What I wear on my head... and what I think about it.

This season ive put on just about 3000km so far. Ive ridden in some of the harshest conditions (aka: COLD) ive ever ridden in. And, when so many of the guys I ride with are switching back from their open face to full face helmets on the coldest of days to avoid frost bite. Ive stuck with my setup with no problems. I was thinking about why my system works so good. Heres what I came up with.

My Helmet:

I wear a Z1R Rail. This is not what most would consider a super high end helmet. Its well priced, not cheap, but not unrealistic like so many others. But, I dont buy my helmets. So price is not a issue for me. What I do care about, after wearing every other brand of helmet you can get at one time or another, is how a helmet feels and functions. My Z1R Rail fits perfect in size XXL. (yeah, big melon, I know) It looks amazing in the blue and white color scheme I picked. It has just the right amount of ventilation for a warmer riding day, but not too much for a cold day. Its built extremely well. I take head protection seriously cause its the only one I got. Ive torn this helmet all apart and found it to be made extremely well, of high end materials and with no flaws. Ive also tested my helmet on a number of occasions I wont go into here. The end result is that I am, still here. So, im convinced this helmet is safe. 

My Goggles:

Like my lids, Ive had the opportunity to use pretty much every goggle brand you can get your hands on. From Dragon, to Oakley, Thor, Scott, Answer, Spy and many others. I have a collection of them in my basement. Furthermore, and I dont want to sound like im bragging, but I get to use these products for free. Yay! What im trying to get across is that at the end of the day, when I say Ive found something I like its because I HAVE tried many different option and its NOT because Ive spent my money on one or the other. Of all the choices I have, the goggle I keep coming back to is Snow Warp from Smith Optics   For some reason this goggle has managed to keep me warm and fog free on the coldest, snowiest, sweatiest, rainiest days on the snow. From the mountains to the flats, in all conditions this goggle works. Ive had Snow Warp goggles last for so long the foam has started to deteriorate. They are durable, good looking and easy to disassemble and clean. You can find lenses for them anywhere. I think the

 reason they keep your face so warm in the snow is the super wide foam. It fills in the gaps between your goggle frame and your helmet. Like a seal, that keeps out the cold. No other goggle does this good a job in this varied of conditions. To illustrate how much I like these goggles, Even though I have received a couple pairs for free from smith this season, I wanted to make sure I had enough to cover every different lighting condition. So I actually paid for a couple more pairs. I could have bought any goggle I wanted. But, I chose to buy goggles I already have, because they are so good I wanted to have more of them. Dont even think about it... just go buy them. 

Anti-Fogging:

I wear a No-Fog Mask under my helmet. I dont wear a no name brand knock off model. I bought the brand name No fog because its the best. Because no other mask protects your face from cold and your goggles from fogging like a No-Fog. When I did finally find one (they can be hard to get ahold of mid season) I bought both of the ones the dealership had in stock. I never want to be without it. I know the people at No-Fog. They sponsored me all the years I raced. They know what they are doing and make a great product that works. If your wearing an open faced lid, you should also be wearing a No-Fog.

So thats it. Thats my story. 

Until next time...