Smith Variant Brim Helmet – Product Review

Time to get a helmet? Consider the Smith Variant Brim.

I have only just started wearing a helmet to snowboard in and I must say that now that I am under a lid it feels pretty solid. The Smith Variant Brim is a comfortable and lightweight helmet with adjustable ventilation slots, that means even on those warmer days or when climbing to the ridge things don’t get too steamy inside.

From Smith: Patent-pending AirEvac™ design creates optimum interface between helmet fit and goggle performance. No longer does a good helmet fit reduce the fog-fighting efforts of your goggles. With AirEvac design, goggles are allowed to exhaust and make fogged lenses a thing of the past. Major problem, simple solution.

One of the features of this helmet is coupling the Brim with a set of Smith goggles which integrate into the set up – something I am yet to try but one worth it by all accounts. In fact it might be something I look into, as maybe my only complaint is that with the Oakley goggles I have the fitting could be slightly better.

The helmet is well constructed and fits well due to similar rear head adjusters you would find on a mountain bike helmet.

As the name suggests the helmet has a peak or brim, which guards against sunlight and reduces the chance of pow coming onto your goggles.

On the whole I am pretty impressed with the Variant Brim. As with mountain biking, once you start wearing a helmet it quickly becomes part of your kit that leaves you feeling naked if you leave it behind.

Priced at the top end, this helmet feels solid and although I am yet to put it to the ultimate test, it feels as if it would stand up given the chance.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 8:21 am and is filed under Product Testing and Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.