Since I destroyed my old HiFi in Japan this past March, I’ve been in need of a replacement. My old one was around a hundred USD from Island Snow Hawaii back when they sold snowboarding gear. I probably could have gotten it for less online, but I was buying locally where I could actually try the product on. Since the sizing was already taken care of, and there is no comprehensive local source for retail snowboarding gear anymore, I waited for a good deal online. The season is winding down and a lot of good stuff is going on sale. Besides, a hundred bucks intuitively is way too much to pay for what is essentially a piece of EPS from the PRC. I was looking last season, but I never managed to find a nice color in the proper size for a good price. This season there was a nice camo finish, and when it went on sale for 25% off at Backcountry I was tempted. Since the riding season is essentially over for me this year, I thought I’d give it a little while longer to see if the price would drop. The overall stock amount and size run looked good, so there was no rush.
Last week the HiFi popped up on Brociety. The camo wasn’t offered, but for $38 USD plus shipping, I could live with black! After a few days, it showed up via Priority mail (around $13 USD). After considering shipping (which doesn’t go on sale), I essentially got the helmet for around 55% off all told. That’s a more reasonable price for a PRC foam cooler. The helmet fit true to the shape and sizing of my old Large. The basic molding is the same. Whereas mine had pads stuck permanently inside with adhesive, this one has adhesive panels of pile-side Velcro inside, and the removable pad has the hook-side. Like good modern bike helmets, the pad is one piece (unlike the half-dozen little pieces in the Fox Flux), making it easy to remove and throw in the laundry with your base layer stuff. The removable earflaps are still connected across the back of the neck, but no longer have the little mesh ear holes. Time will tell if I will even notice any difference in the ability to hear. Unlike the Velcro fasteners on the first-generation HiFi, this season’s one has plastic clips that snap into fittings molded into the EPS. The neckflap has two Velcro tabs that attach to the same pile inside the helmet shell that the inside pad attaches to. Slick. The chinstrap is essentially the same, with the same adjustable rack-style fastener, but the pad is a stitched-on 3D affair instead of the strip of fabric held closed by Velcro. The goggle hook is now removable. There is an access point inside of the back of the helmet to get at the fastener.
The earflaps are a definite design improvment, as is the inside pad. The removability of the goggle hook doesn’t exactly make sense in that aspect to me since I can’t imagine riding without goggles, but I can see this as a benefit if the hook breaks and you need to replace it. The chinstrap pad being stitched on is good and bad: Good – it won’t fall off and get lost; bad – it can’t be replaced without cutting off the bar-tack stitches. One thing I did have a problem with was in adjusting the chinstrap. I pulled the adjuster as far as it would go until it hit the opening in the pad where the webbing comes through, and the helmet was still way too loose. I had to actually bunch the pad up on the webbing (like rolling up your sleeve), adjust the fastener, set the o-ring on the loose end, then telescope the fastener back inside the opening in the pad. I guess Burton was anticipating an end-user with a taller head. There are two vents on the back of the helmet that don’t have any mesh to keep the snow out. This is the same in all generations of the HiFi. There must be some manufacturing process that prevents them from putting mesh here. These vents inevitably get packed with snow when you fall on your back, then the heat of your head makes hte snow melt, and the water drips down the back of your neck.
The fit with the original was fine with both Oakley A-frame and Wisdom goggles. I tried the new helmet on with my new Oakley Crowbar goggles and the fit is fine. The top of the goggle frame sticks out a little past the front edge of the helmet, but I don’t see a problem with this. The helmet came with a “goggle gasket” which is a piece of pad material that goes between the helmet shell and pad along the front edge to cover your forehead. This piece has Velcro tabs that affix it to the same pile material that the inner pad attaches to. I don’t recall ever feeling cold in this place, even on crazy windy -20C days. I tried installing it and it just seems to get in the way. If it ever gets to the point where it is cold enough to require the gasket, I’d probably already have a balaclava on, making it a moot point. In actuality, I would like to see someone increase ventilation in this area to allow the goggles to convectionally vent properly to reduce fogging!
About a hundred USD regularly, $75 USD on sale at Backcountry, and $38 USD plus shipping from Brociety
Highly Recommended
Four out of four snow monkeys
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