This question is everywhere, “Can I use my climbing helmet for skiing?” The answer, as usual, has caveats. But, in some cases, it is a very clear yes. This “Yes, definitely!” is for helmets that are officially certified both for climbing (EN 12492) and skiing (EN 1077) – we dive into all the certifications in detail lower in this post.
Certified Climbing and Skiing Helmets
All the helmets we know are certified for both climbing and skiing. Listed in alphabetical order.
Scott Couloir Mountain ($180)
With dual-standard certification, the SCOTT Couloir Mountain is a featherweight, freeride-inspired game changer.
Smith Summit MIPS ($230)
Smith Summit MIPS helmet is certified for both climbing and Alpine skiing.
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Julbo The Peak ($150)
Julbo The Peak helmet is certified for both Alpine skiing as well as mountaineering.
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Ski Trab Aero ($159.85)
The Aero helmet is certified for both Alpine skiing as well as mountaineering.
Dynafit Beast MIPS ($266.83)
The Beast MIPS helmet is certified for both Alpine skiing as well as mountaineering.
Dynafit Carbonio DNA ($363.86)
The Carbonio DNA helmet is certified for both Alpine skiing as well as mountaineering.
CAMP Speed Comp ($119.95)
360 grams. EN 12492 and EN 1077/B certified in accordance with ISMF rules.
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Grivel Duetto ($149.99)
Made of foam, it’ll be the lightest option at 195 grams. Comes in blue or gray.
La Sportiva Combo (153 Euros)
290 grams, two sizes. No US retailers yet. CE EN 12492 & CE EN 1077, class B
Salomon MTN Lab Helmet ($199.95)
300 grams. Thanks to Dennis and Jack in the comments!
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Sweet Protection Ascender Mips ($199.95)
430 grams for the medium. Mips! Certified CE EN 1077 Class B, ASTM 2040, EN 12492. Also comes in 4 colors.
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Retired Dual Certified Helmets
Igniter Alpiniste ($199.95) – Thanks to Siril in the comments for the heads up.
CAMP Pulse ($119.95)
Cebe Trilogy ($300+)
Considerations
Some helmets are marketed towards ski mountaineering, like the CAMP Speed 2.0 and newest Petzl Meteor 2019, but they are not technically certified as ski helmets by the official ski standard. They are very light helmets that protect against rock fall more than collisions. The Meteor has kind of made its own category with a “Ski Touring” cert, which is not a typical ski certification (it won’t pass stringent racing standards). You can learn more about the Meteor in this video.
Although you can wear a climbing-only certified helmet for other sports, the lack of ski (or bike) certification means the climbing helmet will not provide ideal protection. Rock climbing helmets main focus is protecting the top of the head, not the sides. This makes them unideal in a collision situation and is why the vast majority of climbing helmets cannot attain skiing (or biking) certifications. We go into more details of the certs later in this post.
Similarly, the reason it’s not ideal to use bike helmets for rock climbing (or ice climbing) is because there isn’t adequate protection from large/sharp object impacts from above.
That said, some rock climbing helmets do give a bit more side protection. The Petzl Meteor III (retired) was certified for biking (EN 1078), with more side protection that most helmets BUT the newest Meteor (2019) is not certified for biking.
Downsides to Multi-use helmets?
“Multi-use” usually translates to “not ideal for either job.” The biggest difference between a typical rock climbing only helmet versus a multi-use helmet is the bulk. Multi-use helmets generally have fewer vents, more padding and additional foam for protection, resulting in reduced breathability (they’re hot) during warm weather rock climbing. There are a few multi-use helmets that have lots of vents, which is great for rock climbing, but the extra ventilation can make them chilly on colder ski days.
Multi-use helmets are typically heavier then their climbing specific alternative because they require more material to pass the certification requirements. That said, the weight range is still quite wide: The lightest and most vented of the multi-use helmets, the Grivel Duetto is planned to be 195 grams while the more skiing-oriented Mammut Alpine Rider comes in at 400 grams.
The price range for multi-use helmets is also a bit higher than climbing specific helmets, ranging from the least expensive Mammut Alpine Rider at $99.95 to the $300+ Cebe Trilogy. There are a bunch of reasons why these multi-use helmets are more expensive, including more research and development time, more materials in general, plus extra testing and fee’s to attain both climbing and ski certifications.
Helmet Standards
There are different certifications for each sport and activity. For rock climbing, the official standard is EN 12492 and/or UIAA 106. If the helmet is sold for rock climbing in Europe, it must have the EN rating. The UIAA rating is optional, but widely accepted as a sought-after standard. The details of the UIAA requirement are public and you can read them here (and the EN cert was written using the UIAA requirements).
EN 12492 – Rock Climbing / Mountaineering (via UIAA or Satra testing facilities)
“The force transmitted to the head form as a result of the impact of the falling mass shall not exceed 8 kN for the vertical impact test, for the side impact test, for the front impact test and the rear impact test.”
The UIAA pictorial overview of the tests makes it a little clearer.
EN 1077 – Ski and Snowboard Helmets (via xsportsprotective)
“Tests ski/snowboard helmets for shock absorption, penetration and retention systems. Peak acceleration imparted to the head form cannot exceed 250 Gs. Tests also include a number of design requirements, such as area of coverage, field of vision, and clearance between the head and the shell.
Class A protects a larger area of the head and offers a higher degree of protection from penetration, while Class B offers more ventilation and better hearing but slightly less protection.”
If you want to geek out further on Class A and B, we found this super nerdy forum post that has pictures, diagrams, and a more detailed explanation.
Conclusion
Using a climbing helmet while skiing is still better than no helmet for protecting your cranium but it won’t protect you as well for collisions, the most common type of skiing accident. If you are convinced that you want to use a single helmet for climbing and skiing we highly recommend you use one certified for both skiing (EN 1077) and climbing (EN 12492 / UIAA 106) – as of this writing, this includes the CAMP Pulse, CAMP Speed Comp, Cebe Trilogy, Grivel Duetto, Kong Kosmos, Mammut Alpine Rider, Sweet Protection Ascender Mips, Sweet Protection’s Igniter Alpiniste, Salomon’s MTN Lab, and soon, the Grivel Duetto.
If you know of any multi-use helmets we missed, let us know (via email or in the comments) and we’ll add them to the post.
And if you’re interested in buying any of these helmets, here is where we know they are available in the US:
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[…] Often the bike and ski market have more options for larger helmets. Wearing a bike (or ski) helmet is better than nothing, although it’s definitely not ideal. The requirements and testing for climbing helmets is different and protects more from impacts from above (we wrote a whole blog post explaining the details). […]
Heya!
Love this article, of great help!
Thank you!
Here’s a newcommer I’ve come across:
Sweet Protection Igniter Alpiniste Helmet
https://varuste.net/en/Sweet+Protection+Igniter+Alpiniste?_tu=82189
Best
Siril
Thanks for this link Siril! It’s weird that I can’t find that helmet on Sweet Protection’s site, but I do see it available at Backcountry.com and a few other retailers too.
Add the Salomon MTN Lab helmet:
http://mtn.salomon.com/products/freeride/mtn-lab-helmet.htm
Salomon mtn lab helmet is also dual cert.
Sweet Protection Ascender Helmet
Several of the Dynafit helmets are double certified.
https://www.dynafit.com/search?sSearch=helmet
Thank you Arild! We’ve just updated this post with the Dynafit options (that are hard to find in the US) and also another option from Scott.
[…] EN-1077 is a certification that verifies that a helmet meets the testing standards required by the speeds and forces required in downhill skiing. Helmets including these features have become a bit more popular in recent years due to the increased popularity of ski mountaineering, as climbers want to have a single helmet for skiing and summiting technical rock. Technically EN-1077 has 2 versions, A and B, with the difference being A requires ear coverage and B does not. As climbing helmets often struggle to be as light and low profile as possible, it is likely that any climbing helmets you encounter with the EN-1077 cert are certified B. If you want to read more, we wrote a longer post about dual use ski helmets here. […]