Level MIPS Snow Helmet

Great helmet--comfortable, lightweight, all the coverage you need and none that you don't. My specific requirements were for a helmet that would pair nicely with Oakley's Fall Line XL goggles. Why? Because I wear glasses, and the Oakley Fall Line is gives me plenty of room for them. Maybe other helmets work as well on this score--I don't know. But the Smith Level definitely works with them.

I decided it was time to upgrade helmets this season and wanted an audio compatible one. This is my first Smith helmet and first audio compatible helmet, so I wanted to used it for several ski days, in a variety of conditions before my review. Overall, it is a great helmet, in a variety of conditions, from cold mid-winter to warmer spring skiing. The one drawback I noticed is the ear flaps let a fair amount of air by versus my old helmet, which led to cold ears during colder and windier ski days. On the other hand, the adjustable vents were great during warmer ski days to keep from overheating. I wear a 7-1/2 fitted baseball cap, and the Large size fits well either with nothing else on, or with a balaclava on the colder days. As for the audio, now that I figured out how it works I love the ability to have background music without having ear buds in my ears that hinder my ability to hear other skiers or snow equipment. Since this was my first audio helmet, I did not know that there were removable foam pads in each ear flap that need to be removed so your music chips fit better. On my first ski day, I unzipped the access pocket and put the chips in each ear flap, but left the pads in (totally my fault but not explained in the very brief instruction manual that came with the helmet). Of course the sound was very muffled and the ear flaps were uncomfortable after a couple hours of skiing with the extra bulk. When I got home, a buddy explained the removable pads (he has a Smith helmet) to me. Once I removed them, which was very easy, sound is great at low volume, and the helmet is all-day comfortable as expected. I mention this issue for anyone new to Smith audio compatible helmets, as I was, since it makes a huge difference but is not explained in the instructions. It seems intuitive now, but as a new helmet owner I was hesitant to start pulling stuff out of the flaps if it wasn't supposed to come out. All together I put roughly a dozen days on the new helmet this season, and would definitely purchase it again for its comfort and high quality safety features.

I’m writing this review as a retire this helmet after two 50+ day seasons and some gnarly smashes. Top notch in every aspect…fit, feel, warm when the vents are closed and cool when they’re open and the ear pieces removed. Works well with airpods and the goggle strap is very easy to use with gloves or mitts on. The helmet still works fine, its just seen too many impacts and im replacing it with another