I spend most of my winter weekends in Colorado snowboarding at resorts around the state. The best part for me is the social aspect—there is no tea hotter than that spilled on the chairlift. But if you’ve ever been skiing or snowboarding, you know that sometimes communication is limited, like when they’re zooming ahead of me. (It’s cool, it’s only my second season!) If I’m practicing on my own, it’s also nice to have some entertainment.
I’ve used Bluetooth earbuds to listen to podcasts and music when I ride, and I’ve tested some helmet audio systems, but the sound is typically meh. I’ve never really gotten into regularly listening to anything on the slopes. Recently, I had the chance to try the POC Obex Connect headset, a helmet audio and communication system the brand recently launched with Harman Kardon. The audio quality of this thing blew my mind and officially turned me into someone who always needs a few soundtracked runs every time they snowboard.
Go With the Flow
The Obex Connect headset can be paired with any of the helmets in POC’s Obex line, or you can get it included with the Obex Connect backcountry helmet. I tried it with the Obex MIPS, and it was easy and intuitive to install. I pulled the regular ear pads out of the helmet and snapped the Obex Connect ones in, then tucked the connecting cable behind the adjustment dial in the back of the helmet. The audio ear pads felt just as soft, well-cushioned, and warm as the ones that came with the helmet.
Photograph: Kristin Canning
They also include just as much space for your ears—I never felt like the pads were pressing against my head. Instead, they cradled my ears. If you have earrings that you don’t take out, you know how important this is!
The Obex MIPS helmet itself is a solid piece of gear. It has a comfortable, lightweight feel, with an interior size adjustment dial, adjustable overhead vents, a goggle clip, an adjustable plastic clip chin strap, and front ventilation over the goggles to help prevent fogging. As indicated in the name, the helmet features a multidirectional impact protection system (MIPS), the gold standard in helmet construction that allows your head to move relative to the helmet during impact and limit rotational force.
Once I had the system installed in my helmet, I downloaded the POC Connect app (iOS, Android), and tried to pair my phone with the headset via Bluetooth. I couldn’t do this directly from the app—I had to go into my iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and select the headset, but it was visible there and paired right away. The process was quick and easy, even on a windy mountain road on the way to a ski resort. After that, I could control my music, calls, and voice assistant from the helmet itself.
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Screenshots courtesy of Kristin Canning
