Extreme Nomads is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More

Background Noise With a Purpose

The other day, a friend (as friends often do) was complaining to me. He went on a tirade about how his wireless headphones wouldn’t stay put as he skied.

If you have ever worked out or partaken in any physical activity while listening to a music player, you’ve probably experienced his pain.

With wired headphones, the wire could get caught in your equipment and forcibly yanked out of your ear. Talk about annoying! However, wireless Bluetooth headphones are no better. Usually, they are lacking in something: battery life, audio quality, you name it.

I told him that if he ever wanted to listen to music as he skied, (with decent sound quality), then he had to get ski helmet headphones. Would you believe that he didn’t even know such things existed?!

This is why I’ve gathered the best ski helmet headphones together. They’ve all got both form and function.

No compromises allowed.

Product

Details

Best Overall

Outdoor Technology Chips 2.0

  • Form Factor:On Ear
  • Brand:Outdoor Tech

Most Affordable

Dreamruns Direct Connect Audio Kit

  • Form Factor:Over Ear
  • Brand:Dreamruns

User-Friendly Controls

Alta Wireless Drop-In Headphones

  • Form Factor:Over Ear
  • Brand:Wildhorn

Most Secure

OutdoorMaster Wireless Headphones

  • Form Factor:On Ear
  • Brand:OutdoorMaster

Most High-Tech

Yideng Bluetooth Headset

  • Form Factor:On Ear
  • Brand:Yideng

Most Helmet Compatible

BE Headwear Bluetooth Headset

  • Form Factor:On Ear
  • Brand:BE Headwear

Long Battery Life

Outdoor Tech Chips Ultra Wireless Helmet

  • Form Factor:On Ear
  • Brand:Outdoor Tech

Loudest Headphones

IASUS The XSound 2.1 Helmet Speakers

  • Form Factor:In Ear
  • Brand:I A S U S

8 Best Ski Helmet Headphones: Our Top Picks

The best ski helmet headphones are those that deliver what you would expect from high-quality earpieces while also giving you features that you never knew you needed. For example, when it comes to sound quality, all the ski helmet headphones listed below get top marks.

But there is a lot more to them than just that. Consider the BE Headwear Bluetooth Headset, which proudly takes the number six spot on our list.

This Bluetooth headset comes with voice prompts. These prompts allow you to use your voice to control the headphones themselves. Completely hands-free.

Now that is worthy of being one of the best ski helmet headphones!

What about the Alta Wireless helmet headphones? The engineers behind them made sure to super-size the buttons on the ear headphones so that you could easily change their settings, even if you have heated ski gloves on.

There’s a lot more to the rest of this list. Rest assured that only the best ski helmet headphones make an appearance here.

1. Outdoor Technology Chips 2.0

snowboard headphones

It was a pretty close race to the top but the jack of all trades had to take the number one pick. The Outdoor Tech Chips have got an overall simplistic design that obfuscates their functionality well.

One-touch controls and hands-free phone calls are just the tip of the iceberg.

Consistency is the key to success. Within any discipline or situation, you’ve just got to keep going at it to break through. Consistency also happens to be the defining feature of Outdoor Tech Chips.

How They Excel

Many ski helmet headphones break down as the temperatures plummet.

This is because they are powered by Lithium-ion batteries, which drain rapidly in colder temperatures. The Outdoor Technology Chips have been designed to withstand sub-zero environments.

snow headphones

The sound quality and battery do not suffer with the temperature. You’ll get a consistent 10 hours of battery life anywhere and everywhere. Aside from that, installing the Outdoor Technology Chips could not be easier.

Simply drop them into the lining of any safest ski helmet you own, and you are good to go. These ski helmet headphones got everything right.

Dependable and functional.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: One-touch and hands-free phone control
  • Battery Life: 10-hour battery life
  • Sound System: 40mm drivers
  • Warranty: N/A

Pros

  • Wonderful chip design that makes for easy placement into helmet liner.
  • Comes with a ski walkie-talkie feature.
  • Consistent performance in sub-zero temperatures.

Cons

  • No warranty data at the time of this writing, but they are extremely durable.

Outdoor Technology Chips 2.0

The price of “Outdoor Technology Chips 2.0” varies, so check the latest price at

2. Dreamruns Direct Connect Audio Kit

snowboard helmet with bluetooth speakers

Usually, specialized gear tends to command a higher price than general-purpose options. The Dreamruns Direct Connect audio kit is not the usual option. They are ski helmet headphones with superb audio quality and a built-in microphone.

But perhaps their greatest feature is their mindbogglingly low price. At their price range, I wouldn’t consider them affordable. These helmet headphones are a downright steal.

You Get This Much at That Price

The price of this audio kit will have you thinking that you lost your mind. But it isn’t a typo. For just less than twenty United States dollars, you are getting ski headphones with 20kHz speakers and even a two-year warranty.

This two-year warranty comes in handy because these in-helmet speakers are not wireless headsets. They come with a wire that directly connects to each speaker and then to your phone.

In a sport as intense as skiing, it is entirely possible that you could damage the wire of the speakers. However, this is no longer an issue thanks to their generous warranty policy.

To top it all off, they have a small microphone that can be controlled with a button. Perfect for answering and ending calls on the fly.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wired headphones
  • Control System: One button for control of the microphone
  • Battery Life: Does not apply due to being wired
  • Sound System: 20Hz to 20kHz speakers
  • Warranty: 2 years product replacement

Pros

  • The lowest price that you could possibly find for headphones of this quality.
  • Great 2-year warranty should they break down.
  • Sound quality does not suffer from being at a distance.

Cons

  • If you want to adjust the volume, you’ll have to do it through your phone.

Dreamruns Direct Connect Audio Kit

The price of “Dreamruns Direct Connect Audio Kit ” varies, so check the latest price at

3. Alta Wireless Drop-In Headphones

helmet with earphones

The practical option has arrived. In the world of design, companies often grapple with having to choose between two design philosophies. Making products that look good and making products that are user-friendly.

Oftentimes, companies opt for a cool-looking but unusable design. These wireless headphones comfortably fall onto the user-friendly spectrum. And they don’t look half-bad either.

Thoughtful Design

Take a glance at the sides of these ski helmet headphones. You’ll clearly notice the gigantic buttons that adorn them. Wildhorn didn’t want you to struggle with taking off your ski gloves, freezing your fingers in the process, just to answer a call.

ski helmets with bluetooth

In fact, you can take phone calls, send texts, and listen to music without having to pull out your phone or take off your gloves. These Alta headphones have Bluetooth pairing capabilities. They are even compatible with Siri and Google Assistant.

Their compact design won’t create a cumbersome distraction, and you can rest assured that they are compatible with whatever audio-ready helmet you own.

These are my personal favorites because they are easy to use and handle.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: Hands-free texting and calling, buttons for everything else
  • Battery Life: 10-hour battery life
  • Sound System: 40mm drivers for decent audio quality
  • Warranty: None

Pros

  • Big buttons for easy control even when wearing gloves.
  • Great range of compatibility with any helmets that are audio-ready.
  • Sweat-resistant and won’t break down in cold weather.

Cons

  • Battery life could be higher but still good at a solid 10 hours.

Alta Wireless Drop-In Headphones

The price of “Alta Wireless Drop-In Headphones” varies, so check the latest price at

4. OutdoorMaster Wireless Drop-in Headphones

smith snowboard helmet headphones

Security. That’s the major idea guiding the entire design of the Outdoor Master Wireless headphones. I’m not just talking about the physical structure of these headphones. They come with a two-year warranty policy and a no questions asked 30-day return policy.

This is both a secure purchase and a secure set of headphones.

Sweat? No Problem

There are features that many would be embarrassed to ask for but that are absolutely necessary. Sweat resistance in our headphones is one such feature. The entire outer shell of these headphones was made with IP45, a sweat-resistant material.

This same sweat-resistant material is also responsible for keeping the inner parts ticking even with prolonged exposure to negative twenty degrees Celsius.

smith snowboard helmet headphones

The size of your helmet shouldn’t prove to be an obstacle either because these OutdoorMasters come with a 12-inch cord. With this length, they can even fit into a motorcycle helmet.

The drivers in the headphones have been tuned, and each speaker comes with a CSR chip inside of it. You won’t miss a single beat of your favorite tunes.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: Easy control buttons
  • Battery Life: 15-hour battery life while in use
  • Sound System: 40mm drivers with CSR chip Bluetooth 5.0
  • Warranty: Two-year warranty

Pros

  • Sweat resistance design keeps these headphones firmly in place.
  • Above average battery life when compared to the best ski helmet headphones.
  • Very generous warranty policy.

Cons

  • Unable to silence one speaker when needed. Although, this is not a deal breaker.

OutdoorMaster Wireless Drop-in Headphones

The price of “OutdoorMaster Wireless Drop-in Headphones” varies, so check the latest price at

5. Yideng Bluetooth Headset

ski helmets with bluetooth audio

The Yideng Bluetooth headset gets bonus points for its futuristic design. The cyberpunk aesthetic is currently in-style, and they capitalize on it to the furthest extent. But they aren’t just a pretty face.

The Yideng has a control panel fitted with a button for every function that you could think of.

However, keep in mind that these headphones were designed with motorcycle helmets in mind, as such, you may need to remove your gloves to operate them.

The Future is Here

By far the best technical feature that this headset has is its noise-canceling technology. This headset has DSP echo cancellation that silences all the chatter and grime that comes with skiing or riding of any kind.

This improves overall audio quality because your music no longer has to contend with the outside world. You can do all the awesome things that the other best headphones on this list allow you to do.

ski helmets with bluetooth

Including answering calls, ending calls, pausing, and scrolling through your music, but there is one other feature that’ll blow you away. This headset has a full FM radio station search integrated into it.

And if that wasn’t enough, how about GPS support and voice command? So much good packed into one tight design.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: Hands-free call support and buttons
  • Battery Life: 8-hour battery life
  • Sound System: Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
  • Warranty: Not available

Pros

  • Stylish and futuristic outer shell design.
  • A button is available for each function that you may need.
  • Comes with FM radio support.

Cons

  • Can be considered bulky by some riders.

Yideng Bluetooth Headset

The price of “Yideng Bluetooth Headset” varies, so check the latest price at

6. BE Headwear Bluetooth Headset

ski helmets with bluetooth

Have you ever bought something, had it delivered, and after days of waiting, you try it out only to realize that it was the wrong part? I have and I didn’t know whether to get angry or cry.

With the Be Headwear headset, those days will stay in the past, where they belong.

Quality Battery and Voice Control

The Be Headwear headset are drop-in headphones that are guaranteed to work with any skiing or snowboarding helmet on the market. Just as long as they are audio-ready. This universal compatibility comes with nine hours of usage before needing to recharge.

For connectivity, they’ve got a G3 Tech Bluetooth 4.0. In the way of functionality, a built-in microphone for total hands-free control over your calls is also present. It seems that every feature that one could need has been included and accounted for.

The speakers are loud, but they are 30mm driver speakers. Most ski headphones on this list are 40mm driver speakers. As a result, you can expect there to be some drop-off when it comes to how loud you can push these headphones.

But keep in mind that prolonged exposure to loud sounds can damage your hearing. Perhaps those 30mm speakers are a blessing in disguise.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: Voice prompts and side buttons
  • Battery Life: 9 hours
  • Sound System: 30 mm speaker drivers
  • Warranty: 30-day refund and return

Pros

  • Works with most helmet communication systems on the market.
  • Step-by-step voice prompts for total hands-free control.
  • Durable design that won’t break down after a few months.

Cons

  • 30mm speakers are a drop-off from competing headphones.

BE Headwear Bluetooth Headset

The price of “BE Headwear Bluetooth Headset” varies, so check the latest price at

7. Outdoor Tech Chips Ultra Wireless Helmet Audio

ski helmet with bluetooth speakers

Are you the kind of person that uses their electronics to such a degree that they constantly die out on you? If you answered yes, then perhaps you should consider getting the Outdoor Ultra wireless chips.

They’ve got a battery life that is the true envy of its competitors. At full-volume blasting, you can expect twelve hours of usage. But if you play your music at a much healthier medium volume level, you can get sixteen hours of usage out of them.

High Quality, Strong Battery, Great Distance

These chips have the glove-friendly controls that quite frankly, all skiing headphones should have. But this isn’t exactly a revolutionary feature. Why then, are they on the list? Simply put, because they’re water-resistant.

bluetooth snowboard helmets

They’ve got IPX-5 water resistance. Perfect not just for handling your sweat but also for the continuous sprays of wet snow that fly up as we ski.

When you take into account that they remain operational even at a distance of 10 meters from your device, you realize that convenience is a way of life with these headphones.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wireless
  • Control System: Buttons
  • Battery Life: 16 hours at medium volume
  • Sound System: 40mm speakers
  • Warranty: One-year warranty

Pros

  • Great minimalist design and comes with a trendy case.
  • Operation range of up to 10 meters.
  • Twelve hours of heavy usage per charge.

Cons

  • Takes two hours to fully recharge.

Outdoor Tech Chips Ultra Wireless Helmet Audio

The price of “Outdoor Tech Chips Ultra Wireless Helmet Audio” varies, so check the latest price at

8. IASUS The XSound 2.1 Helmet Speakers

snowboarding helmets with bluetooth

These are the headphones for those that love to jam out as they ski. Your favorite music has never been played as loud as it will with these hi-definition audio headphones. Despite their insane power, they are ultra-thin speakers.

This amount of power isn’t possible over Bluetooth technology, which is why the XSound comes with an audio cable. But don’t let their wired design discourage you from giving them a go.

They have got the incredible crisp sound that you crave.

Designed for Octane Performance

Each speaker is an XSound 2.1 helmet speaker that has been put through rigorous tests to ensure its quality. They have been tested at over 98dB volume levels. Higher levels above this range would irreparably damage your ears.

In fact, 98db is already potentially dangerous to your hearing.

snowboard bluetooth helmet

Sound and volume make up the two stand-out features of these headphones but there is more to them. The XSound is compatible with most Bluetooth devices, phones, and music players.

My favorite feature of these is the 3mm velcro stickers that can be attached to each speaker. When you place them inside the lining of your helmet, the velcro prevents the speakers from shifting around.

Features

  • Wired or Wireless: Wired
  • Control System: Through your phone or device
  • Battery Life: Does not apply
  • Sound System: XSound 2.1 helmet speaker
  • Warranty: 30 days return and one year limited warranty

Pros

  • High-quality sound system in each speaker.
  • Compatible with most ski, snowboarding, and motorcycle helmets.
  • Fully tuned drivers for optimal audio quality.

Cons

  • Full warranty only lasts for the first thirty days after purchase.

IASUS The XSound 2.1 Helmet Speakers

The price of “IASUS The XSound 2.1 Helmet Speakers” varies, so check the latest price at

What To Consider When Choosing Ski Helmet Headphones

You’ve been presented with the best ski helmet headphones that money can buy. But which one is right for you? While it is true that their clear sound quality is superior to all others, you need to pick the ski helmet headphones that fit your needs.

Read through our buyer’s breakdown below so that you can learn about the key areas that separate the best ski helmet headphones from all the rest.

This section will show you what qualities matter and why they matter. For example, a rider with an aggressive skiing style may want durable headphones more than anything else.

It’s all a matter of preference.

Overall Design and Helmet Compatibility

It doesn’t matter how good your headphones are if they don’t fit your helmet. Keep in mind that issues with sizing and fit are the number one reason why these kinds of products are returned.

If you are constantly getting it wrong when it comes to choosing compatible gear, then get the Be Headwear headset. They are compatible with any audio-ready helmet on the market.

As for overall design, you can’t go wrong with the incredible Yideng headset. It’s got FM radio support!

But in all honesty, most of the ski headphones on this list have a wide range of helmets that they are compatible with. Only their specific features differentiate them from one another.

User-Friendly Design

How usable are your headphones? Do you need to constantly drag out your phone to handle the most basic things like phone calls and the volume of your music? What about the buttons fitted onto each speaker?

Are the buttons big or small? Do you need to slip off your gloves to even manage them? In my opinion, this category is by far the most important one. This is because having to wrestle with your own gear just so it can do its most basic job is never a good fit.

Fortunately, the Alta Wireless Drop-In Headphones have got massive buttons on the sides of each speaker as well as voice control.

Now you can keep your hands nice and toasty while skipping six songs in a row.

Are They Built To Last?

You don’t want to fork out your hard-earned cash for supposedly convenient headphones that conveniently break when you need them most.

Of course, wireless options circumvent the need for worrying about wire snapping, but there is more to durability than just wires.

Most headphones will actually shut down at colder temperatures. And non-water resistant headphones will surely not last when skiing or snowboarding.

In short, you’ll want wireless headsets that are water-resistant and won’t shut down in the cold. The OutDoor Master Wireless Chips have got all that and more.

Wired or Wireless Headphones

This is an easy question to answer. If you constantly misplace or lose track of smaller things, then get wired skiing headphones. The wire will prevent you from annoyingly losing one of the speakers.

But if you aren’t careful with your belongings, then get wireless speakers. No wire, nothing to break.

For any miserable souls like me who are both clumsy and lose items constantly, just say your prayers and pick either one.

What Control Features Do They Have?

How you control your headphones will determine your overall impression of them. Anything that has you constantly stopping to pull out your phone and adjust volume levels isn’t going to leave a good impression on you.

The same can be said for those headsets that are riddled with buttons that are too small to operate with gloves on.

Any pair of headphones with full or near total voice control will serve you nicely. Fortunately for us, the Outdoor Technology Chips 2.0 have got that precious one-touch support that we crave.

My Final Thoughts

There is more to headphones than how loud they can go. You’ve got to keep in mind their convenience. The control systems in place matter just as much, if not more, than anything else.

Think about how annoying it would be to have to stop mid-ride anytime you need to adjust the placement of your speakers. The same can be said for tweaking the volume of your music or podcast or whatever people listen to these days.

While I wouldn’t recommend wired headphones for skiing or snowboarding, the Dreamruns Direct Connect Audio Kit has got a truly unbeatable price.

Consider what matters most to you, and then decide.

Categories: SkiingGear

Adrian Salazar

My name is Adrian Salazar and I have been wrapped up in the world of water and other extreme sports since the first time I went kayaking. When I’m not working hard trying to deliver the best writing that I can, I am usually out on a lake or hiking up a mountain. My world is completely dominated by writing and the mix of adrenaline and peace of mind that can be achieved while engaging in new sports. I will use my knowledge, experience, and mistakes, to inform you about the best ways that you can become a part of the world of extreme sports. You can count on me to give you my informed and unbiased opinion about any sporting equipment you may need. I know from personal experience that extreme sports are something that you need to head into completely and accurately informed. Let my experience guide you.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

en_GBEnglish (UK)