Mike Horn 13y

Gear: Andreas Wiig Pro-Tec Riot ($110)

Action Sports

It only takes one scorpion from a caught edge to bounce your head so hard you hear bells instead of your friends laughing at you and decide you never want to feel that kind of pain again. A helmet will soften the blow, and Andreas Wiig's low profile Pro-Tec Riot pro model helmet is both stylish and lightweight, with just enough visor to shade your eyes and prevent the dreaded "gaper gap."

WHAT IT IS:
The Riot is the newest addition to Pro-Tec's line and is built around the Classic shape with visor styling. Pro-Tec Category Manager Brian Genuser says, "The Riot [has a] lightweight, low-profile fit and feel, and was designed to meeting the high demands of Norweigan slopestyle destroyer Andreas Wiig."

The Riot adds solid, ASTM 2040-certified melon coverage for slams, and feels feather light when strapped to your head or pack while you're booting around. The certification process includes strength retention tests, stability tests (meaning: will it stay on your head when you fall), and impact tests using three different shaped anvils. Yes, anvils. Let's hope you never replicate that test on the hill.

Wiig's helmet is matte grey and comes with synthetic leather ear pads, metallic logos, and a Recco chip. For $20, you can upgrade to the Audio Force upgrade ear kit.

WHY IT RULES:
The Riot is exceptionally lightweight, low profile, and comes equipped with an in-mold micro-shell. Pro-Tec's In Mold construction fuses a lightweight polycarbonate outer shell with the helmet's impact-absorbing EPS foam liner, provides the optimal balance of protection and low-profile style without any excess weight.

"Many riders that wear it say the same thing: 'I don't even know it's on my head.' This is the consistent feedback we were looking for," says Genuser. "Also built into the Riot is our 'windshield' design, providing a gapless fit between your goggles and helmet, Recco avalanche rescue reflectors, and our internal venting system regulating airflow in and out of the helmet."

WHERE TO FIND IT:
Available August 2011 at various specialty, core, sporting goods stores.

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