Custom Ski Googles for Safer Skiing

Snow skiing is one of the popular winter sports in the world. Athletes who play this sport need protective gear to shield them from the cold and other environmental factors. A startup company is placing its focus on the custom ski goggles, which allow athletes to listen to music using their face bones.

The custom ski goggles are called IceBRKR, developed by Bone Tech. While these goggles look like standard ones, the developer made them with bone conduction technology. This technology enables the wearer to listen to music using their bone, which enables their ears to detect sound in the surrounding.

Custom Ski Goggles for Music-Loving Athletes

According to Ski Bradford, a small ski area in the Bradford section of Haverhill, Massachusetts, people who want to snow ski must wear protective gear for safety reasons. One of the most important items experienced skiers avoid to forget is the ski goggles. The goggles are specially designed to protect them from the elements of weather, such as light, wind, and snow itself. Because of the headgear and dangers, skiers do not use earphones and headphones to prevent injuries or untimely death.

Digital Trends, a technology news website, reported a unique model of goggles for snow skiing. Its design factor allows skiers to get protection from weather hazards and enjoy music at the same time. The company behind the goggles, Bone Tech, called their creation the IceBRKR. When worn, wearers will experience a different kind of way to listen to music: bone conduction. Through the same way, wearers can also perform other activities reliant on sounds.

'IceBRKR is the answer to staying as connected as you want to be on the slopes. You can take calls, listen to music or podcasts, all without removing your gloves or mask or blocking out the sound around you,' said Marco Collini, CEO of Bone Tech.

SoundGuys, an independent online publication about audio technology, explained that bone conduction technology is a safe choice for athletes. This is because the technology bypasses the eardrum and go straight to the facial bones like the cheekbones. But the sounds passing through the bones are perceived with degraded quality than sounds going to the eardrum, which is why not many audiophiles promote bone conduction headphones.

Still, the technology remains popular because of safety reasons. Athletes like cyclists and runners can do their training without being surprised by their surroundings. Thus, athletes are not at risk of being hit by moving objects. They can do their training program, enjoy their favorite music playlist, and hear other sounds in the surroundings simultaneously.

Features of IceBRKR

Details at Kickstarter, an American public-benefit corporation, revealed the potential benefits of the IceBRKR goggles. On top of the bone conduction technology, wearers can take advantage of the following features:

• Bluetooth 5.0 Intercom system that supports up to 18 people paired in a wireless network. This may also connect other wearers of the IceBRKR.
• Handsfree capability to answer or hang up voice calls of connected mobile devices.
• Native support for podcasts and different types of audio file formats.
• Voice-activated system to access various functions of the goggles and connected devices.
• Bidirectional microphone to capture sounds from the front and back more effectively.
• Interchangeable magnetic lenses.

When it comes to endurance and protection, the goggles have IP 56 water resistance certification and anti-fog system to allow the wearer to see consistently. As of the moment, there are already more than $59,000 pledges and 315 backers for the campaign.

Is Snow Skiing Safer Now?

Skiessentials, an online website for ski deals and equipment, unveiled that snow skiing was a high-risk recreation and sport back in several decades. But with the innovation in equipment and safety training, the risk dropped significantly in recent years.

Research showed that in 2011, there was an injury rate of 6 injuries for every 10 injuries in 1978 to 1981. This demonstrated a decrease in the number of injured people. Though, the connection between the hypothetical cases of injuries, from 1978 to 1981 correlated to bad equipment, and the lower rate of injuries due to better equipment in 2011 indicated something else.

The skiing injury rate was lower but fails to conclude that the activity had become safer. From 1978 to 1981, the rate was 3.3 ski injuries per 1,000 visits while in 2011, 2 ski injuries per 1,000 visits. In severe injuries, studies revealed that between 2013 and 2014, out of 56.5 million ski visits, 52 severe injuries were recorded, which could be translated as 0.00000092 percent of chance for someone to suffer from a severe injury.

For the rate of fatality from snow skiing, the frequency was estimated to be 2.88 deaths per million in the 15-year coverage, between 1985 and 2014. That fatality rate of snow skiing appeared lower than the 21.2 deaths per million in bicycling, 25.9 deaths per million in swimming, 31.9 per million in scuba diving, and 63.7 deaths per million in boating.

Overall, the chances of injuries are in the hands of the skiers themselves. An excellent set of protective gear, knowledge about the sport, and best practices when skiing are factors that can help prevent harm or untimely death.