Sweet Protection: Norwegian Helmets Built for Racing
Sweet Protection: head protection engineering used by World Cup racers. What the brand makes and why it matters for serious skiers.
Sweet Protection is a Norwegian brand specialising in helmets, goggles, and protective gear for skiing, whitewater kayaking, cycling, and other high-consequence mountain sports. Among the labels in the shortlist it is one of the narrower in product focus and one of the strongest on the core product, head protection. The racing connection is real: Sweet Protection dresses a number of current and former World Cup alpine athletes, and the company’s helmets are among those raced at the top level of the sport.
Origins
Sweet Protection was founded in 2000 in Trysil, a mountain village in eastern Norway, by Ståle N. Møller and a small group of local friends (including the snowboard legend Terje Håkonsen). The origin story starts earlier: Møller had been building skateboards and kayaks from his parents’ garage in Trysil through the 1980s and 90s, and in 1997 developed a Kevlar helmet for his friend and top freestyle kayaker Erik Martinsen to use at the freestyle kayaking world championships. That helmet was the direct forerunner of the brand that formed three years later.
The brand’s breakout moment came in 2003, when it made its first appearance at ISPO (the major winter-sports industry trade show in Munich) and immediately won the ISPO Brand New Award for best newcomer. All helmet production remained in Trysil until 2005. The Trooper ski helmet, launched in 2005, became the product the brand is most associated with.
Current ownership
Sweet Protection was acquired by Active Brands AS on 11 April 2014. Active Brands is a Norwegian holding company that also owns Kari Traa, Bula, Åsnes, Dæhlie, and Johaug. In March 2017 the private-equity firm FSN Capital IV acquired a majority stake in Active Brands from Holta Invest, which retained a 20% stake.
What the range covers
Sweet Protection’s ski range is built around helmets and goggles. The flagship ski helmets include the Trooper (the long-running freeride and slalom-style helmet, now produced as the Trooper 2Vi MIPS) and the Volata (their speed-event race helmet with a carbon-shelled, FIS-compliant design).
The helmet platform has evolved across generations but the engineering priorities have stayed consistent: multi-density expanded polystyrene liners for energy absorption, composite or carbon-reinforced outer shells on race-level models, MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) on most current models for rotational-force mitigation, and ear-pad construction that varies by discipline (soft ear for slalom, hard ear for speed events, to meet FIS homologation for each).
The range has expanded over time to include goggles (with integrated helmet-compatible strap design), ski outerwear (jackets, trousers, and base layers), plus cycling helmets and whitewater kayak helmets. For serious skiers, the helmet and goggle lines are the reason to pay attention.
World Cup connection
Sweet Protection has an athlete programme that includes current and former World Cup racers on the Norwegian, US, and other national teams. Tommy Ford (three-time Olympian, US Ski Team veteran) has a current athlete partnership, and Ragnhild Mowinckel (two-time Olympic medallist) is among the brand’s higher-profile alpine racers. This means the helmet development is genuinely tested against the demands of top-level racing rather than inferred from laboratory drops alone.
Who it is for
Sweet Protection is aimed at skiers for whom head protection is a conscious purchase rather than a bundled afterthought, and who are prepared to pay for engineering that has credible competitive pedigree. For British club racers buying a race helmet, it is one of the strongest options on the market at multiple price points, and the range covers both slalom and speed-event standards properly.
Where it is less suited: skiers looking for the lowest-price recreational helmet, or a one-brand-covers-everything outerwear purchase. The outerwear is competent but the helmet-and-goggle range is the core of the brand.
BARSC has no commercial relationship with Sweet Protection or Active Brands AS. This feature reflects an independent assessment of the brand and its products.