Video-Review: RuRoc RG-1 ICE full-face ski- and snowboard helmet (ENG)

Test conditions

The helmet was tested in Austria in ski resorts Galtür, Ishgl and Gargellen. Altitude ranging between 1600 and 2300 meters. Various weather conditions, temperatures between -15 and 0 degrees celsius.

Review

The Helmet

The first impression of the helmet was the incredible bad-ass look: as if the Stig and an imperial stormtrooper had gotten together to have a good time and nine months later the RuRoc popped out somewhere. Just because of the look I wanted to wear it.

The outer shell of the helmet is of a high impact ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) material that performs well under cold conditions. The helmet has an EPS (expanded polystyrene) lining, which is very impact absortive, but it will deform under higher impacts, degrading the absorptive properties. It has been soft padded and due to that the helmet is very comfortable, certainly if you get the fit right. The helmet has no size adjustment possibility.

After the first impressions in the Netherlands with the Ruroc RG-1 he expectations for the performance of the helmet in the mountains were high. And after the first descent during night skiing in Galtür, these expectations were more than fulfilled. One of the first things I noticed was that the aero-flow system of the helmet worked very well. It is caused by the combination of the air vent in the face mask, the control of airflow through the googles towards the vents on the top of the helmet. On the one hand the face mask keeps your face warm, while at the same time it allows enough fresh air to enter, ensure you can breath well, the goggles don’t fog up and your head is kept.

Day 2 brought a lot of off-piste work with them and through the sometimes tricky snow conditions (hard upper layer, soft underneath) with me a lot of crashes. A good test case for the helmet. I took a few bangs to the head, all on the snow, and  Ireall did not feel anything during or after the falls. The helmet really took the impact quite well. In addition, I had three “face-first” tubmles  once without the facemask (luckily it was soft snow) and twice with the facemask; the positive effect of the facemark was obvious. So even more important than the look is the fact that the helmet gives real protection. After those first days on the slopes I have used the RuRoc for a number of months. While the facemark is great for fast and cold descents, I noticed I did not always wear it. Mostly because it did not fit me perfectly. In my case helmet and the facemask were just slightly tight. I felt that on my forehead and most noticeably in the fact that the facemark really pushed up against my nose. (My nose is mostly at fault in this case). What did help was putting on the goggles first and having the facemark rest on the goggles. That way they line up perfectly, and the goggles push the facemark away from your face a bit.

Also during traverses going off-piste when you really get out of breath, the facemark does impede breathing a bit. Added to that I noticed that is after the descent, at the skylights, I often took of the face mask. Because it can sometimes be a bit off-putting to other winter sporters. So the effect was that the facemark was not always in place and I needed a place to stuff it. Because of the size of the facemark and the strong, rigid material used it did not fit in a jacket or pants pocket; so it is advisable to have a backpack with you for when you are not using the facemask. However, in a backpack it is a bit vulnerable. The clips (used to attached the face mask to the helmet) broke on my first face mask while in the backpack, and the second facemark was completely crushed during a particularly heavy fall, once again, while in the backpack.

So if you do stow it away, pad it in an extra layer or something to protect it a but. It seems to be more fragile at that time than when it is in place attached to the helmet.

Long-term downside was that I found on my forehead the helmet was very tight. After a day on the slopes I was left with really red and some raw pressure surfaces on my forehead. Because the helmet is so rigid in terms of the helmet shell must indeed be really good. So be sure to fit well first.

Goggles

The goggles work very well. As stated before they line up perfectly against the face mask, but also without the later they are very comfortable. They didn’t fog up at all, have a very wide field of view and especially in sunny weather very pleasant and gave a high-contrast vision. When there was more cloud cover obviously the view on the slope was much less. you really lose the contrast on slopes, making it a lot harder to read the ascent. RuRoc also supplied an orange low-light lens; the lenses in the goggles are interchangeable, and this worked much better. Be sure however that if you do buy an extra low light sense that they fit the model of the goggle. I received a were version of the lens which did not fit perfectly into the previous frame of the goggles.

Conclusion

The RuRoc is a really great helmet. Beautiful, bold look, good protection and reasonably comfortable (especially in people with a smaller nose). A helmet that I would definitely recommend.

Pro’s

• Very good protection, both the head and face
• Good airflow / ventilation of the face, goggles and helmet
• Goggles offer excellent visibility, especially in sun conditions
• Badass look

Cons

• Fit of the facemask very tight
• Difficult to stow
• Vulnerability of the face mask when stowed

The Helmet including the goggles retails at € 265, – online.

I would also recommend this product to my friends.