So you’ve got some skiing or snowboarding coming up. Lucky you. Days spent on the shiny slopes, high above the rest of the world, far away from all those everyday stressors you normally need to think about, are truly magnificent – nothing beats a day breathing in the fresh mountain air. Nothing beats, nights relaxing at the ski chalet with a warm drink and a cozy fire.

You might find yourself searching for a solid pair of headphones for your trip. If you’ve never gone skiing while listening to music, you’re missing out. Whether your preferred soundtrack is wild heavy metal, or calming meditation music composed with singing bowls, or the latest pop hits, having it inside your head as you fly down the slopes can make you feel like a million bucks. All those health benefits are not going to hurt either. When it comes to picking headphones for a ski trip there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

Style Of The Headphones (Built Into A Helmet, Traditional Earbuds, Or Wireless)

First, you’re going to want to decide if you want a beanie or a helmet with headphones inside or if you want to go with the more traditional earbuds. Maybe you want to finally go wireless. This comes down to personal preference.

Helmet-based headphones:

  • Outdoor Tech Chips 2.0

Traditional wired headphones:

  • Avantree E171 Sports Earbuds

Wireless headphones:

  • Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro

Whatever style you choose, just make sure there’s a way for you to easily access the controls. Ideally, you’ll want to keep your music player or phone deep within your layers while you’re out in the cold. In case you didn’t know, keeping devices warm extends their battery life.

Headphones that are easy to control and operate: 

  • Apple Airpods
  • Samsung Active InEar Headphones

Quality Of The Headphones

The second thing you’re going to want to consider is quality. Keep in mind, this point is a two-way street. Maybe you wipe out all the time, (you know who you are), and being aware of this, you feel it’s pretty possible you could damage your headphones. Maybe you want to take a few pairs of something really cheap that you don’t care if you ruin. This is totally valid. Again, you know who you are. This being said, maybe you’re alright on a pair of skis. Maybe you want the best headphones for skiing so you can enjoy your music to the fullest. Maybe you especially want headphones that cancel out all the other sounds like that one group of friends who has lost a member of their group and are wandering around, shouting, or that kid who got too cold three hours ago and is crying, or you’re one friend that’s coming, who is really nice, but shrieks absurdly every time he does anything involving wind on his face.

High-quality headphones:

  • Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless
  • Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones

Don’t Forget About Comfort

The third thing you’re going to want to consider is comfort. Skiing and snowboarding are freeing and uplifting activities. You don’t want to have your day taken down a notch by pain in your ears.

You likely already know which types of earbuds bother your ears. Make sure to try on whichever pair you’re considering with your helmet or toque to make sure that this doesn’t affect the comfort level at all. If you don’t consider this when making your choice, you are most definitely going to regret it.

Comfortable headphones:

  • Jaybird X4

There you have it, a complete list of the top headphones available for skiing, plus three important criteria by which you can judge which pair is right for you and your ski trip. Now all you have to do is build the perfect playlist.