Gear
Integrated protection
Reviewed: Anon Merak WaveCel Helmet, M4S goggles + MFI Neck Warmer
The Merak Wavecel helmet, m4s goggles and MFI (that stands for Magnetic Face Integration) neck warmer from Anon all fit together seamlessly. They work, and if that’s all you're looking for, then thanks for reading! But there are a few important details about this integrated kit that sets it apart from the rest.
I actually suffered a traumatic brain injury back in 2010, so I need to take extra care of my head—making me the perfect guy to test a helmet! I ski every day of the winter and always wear a helmet. One thing people often notice is that I hardly ever wear a mask to keep my face warm. The reason I don’t do this is that after a while, you need to breathe or make adjustments, and I can never get it back to how it was when I left the house. For people like me who struggle to get their face mask situation in order, Anon introduced a few tiny magnets to simplify the whole operation.
If you´re tired of fussing around with the fit of your face mask and goggles, you may enjoy Anon´s magnetic solution.
The goggle/facemask combo pairs seamlessly with Anon´s WaveCel helmet line, including the Merak WaveCel.
The Merak Wavecel Helmet, M4S goggles and MFI neck warmer all integrate together, and the fit is seamless. Straight out of the box, the helmet feels a bit bulky, which may put some people off, but I found it reassuringly solid. On the inside of the helmet you can see the bright green WaveCel material that Anon currently has exclusive rights to use in snowsports. There’s a wheel at the back to fine-tune the fit. The helmet also comes with a drawstring bag for transport, which is a nice touch. I often think that just strapping your helmet to your backpack introduces a lot of unnecessary wear and tear, so having a helmet bag definitely helps to cut down on that.
Everything that´s in the boxes. Helmet, goggles, facemask, lenses, lens case and bags.
The proprietary WaveCel tech is definitely a highlight of this kit, but the M4S goggles are up to snuff, too. The goggles come with two lenses, one sunny and one cloudy lens, with a durable hard case for the extra lenses. Top marks all around to Anon for the extras! The lenses use Anon's Perceive technology. The Perceive collection features three sunny, three variable and three cloudy lenses, which are all available to buy separately on the Anon website. The lenses are ridiculously easy to change with an easy magnetic switch. Even someone as ham-fisted as me didn’t even have to pause for a second. So, far so good. I got ready to go skiing with my new setup, feeling a bit like some kind of stormtrooper, ready to test it out on my local mountain of Le Tour in Chamonix.
Anon´s Wavecel technology is clearly visible inside the helmet. You know that your head is being looked after.
As I mentioned, I don’t normally wear a facemask. My first day out with the Anon kit was bright and sunny, I was almost disappointed that it wasn’t colder so I could really get the full benefit of the facemask. At this point, I turned around to see the other people on the chairlift shivering, even with whatever protection they were using. Another win for Anon!
The facemask is made from a light, synthetic material and feels comfortable to wear. It contains a 14cm-long piece of metal across the bridge of the nose, to attach to the magnets in the goggles. While useful in conjunction with the goggles, I would imagine that it may become irritating if worn as just a facemask, without the goggles. But it sits nicely with the goggles and features breathing slits, so in all honesty, you barely notice you're wearing it.
Everything feels solid, well-made and durable enough to last a couple of seasons at least. the beauty of it is that while it works perfectly in cold weather if it warms up you can just leave the facemask at home. You can see what the conditions are like in the morning and just take the perfect combination and with Anon's handy cases, and ergonomic products, everything is easily adapted on the fly.
While skiing, the Merak WaveCel helmet didn’t feel any different from any other helmet I’ve worn (as a brain-injured ski journalist, I get given a lot of helmets!). My only gripe was that there did appear to be a faint whistling sound produced by the wind through the helmet, which sounded almost like someone hooting and hollering from a chairlift. I rarely do anything particularly rad these days, so I didn’t think it was an adoring fan! The whistle persisted, and while it wasn’t a major distraction, I definitely noticed it. This might have just been a fault in my helmet or how it sat on my head, but I thought it was worth noting.
Say goodbye to gaper gap: Anon´s helmets, goggles and masks are all designed to fit seamlessly and snugly.
For me, the main advantage of this setup is the way it eliminates my main issue with facemasks in general. You can move the mask to eat, drink, sneeze, smoke or for whatever reason, and you just have to raise it up to near the magnets and they refit it perfectly with a satisfying snap.
There are many helmets on the market with many different safety systems and gimmicks. Hopefully, you never have to put Anon’s WaveCel technology the test, but it’s well-researched and does inspire confidence. The other elements of this kit, like the magnet-integrated mask and goggles, are elements that work together and save you time so you can just focus on shredding the gnar.