Smith Vantage MIPS Helmet Review

The Smith Vantage MIPS helmet for skiing and snowboarding is one of the most comfortable high-quality snow helmets available today. Smith has been making its Vantage helmet for years — and it’s still a winner for 2023 and beyond.

To create such a great snow helmet, Smith delivers superior quality with outstanding features, including 21 vents and a glove-friendly BOA adjustment system. Still, you’re probably wondering if the Smith Vantage MIPS snow helmet is right for you? Let’s take a closer look:

Smith Vantage MIPS Review

Smith makes more than two dozen different ski and snowboard helmets in different styles at varying price points. The Vantage is near the top of the Smith lineup, eclipsed only by the new Smith Nexus and race-focused Icon.

We like the Vantage because it fits so many heads and looks great on both men and women. In fact, it has an almost timeless style that’s sleek without looking like it’s trying too hard. Pair it with Smith’s rich color choices and you end up with a helmet that somehow never seems to look dated.

 

 

Overall, the fit-and-finish is excellent. The top venting system includes two front and back options that let you fine-tune which vents you want open or close. Better yet, the vents are smooth yet crisp. The first time you open and close them I can almost guarantee you’ll move them back and forth a few times just to enjoy how well they’re designed.

For safety, Smith uses Koroyd welded tubes as ‘padding’ that crushes to absorb energy if you have a major impact. In addition, the Koroyd tubes are open-celled. Unliked closed-cell foam, heat can escape from your head more easily with Koroyd (assuming you have the vents open).

Shop the sweet 4D MAG Goggles at Smith for helmet fit and performance!

Fit & Comfort

In our experience, the Smith size chart is spot on. You can measure the circumference of your head in centimeters with a string and a ruler if you don’t have a fabric tape measure.

If you have a particularly circular head shape (as opposed to a more oval or oblong head shape) Smith makes a ‘Round Contour Fit’ Vantage helmet option.

The only downside to the Round Contour Fit option is that it does not come with MIPS (see below for MIPS recommendations).

Also, be sure to check the Round Contour Fit size options closely before ordering because they fit differently than the standard Vantage. For instance, the Round Contour Fit Medium uses the same 59-63 cm circumference range as the Large standard fit versions.

Meanwhile, to fine-tune your fit, the Smith BOA 360 Fit System is easy to use and precise.

Heard enough? Jump to The Bottom Line for our core recommendation now:

The Vantage Helmet Improves Your Goggles?

All Smith helmets are designed to fit Smith goggles well — but you don’t need Smith goggles to get a good goggle fit. If you’re wearing goggles that fit your face, odds are they’ll snug up nicely to the helmet without leaving a gap.

Because the fit is so good with Smith goggles, the Vantage helmet actually seems to make my Smith 4D Mag Goggles work better. This is extremely hard to test, but one thing I did notice is that when I managed to fog up my goggles — usually when I was adjusting a balaclava over my nose on frigid days — the fog almost instantly cleared.

As it turns out, this is intentional and designed into the Vantage helmet: Smith’s AirEvac ventilation system helps suck warm moist air out of your googles while skiing or snowboarding. How does it work?

The Smith Vantage has two slots positioned in the visor right above where the top of your goggles fit. Most goggles have an open-celled foam panel across the top to let warm moist air rise rather than stay trapped between your face and the goggle lens. Smith’s AirEvac ventilation intake ports let air flow into the helmet, then channels it back through the shell of the helmet to exhaust out. That movement of air, Smith says, pulls warm, fog-causing air out of the goggle along the way.

The result? In my experience, self-inflicted fog problems that arose from adjusting balaclavas and face masks in very cold conditions could be eliminated quickly just by skiing to create airflow. Of course, most any downhill movement will help draw warm, fog-causing air out of a good pair of goggles with relatively open foam at the top. Still, my impression is two-fold: 1) I can clear fog quickly simply by skiing, and 2) I’ve never had a fogging problem while on-the-go in the Smith Vantage helmet.

Note: Even Smith’s entry-level Mission MIPS helmet includes vents for the AirEvac system. I’ve skied the Mission and can attest that it’s a great affordable ski helmet. Its AirEvac also seems to work, but the Mission doesn’t have the small visor lip that’s on the Vantage. I think the Vantage is a bit more effective.

 

Should I Buy a MIPS Helmet?

Should you buy a helmet with MIPS? Yes. Absolutely. Don’t even consider buying snow helmets without MIPS.

Why? And what is MIPS anyway? MIPS is a simple and effective thin layer technology that makes your helmet safer. The MIPS design basically lets the helmet shift around your head when you have a glancing or angled impact. What this means is that the helmet can protect against ground or object contact, absorb impact, as well as shift around the MIPS lining system inside the helmet. This internal shifting lets the helmet move around your head during angled impacts, which can reduce head movement. Helmets that don’t have MIPS are more likely to allow glancing impacts to move your head more and slosh your brain around inside your skull (and you don’t want your brain to slosh around inside your skull).

Tip: Check out Smith’s Snow Helmets Tech page if you want to learn more about MIPS liners and brain protection.

Is the Smith Vantage MIPS Helmet worth it?

At around $270, the Smith Vantage MIPS Helmet is on the high-end of the pricing scale compared to competing snow helmets. That said, the quality is excellent. For me, I appreciate both the quality and overall design — and the Large fits my head particularly well, which means I’m unlikely to stray from the Vantage unless I’m testing competing helmets for Man Makes Fire.

If you have a teenage skier who’s starting to ski at higher speeds over much more difficult terrain, you should definitely buy a MIPS-based helmet. But should you shell out for the Vantage when there’s so much other ski gear to buy and maintain? That’s a tough question. While the affordable Smith Mission MIPS is a great helmet (see below), the Smith Vantage has a lot more Koroyd coverage . . . which means, personally, I’d rather be wearing the Vantage than the Mission if I ever happened to be in a catastrophic crash.

 

Smith Vantage vs Nexus

The Smith Nexus MIPS costs $55 more than the Smith Vantage. Does it deliver $55 more value? The Nexus is very similar to the Vantage but it does have a few differences:

• more complete Koroyd coverage for impact protection
• slightly sleeker low-profile design
• slightly increased padding around the BOA 360 Fit System
• magnetic Fidlock Strap Buckle
• 24 vents (vs the Vantage’s 21 vents)

Worth it? Depends on your budget, of course, but you can’t go wrong with either the Smith Nexus or the Smith Vantage.

Shop Smith’s entire Snow Helmet lineup for the most size and color options!

Competitive Alternatives & Options

Smith makes many different helmet options at different price levels within its own snow helmet line, including the refined Nexus mentioned above. If price is a key factor in your decision, you can likely find a Smith helmet option in your price range. Here are a few alternative options from Smith to consider:

Smith Level MIPS Helmet — At first glance, the Smith Level looks very similar to the Smith Vantage. The Level snow helmet has fewer vents and only one vent control lever. While the Vantage has the super-precise BOA-based fit adjustment dial, the Level uses a Smith-made version that isn’t as precise but still gets the job done. Women’s version: Smith Liberty

Smith Altus MIPS Helmet — If you want to get under the $200 price point, Smith’s Altus uses a lightweight construction with a sleek low-profile look. Even though Smith names its Altus as the ‘men’s’ version and the Vida as the women’s version, Smith offers the two helmets in multiple colors with one key difference: The women’s Vida has a very soft, plush, almost fuzzy liner. Basically, if you have sensitive ears and want super cush ear pads, choose the Smith Vida in whichever color you like best.

Smith Mission MIPS Helmet — We believe the men’s Smith Mission and the women’s Smith Mirage deliver Smith’s best price-to-value ratio. Both helmets now include MIPS and the overall comfort and quality is very good. If you’re on a tight budget and/or are trying to outfit your family, you can’t go wrong with the Mission or Mirage.

The Bottom Line

While there are other great ski and snowboarding helmets available, Smith snow helmets at every price point are hard to beat. While the Smith Nexus is technically a bit more refined than the already superb Vantage, you can’t go wrong with either. The Vantage delivers low-profile good looks, a comfortable, secure fit, and multiple ventilation settings. Very highly recommended.

Get the Gear:

• Smith Vantage MIPS — men’s
• Smith Vantage MIPS — women’s

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