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Sweet Protection Grimnir

StoicDude

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Just got this helmet and figured I'd post the pictures first. Most impressive ski helmet I ve seen in a while.
I ve been riding motorcycles for 14 years and the construction and materials remind me of a motorcycle helmet.
Here are the pics. Taking it out today and will update the review as I go.
 

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StoicDude

StoicDude

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Skied at Rose. About 30 degrees with 20 mph winds. Helmet was fine. Didn't feel too warm nor cold.
I wasn't sure how it would hold up considerng all the vents are permanently open. It did great today.
My other helmet is the Smith Vantage. Weighed both helmets. Smith comes in at 454gr, Sweet Protection at 700gr.
Certainly not the lightest helmet, but it feels very light. I didn't even notice it on my head. Same thing with my Vantage though.
 

Dave Petersen

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Cool looking helmet.
 

Philpug

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Walked past their booth at the show. Didn't have time to stick head in...LOL, pun there. I will see if Tricia can.
 

Freaq

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I agree, cool looking helmet. Definitely heavier and a bit pricier than other options I would consider but if there are substantial gains in safety, those penalties could easily be absorbed.

Some quick searching reveals that evo.com thinks pretty highly of the Trooper model's safety:

"You might be a trooper now, but snagging an edge at an inopportune time is all it takes for things to turn ugly fast. Thankfully, a head hit with the Sweet Protection Trooper Helmet is virtually irrelevant thanks to the TLC Shell and Impact Shield Technology."

Emphasis added by me.

This makes me think that Sweet Protection helmets must be in a different category than the Smith helmets I've been looking at. That would be good news as I've read lots of well informed peeps saying that ski helmets will not afford sufficient protection in, say a helmet to tree impact at much more than a very slow speed.

So, do the SP helmets come with a higher certification? No, looks like they come with the exact same certification as many others:

ASTM F 2040
CE EN 1077:2007 Class B

If, in fact, they exceed these standards I can not find mention of it.

My point is not to declare that these helmets are no better than others but rather to ask, exactly how much difference is there? And on a broader scale, where are we (industry wise) right now in terms of having helmets that are close to, or on par with say, a motorcycle helmet?

The manufacturer site is full of acronyms and hyperbole just like other manufacturer sites and the above quote from evo, would leave the gullible to believe that once donning this helmet they can speed through the trees without a worry in the world. Does this seem dangerous to anyone else?
 
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StoicDude

StoicDude

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I agree, cool looking helmet. Definitely heavier and a bit pricier than other options I would consider but if there are substantial gains in safety, those penalties could easily be absorbed.

Some quick searching reveals that evo.com thinks pretty highly of the Trooper model's safety:

"You might be a trooper now, but snagging an edge at an inopportune time is all it takes for things to turn ugly fast. Thankfully, a head hit with the Sweet Protection Trooper Helmet is virtually irrelevant thanks to the TLC Shell and Impact Shield Technology."

Emphasis added by me.

This makes me think that Sweet Protection helmets must be in a different category than the Smith helmets I've been looking at. That would be good news as I've read lots of well informed peeps saying that ski helmets will not afford sufficient protection in, say a helmet to tree impact at much more than a very slow speed.

So, do the SP helmets come with a higher certification? No, looks like they come with the exact same certification as many others:

ASTM F 2040
CE EN 1077:2007 Class B

If, in fact, they exceed these standards I can not find mention of it.

My point is not to declare that these helmets are no better than others but rather to ask, exactly how much difference is there? And on a broader scale, where are we (industry wise) right now in terms of having helmets that are close to, or on par with say, a motorcycle helmet?

The manufacturer site is full of acronyms and hyperbole just like other manufacturer sites and the above quote from evo, would leave the gullible to believe that once donning this helmet they can speed through the trees without a worry in the world. Does this seem dangerous to anyone else?
Great point. I ve been riding motorcycles for some years and have always been interested in helmets for motorcycles and their safety standards. Even there, there is constant debate about what standards are the bestimate and which protect you the best. As with ski helmets, motorcycle helmets have a wide range of prices $50 to $1000+ and ski helmets do too.
There was a great article about motorcycle helmet safety that was done by Motorcyclist magazine that caused a big stir in the industry. I won't go into details here, but Motorcyclist lost a bunch of sponsors and managed to influence the way safety certifications (particularly SNELL) were done.
My philosophy has long been that if you wear a properly fitting helmet, it will protect you better than no helmet.
Now there is MIPS which is supposed to be better than the regular helmets when it comes to protection as well.
Sweet Protection is the only manufacturer that I have seen that uses carbon fiber. The price reflects it.
They have lower priced helmets that are plastic (like most of the ski helmets). The Trooper is a combination of plastic and carbon and this one is all carbon.
I wore it again today and it did great. Doesn't even feel like I had it on.
One thing that I did notice is that my goggles didn't fog up where on my Smith Vantage I had them fog up in similar conditions.
The Vantage has a lip at the front and I think that is what traps the air and makes my goggles fog up. I would have to give them a run back to back and see if there is a difference.
For cold weather, it did fine with all the vents being open. I will report back again and am curious to see how it will do in the warmer months.
 
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StoicDude

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I just took some of the interior off the helmet to look at the eps liner. Sweet Protection used two different EPS liners. Suomy, AGV used to do this on their motorcycle helmets.
One EPS is for the crown (top) another for the sides and front.
My smith vantage doesn't have that. I don't know if that makes a difference.
Multi layer eps on motorcycle helmets passes DOT as does a Wal Mart single layer helmet.
Here is a picture of the EPS on the sweet helmet. One is light colored (front and side) one is dark (top of the head).
Penetration protection and multiple impact protection was big on motorcycle helmets and usually the more expensive (composite carbon/ kevlar mixes) helmets did really well conpared to cheaper plastic helmets. The problem wit the "stronger" helmets was that they transmitted more force than the plastic helmets, which absorbed it better. This is what caused a big stir for Motorcyclist. If you are really interested try to find the article online or I can look for it. It's very lengthy and I don't think I do it justice summarizing it here.
 

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Dan Boisvert

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The Sweet helmets I have use EPP instead of EPS, which helps them survive multiple impacts, and they're particular about where they put the carbon in relationship to the plastic to even out impact forces. I skied in a Trooper Full-cut for about 6-7 years, and have a Strutter and Rocker Full-face for kayaking. In the whitewater world, where we tend to beat the crap out of our helmets, they've got a reputation for being the best available. I've taken impressive shots to the head with mine that I didn't even feel, and watched friends with cheaper helmets get dazed from relatively minor hits.

The test standards don't seem to be terrifically useful for differentiating the best helmets from the rest of the pack in either sport. Getting hit in the head a lot and talking to other people who get in the head a lot seems to lead to a pretty high opinion of the Sweet helmets, though. Their warranty is also awesome. I had a whitewater helmet that was well out of warranty and had a paint issue, and I emailed them to ask what I could use to clean it up without damaging it. They asked for a photo and promptly air-freighted me a brand new one from Norway. I was impressed. I'm now skiing in a POC because it fits me better and keeps my ears warmer (and I cartwheeled off my head in the Trooper), but I'm still a big fan of the Sweet gear, and wear it the rest of the year.
 
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StoicDude

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I just checked again and all of their non kayaking helmets use eps instead of epp. I am not sure why, but maybe water might have an impact on eps and that is why they use epp for kayaking.
Either way, I'm very impressed by the helmet. I will be taking it put to Rose tomorrow and see how it does in very warm weather.
 
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StoicDude

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Skied at Rose from 930 to 130 yesterday. Fairly warm day and I have to say that ventilation was very good.
Compared to my Smith Vantage, i have to say that my Vantage always had a wet interor after skiing a warm day like yeaterday. The Grimnir was not wet. @Philpug , this should maybe be moved to the softgoods review section?
 

WC68

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I've got a sweet full face I used for WW paddling when I did that. Took the hardest hit of my life in that helmet, took a chunk out of the carbon.... Didn't get knocked out thank goodness.
Like the Sweet stuff, it is pricy thou.
 

Mike Thomas

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I have been skiing in a Grimner for the last month, by far the best helmet I have ever owned. It just disappears when being worn. I am pretty sensitive to loss of hearing when skiing, to the point that I refused to wear any helmet free skiing until soft eared helmets hit the market. I've had a series of Smith helmets and liked them. The Sweet Protection helmet is just on a different level.

One of the things they have done is design the helmet shell based on how the human skull works. We have areas of our skull that are very rigid and areas that are 'softer', my understanding is Sweet builds extra protection into the areas covering the softer spots and some flex into the parts guarding the 'hard' parts of the skull. I think of it as an extension of what MIPS is. The shell is designed to absorb some impact along with the liner... at least that was my take away from the explanation of the helmet.
 
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StoicDude

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Another update. Skied with the helmet in Sun Valley and Jackson Hole. Jackson was in the teens and my worries about the open ventilation finally were put to rest. Helmet held up fine even in those low temperatures.
As for the interior not being wet, that must have been just one day. Last week, with the high temps, the interior was plenty wet, so no difference from the Vantage.
The helmet is phenomenal when it comes to fit, finish and design. I haven't crash tested it, so I can't evaluate that.
As for weight, the Vantage with the perforated, Kord something, liner is ridiculously light.
 
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StoicDude

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Close to a year of owning this helmet and it is still going great.
Even with the teen temperatures and wind at Rose the last week, the helmet was fine.
 

Marcel

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@StoicDude how's the fit compared to smith? Smith helmets fit really good on me both bike and ski, but I'm considering trying the grimnir or tropper mips next. What was your size on smith and what did you go with for the sweet?

Also, I'm trying to find a picture of the camera mount for the grimnir, seems like it comes with a front and side camera mount that you can attach / detach, have any info on that?

Thanks a lot!
 
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StoicDude

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Hey marcel, I'll take pictures of the camera stuff when I get back home and post it tomorrow most likely.
As for size and fit, the Grint is a size M/L. I have a Smith Vantage in a size medium, if I remember correctly. To me, the size is about the same.
I normally wear a 55/56 m motorcycle helmet, usually right on the small/medium size.
Both of them fit me well. I would say that I prefer the Grimnir from the fit, but I wouldn't be able to say exactly why. It just fits better.
Both of them have the adjustable size in the back as well. Smith is BOA, Sweet uses occi grip I think.
 
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StoicDude

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Here are the pictures of the camere mounts on the Grimnir.
They come with 4 screws and 3 plates. 2 plates for the sides ( left and right for Contour cameras) one for the front (go pro etc).
The helmet is predrilled and has the washers built into the helmet. The plates have a foam backing and then a shiny, plastic side where you mount the camera.
Sweet tested the helmet with the cameras and their reasoning was to have the latest where the mount wouldn't penetrate the shell and also be able to snap off without damaging the helmet itself.
I'm posting pictures of the items as well. I hope that helps. 20170201_090909.jpg 20170201_091044.jpg
20170201_091201.jpg
 

Marcel

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Cool thanks a lot @StoicDude for the info! I have just got a brand new Smith Quantum and now I'm debating getting a sweet grinmir... oh well, should have done homework first!
 

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