Grivel Stealth Helmet, A 7-Ounce All-Arounder

The Grivel Stealth is a light, all-purpose helmet for ice, rock, and alpine. One thing I’ve liked is its lack of breakable plastic on the inner casing—those fragile little slivers. The majority of the Stealth’s inside is webbing, and there are only two bits of plastic, where webbing is held together; it would be hard to break those. Adjusting is easy via a single pull tab on the back. The shell is polycarbonate, which instills more confidence, at least for me, than a pure-foam helmet. Despite the feel of a hard shell, the Stealth is classified as a soft shell. The back of the bucket drops low, just under the occipital bun, and all climbers who sometimes forget to put their leg outside the rope can thank Grivel for that. At seven ounces, it weighs as much as an adult hamster, and as for the bright-yellow color option, hint: It’s best for getting rescued. You can also get the hardshell, which drops the price $20, or Recco reflective technology, which ups the price $10.