Giro Essence MIPS Ski Helmet for Women & Youth - Lightweight Snowboard Helmet with Vivid Goggle Shield | Cold Weather Protection for Skiing & Snowboarding Adventures

I was very unsure about the whole idea of the goggles and helmet in one unit. I would love to have been able to talk to someone who had already tried it out. It really seemed like a good idea though, so I decided to take a chance and give it a try. I wanted a Giro helmet for sure, as my old helmet was a Giro which fit well and was comfortable. But it was time to get a new helmet, so I began my research and came across the Essence.What I discovered is, as expected it fits my head great, especially with the easily adjustable dial. It is comfortable; in fact the ear flaps are more comfortable than my previous helmet. I have a smaller sized face and a prominent nose. I never could get goggles to fit without putting a lot of pressure on my nose. The visor pads on the Essence rest comfortably on my checks without any pressure on my nose.Visibility is definitely better. The peripheral vision I expected to be good and it is! I’m also finding that with the visor curved on both the horizontal and vertical axis, my overall vision is much improved. As a skier of a “certain” age, in recent years I’ve have struggled more with flat light and eye floaters. With the Essence I have had little, to no trouble, even when my ski buddies are mentioning the light is flat. I can see the details in the terrain sharper and I’m not getting surprised by unseen bumps or dips.I don’t “need” my glasses for distance but I have progressive lenses and thought I would try skiing with them for the first time. It is very comfortable with the glasses on and in some light conditions my glasses help. I’m enjoying having the option to wear my glasses or not. I do need to remember to breathe through my nose, as my glasses fog up briefly, if I start to mouth breathe. The fog clears very quickly though, so it’s not a problem.I worried about the visor only being available in two options, day or night. I don’t ski often at night so didn’t purchase the optional night visor. The all-purpose visor that comes with the helmet has worked well for me. I’ve used it in sunshine, overcast, snow and mixed rain & snow. When snow or rain lands on the visor, because it is a little farther away from my eyes, it allows you to look around the water drops instead of trying to look through them. You would think such a subtle difference wouldn’t matter but for me it definitely is a noticeable improvement.Another concern was how to protect the visor from damage. It comes with a lovely soft helmet bag that protects both the helmet and the visor from scratches. In the lodge I simply put the visor in the up locked position and set it down so only the helmet makes surface contact.I will say that after I used the helmet the first time I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I felt more air coming up under the visor than I was used to. With goggles air flows in the top, so this was just different. The overall experience is a bit different and change is often a challenge for most of us. However, by the second and third day I had fallen in love with the Essence and would definitely recommend it to others!