Thermoregulation.
That’s why vents adorn your ski helmet. You’d be in rough shape without them because your body’s core temperature is at stake.
It’s generally accepted that your body expends a huge portion of body heat through the head. Intense activity – a gun fight, an hours-long search for a missing person, etc. – means that blood is rushing to your head. That heat needs somewhere to go – just like a pot on the stove needs to boil.
“You need to let some of that steam out when you’re hot,” said Michael Silva, Team Wendy’s military market manager. “The vents allow for that to happen. It’s how your helmet sweats.”
Because vents are adjustable, they’re also capable of keeping heat in. Let’s say a strenuous activity is completed. Your pace slows down, but you’re still drenched in sweat. And you’re out in the cold. All of a sudden hypothermia is a risk.
Those vents need to shut. Quickly.
“You need to close the vents in order to keep that heat in,” Silva said. “It’s the same reason why people layer their clothing.”
Team Wendy offers three versions of the M-216™ ski helmet. Each one comes with 14 total vents. Eight of them – located on the crown – are adjustable. They have three settings: open, half open and closed.
The helmets also come with removable thermal ear covers, yet another means of temperature regulation.
“If you’re super hot you can take those ear covers off and open up the vents all the way,” Silva said. “You’ll still have the protection you need but you’re letting that heat out.”
Fixed vents at the front and rear of the M-216 act as a means of airflow. Air enters through the front, passes through the helmet and around your head before ultimately exiting through the back.
“It’s like built-in A/C,” Silva said.
Click to learn more about the M-216 and M-216 Backcountry Ski SAR helmets.