Shedding Weight in the Backcountry

When you think 90’s powder shot, it’s straight skis and a one-piece hiding in your dad’s closet (or maybe yours) with a pair of neon goggles and a tasseled hat. It wasn’t so long ago that a magazine wouldn’t run a photo of a rider in powder with a helmet and because of this, the image that comes to mind never seems to involve a helmet. Our culture through the media left us with a legacy that helmets weren’t cool or functional for that usage. 

Freeze Magazine Cover

 

Over the last 20 years however, Helmet technology improved and so did the study of the human brain. Through years of branding, media campaigns and scientific documentaries, Helmets, in the eyes of the media and many skiers, are finally “cool” but style and safety isn’t just enough to keep some from ditching them. Helmets tack on an extra 550-700g to your load and when you are pushing deeper into the backcountry, it’s one of the easiest things to remove to shed weight. With this in mind, we decided to shed some weight from our most styled-out design that our athletes have come to love. 

"The Cynic X has been my go-to helmet for the last four years, but as I've continued to push my skiing further into the backcountry on longer tours, a simplified helmet that sheds weight, but has much of the same features to keep me protected, became a must-have." - Rob Aseltine 

The Cynic AT puts fashion and function together, still protecting your head from what’s down the line, all at 415g (Medium with earflaps). It has all the same features our people love, and really feels like carrying nothing at all. 

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