seriously, with a removable plastic protective facemask and integrated goggle system, there is nothing else like it on the market.
UK-based Ruroc designed the helmet with freeskiers and riders in mind to keep the face warm and safe when jumping on and off elements in the terrain park.
I took the helmet out for a test drive for two hours last weekend at Ski Sundown. I was a little worried because the sizes - even the largest - tend to run small and wearing it around the house seemed a bit tight.
Once on the hill, it seemed to mold to my head a bit and the performance made me forget about any sizing concerns.
It was also the conversation piece of the mountain that day.
I jumped in the singles line and was teamed up with a couple being very quiet. I decided to break the ice.
"Am I freaking you out?"
"A little."
Once I explained the product test the couple became quite interested. So did the guy on the next ride up the lift who was in the market for a helmet.
The freestylers gushed over the thing. First of all, the look of the helmet just made them giddy and they seemed to like the all-inclusive package. Their two concerns, aside from obvious one, safety, were vision and fogging goggles.
Ruroc supplies the helmet, the goggles and the detachable face mask all in one package. The helmet is sold separately, but other goggles do not fit the same and the system might not work as well.
So the helmet goes on first, then the goggles and the mask. The attached video demonstrates all that. It seems very, well, involved and the first thought is that the thing just has to fog up.
Wrong.
I actually started breathing upward during some runs in an effort to intentionally fog the goggles and they just wouldn't.
I skied park all day, except for one run. I did not do any huge jumps, but took some air and hit a couple of boxes. The sight lines are as good as any helmet-goggle combination I have ever worn (I have four now). The Ruroc helmet allows good peripheral vision on the approach and the landing zones are quite clear, even with the plastic facemask.
It kept my face warm, even on an all-out cruise on a black diamond to end the test.
Packages retail for as much as $300, but it could cost almost as much to buy another quality helmet and goggle combo without the facemask.
They are selling some online merchants for less than $130, but quantities seem to be limited.
