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eok

Slopefossil
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I'm seeing a number of new visor helmet offerings this season. Product descriptions seem to be targeting the helmets towards skiers that wear glasses. Wondering if anyone (who wears glasses) has tried a visor helmet and how they performed.

So far I've seen offerings from Head, Salomon and Giro:

Head Knight Pro
Giro Vue MIPS
Salomon Driver+

Comparing the designs and features, Head's design looks pretty good. If it performed well, I wouldn't mind looking like a jet pilot on the slopes. ;^)
 

Carolinacub

Yes thats a Cubs hat I'm wearing
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As a glasses wearer I like the idea, I use OTG goggles and OTG sunglasses.....Just not willing to spend that kind of $$$$$$$$$$
 

Rod9301

Making fresh tracks
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It seems to me that they have one purpose only, to enable manufacturer to capture the helmet and Google money from you, instead of just one of them.
 

PTskier

Been goin' downhill for years....
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One thing missing is the choice of face shields. My eyes prefer some colors and densities in goggles, and other highly regarded goggles don't show the best contrast for me. Goggles/sunglasses/face shields need to be sighted through before buying, at least for me. Also, helmet internal shapes vary, and some good brands don't fit my skull well. A good fit is essential for safety.

Of the ones shown above, the Giro seems to be the best pick, fair price, MIPS is good, if the shield color and density works for one and if the fit is good. Smith Knowledge Turbofan OTG goggles ($160) have been my preferred way to keep my glasses unfogged--might be able to save this cost with the face shield helmet.
 

Jim McDonald

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I've looked at these in shops, but seems to me they'd be pretty useless (and likely dangerous) on a powder day the first time you took a good face shot. I'll stick with my turbofan OTG goggles for now, or ski half-blind as I did for years before shelling out for the turbofans.
 

tch

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Just saw a re-run of the old Robocop movie last night. These would have fit right in.
 

Slim

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One thing missing is the choice of face shields. My eyes prefer some colors and densities in goggles, and other highly regarded goggles don't show the best contrast for me. Goggles/sunglasses/face shields need to be sighted through before buying, at least for me. Also, helmet internal shapes vary, and some good brands don't fit my skull well. A good fit is essential for safety.

Of the ones shown above, the Giro seems to be the best pick, fair price, MIPS is good, if the shield color and density works for one and if the fit is good. Smith Knowledge Turbofan OTG goggles ($160) have been my preferred way to keep my glasses unfogged--might be able to save this cost with the face shield helmet.

The Salomon and the Head list interchangeable visors
 

mntntom

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I picked up a visor helmet in Snowmass last season. I have to wear glasses to ski. I can't wear contacts. I've gone through several pairs of Turbo-Fans which were OK in some conditions, useless in others. So far, in any conditions, the visor has worked out great!
Very rarely fogs up! If it does just flip it up slightly for for a second and it's gone. It makes a huge difference for me! It easily flips up when needed. You can flip it up with one hand while skiing. Peripheral vision is far better than any goggles I've used! The visor helmet has been a game changer me. Highly recommended, but I haven't taken a big digger on a powder day yet.

Downside.................expensive and a limited number of lens choices. I would recommend checking on the availability and cost of replacement lenses before deciding a particular brand or model. One well known brand I looked at had no availability of replacement lenses (at any price) at the time I made my choice. Also, there may be some potential to cut your face in an accident?
 

John Webb

mdskier
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Nevada City CA
I'm seeing a number of new visor helmet offerings this season. Product descriptions seem to be targeting the helmets towards skiers that wear glasses. Wondering if anyone (who wears glasses) has tried a visor helmet and how they performed.

So far I've seen offerings from Head, Salomon and Giro:

Head Knight Pro
Giro Vue MIPS
Salomon Driver+

Comparing the designs and features, Head's design looks pretty good. If it performed well, I wouldn't mind looking like a jet pilot on the slopes. ;^)
I wear glasses. Sometimes I jam a cloth visor in the older (read cheaper) helmet over the glasses.
Reasonable substitute.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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I wear glasses. Sometimes I jam a cloth visor in the older (read cheaper) helmet over the glasses.
Reasonable substitute.

I do not comprehend this post. Explain?
 

Jim McDonald

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That explains the what; I'm left still wondering about the why.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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@John Webb, that's not the kind of visor under discussion. We're talking about transparent vertical face shields mounted to the helmet. You're talking about something that juts out horizontally to shade your eyes, baseball cap style.
 
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TS
eok

eok

Slopefossil
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OP here...

So, my interest in a visor helmet - like the Head Knight - pretty much evaporated. Mainly because I couldn't find one (or something like it) locally to try on.

Now I'm interested in these:

https://www.oakley.com/en/men/sungl...ket-2-0/product/WGOO7072?variant=888392165480

That's the Oakley "Wind Jacket 2.0" with a Prizm lens.

It's basically a cross between sunglasses and goggles. A somewhat open design, that lets more air flow than a fully sealed goggle. I've seen 'em a couple times on the slopes and on bicycle riders here. On the slopes, they look like you are wearing goggles... unless you deliberately get a closer look.

Looks like they'd work over glasses. They also come with a strap that hooks to the ends of the frame to keep them from flying off in a fall.

I'm going to try them. Hoping they'll be an "upgrade" from the semi wrap-around prescription Ray Ban Predators I often wear skiing.

The Predators actually work pretty well for me much of the time. But when the weather gets more extreme they just don't provide enough wind protection.
 

Sibhusky

Whitefish, MT
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And why would you want something that has plastic arms that have to comfortably fit under your helmet? Is this in case you aren't wearing a helmet? They look like they'd have even greater issues with fogging as the lens is even closer to your hot skin. Then you've got the arms, instead of staying around your helmet and being pretty unnoticeable to your head, you've got them being crushed into your head by the helmet. Maybe it's because I get migraines and that path is really an issue for me because of the trigeminal nerve, but it is the last thing I'd want.

These hybrid things aren't even much cheaper. Just get OTG goggles or some contacts. And apparently Abom can refer you to a third party that makes prescription inserts for their goggles.
 

cantunamunch

Meh
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OP here...
It's basically a cross between sunglasses and goggles.

You'd be a really good candidate to try nordic visors - that's exactly what they are, without the arms.

https://mammothbikesandskis.com/nordic-eyewear

Now the ones shown on that page are more compact - others will have a better chance of fitting over glasses.

http://www.saliceusa.com/salice_visor.html

A somewhat open design, that lets more air flow than a fully sealed goggle.

Both nordic visors and helmet visors share this feature, in greater measure.
 

Fishbowl

A Parallel Universe
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Last season I was first on scene of an accident were a skier wearing a visor style helmet collided face first with a slower moving skier who “appeared out of nowhere”. It looked like the impact had driven the leading edge of the visor back into the face of the skier causing extensive damage to the bridge of his nose and his cheeks.

Of course who knows what the comparable damage might have been if the same skier was wearing goggles or glasses instead of the visor? Pros and cons.
 
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eok

eok

Slopefossil
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And why would you want something that has plastic arms that have to comfortably fit under your helmet? Is this in case you aren't wearing a helmet? They look like they'd have even greater issues with fogging as the lens is even closer to your hot skin. Then you've got the arms, instead of staying around your helmet and being pretty unnoticeable to your head, you've got them being crushed into your head by the helmet. Maybe it's because I get migraines and that path is really an issue for me because of the trigeminal nerve, but it is the last thing I'd want.

These hybrid things aren't even much cheaper. Just get OTG goggles or some contacts. And apparently Abom can refer you to a third party that makes prescription inserts for their goggles.

Yeah, I get your points. But I've never been a big fan of goggles.

Yep, I wear a helmet. Contacts are not an option (hate them more than goggles). I do have a set of Smith Prophecy turbofan goggles. They're OTG and work great (for me) for keeping eyeglass fog at bay. But I only use them when I absolutely have to. In considering OTG goggle alternatives, price is not at the top of my criteria list.

I'm still going to try the Wind Jacket 2.0s.
 

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