At Outdoor Retailer, I made my usual stop to visit with Chopper at Smith. While it’s typically a new pair of shades or goggles, this year it was a killer new ski helmet–the Smith Vantage. Taking some of the construction cues from the Smith Maze helmet, the Vantage is just a hair heavier than the Maze (by a mere 3.5 oz) and way more versatile than the Maze, but it comes at a price.

Features of the Smith Vantage Helmet:

• Dual-zone ventilation allows front and back vents to open/close independently
• Zip-in audio system reduces production and SKU overhead (same helmet can be non-audio, wired or bluetooth)
• Skullcandy audio
• Xstatic liner with adjustable fit
• Weight: 15 oz
• MSRP: $180 (non-audio) / $210 (wired) / $340 (bluetooth)

I really like the Maze for its simplicity and light weight, but I’d gladly add 3.5 oz to my head to get dual-zone vents and a flexible audio option. Looks like a great new lid for the masses come Fall 2010.

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