Nowadays everyone seems to be listening to music while riding on the mountain. Some people are opposed to riding with music, sometimes comparing it to texting while driving. Should you listen to music on the mountain?
You should generally avoid riding with music playing really loud in both your earbuds unless you’re riding alone at an uncrowded resort. If you’re riding with friends or in crowded conditions, you can use a single earbud at low volume.
See also: Snowboarding alone: pros & cons (riders feedback)
Pros & cons of listening to music when riding
Besides the obvious pleasure, listening to music while riding can help you get in a groove and better focus on your technique and your snow lines.
Listening to music while riding sometimes helps learners overcome mental barriers, and many continue to do so after the learning stage. Not hearing the wind noise as much minimizes the feeling of speed, which for some riders can help them relax and make their snowboarding more precise.
If you snowboard mostly on your own, playing music can also make your riding experience more pleasant It helps you pass time before and on the lift and gives you positive vibes when riding.
Some some riders can’t imaging free riding in powder without music, it’s an integral part of their session.
That said, if you ride with friends most of the time, you may prefer not to have music in your ears so you can beer communicate with them.
Likewise, you may feel bad not hearing people talking to you on the mountain, and having to take off your glove to stop the music (although you don’t have to, see section further below). Not having music playing also makes it easier to have friendly quick chats with other riders.
Some snowboarders don’t like listening to music when riding as the main reason they go to the mountain is to get away from the noise and stimuli of their daily life. I for one like hearing the mountain and my snowboard carving on the snow.
I also feel safer being able to hear everything around me (see next section).
See also: Why do skiers keep running their skis over my Snowboard in lift lines?
Is it safe to listen to music when snowboarding?
The debate about whether listening to music makes snowboarding less safe is age old and never ending. It’s hard to argue with the fact that loud music reduces your awareness as it hinders you from hearing what’s going on around you.
Is sight enough?
While music listeners will argue that sight is enough to keep you safe, many collisions result from other riders crashing into you from behind or from the side, whereas your sight is aimed in front of you most of the time.
Many riders who listen to music say they’ve gone into the habit of looking over their shoulder a few times before switching edges, and constantly scout their surroundings to avoid collisions. For them, hearing ability isn’t necessary required.
Be fast and predictable
Playing music may be less of a concern if you’re riding fast with consistent full turns, which decreases the risk of getting crashed into from behind. Making fast predictable turns and frequently looking back when changing direction helps reduce the risk.
Playing music at safe volumes
Another way you can mitigate risk is to play the music at lower volume in order to still be able to hear everything around you and people talking to you. The type of music device you use also makes a big difference (see next section).
Situation awareness is crucial for safety on the mountain especially in crowded conditions. Seasoned riders often turn off their music on really crowded days, and find it helps them avoid accidents.
Likewise, if you’re riding around beginner snowboarders (gaper groomer days), it’s generally a good idea to turn off the music or only plug in your downhill ear at low volume, leaving your other ear open to hear behind you.
Even if you have your music off or really low, other riders may not do the same and are often unable hear you when you yell at them to let them know which side you’re passing on.
Music and type of riding
Many backcountry snowboarders turn off music as they need to be able to hear everything. Where there are risks of avalanches, experienced riders will turn off their music and even their phone so these won’t interfere with their beacon in the event of a slide.
Likewise, if you ride powder off-piste with friends, in long tree runs or gated terrain areas, you should probably turn off your music so as to hear the others when separated.
Park riders have mixed opinions about whether or not to play music. Some advise against because music can distract you from focusing on your trick e.g. on a rail, potentially leading to messing up the trick and getting injured. Park runs are also often too short to listen to music.
Some riders admit their riding is too extreme to allow for music to block away their hearing and get in the way of their awareness.
See also: Getting over fear of terrain park
Safest ways to listen to music when snowboarding
Snowboarders use a wide range of devices for listening to music while riding on the slopes. In this section I look at the different alternatives and their pros and cons.
Wired headphones
Some riders prefer normal wired iPhone headphones over helmets and other options. You can run the wire through your jacket (e.g. using its media hole) or put it in the front pocket. You can simply let the headphones hang when you take them out of your ears.
Apple wired headphones also generally work well with most helmets – never had any issue wearing those inside my Smith helmet.
Classic phone headphones typically have controls on the wire so you easily switch the music on or off or double press for the next track, and (depending on the headphone) adjust the volume.
These headphones are cheap so you don’t need to worry about them getting wet or damaged.
The main advantage of wired headphones is that, unlike bluetooth, you don’t drain phone battery when using them. The minor inconvenience of having a wire is no big deal, at least for me. No need to worry about recharging your batteries all the time (batteries drain faster in the cold).
Bluetooth earphones
A set of wireless earbuds obviously gives you more freedom of movement when riding, without a wired getting in the way e.g. when you turn around or dig into a pocket.
However, besides battery drain, the drawbacks of many bluetooth earbuds include the “in-ear” design, the lack of wired control, and the need to take them out for switching them off.
Also, your helmet sometimes slams the earbuds too deep into your ears. That said, some earbuds like Apple Airpods, Jaybird Freedom, or older Plantronics Backbeat Fit tend to fit well under a helmet.
With regards to controls, Airpods allow you to tap twice to skip to the next song, and tapping hard enough through your helmet often brings the same result (though not with the Pro version). Some Plantronics also have physical buttons that you can press through your helmet’s ear pad to control the music.
Other earphones like Samsung Galaxy Buds allow you to use the Google voice assistant to control your music, which saves you from reaching into your pocket for your phone while snowboarding.
Wireless earphones tend to filter out all the surrounding nose, which can make it unsafe when snowboarding. Some newer models, however, provide a “surround sense” through input from the microphone.
Some riders also use earbuds with passthrough in order to hear other riders around them.
Helmet with built-in headphones
Many riders prefer helmets with small speakers in the ear pads for listening to music while snowboarding. While earbuds are great, they sometimes wiggle loose due to your helmet, beanie, or neck warmer pushing on it.
Most importantly, having speakers (aka open ear headphones) in your helmet inserts instead of earbuds inside your ears insulates you a lot less from external sounds. You can still hear people around you, which is a huge plus both for riding safety and communication.
Outdoor Technology Chips are very popular helmet speaker drivers. They are compatible with most helmets – those that are MIPS compatible (e.g. Smith Vantage, Giro Trig, or Anon Raider). The Chips allow enough noise in for you to hear what’s going on around you.
After placing them in the helmet ear pads, you can easily control the music (play, stop, volume etc) without removing your gloves thanks to the big buttons on the speaker. They also have great battery life.
Some riders also rave about the Sena SnowTalk which in addition to listening to music via Bluetooth, also let you communicate via walkie talkie with up to 4 other riders (through a mic wire connected to the ear set). This is a great function that let’s you let your friends know where you are, if you’ve crashed etc.
The SnowTalk fits well with most helmets. The Wildhorn Alta is another popular choice for helmet spearkers.
A cheaper alternative to helmet speakers is to run cheap wired earphones in your helmet’s ear flaps. Since the earphones are positioned outside of your ears, you need to play the music loud enough to hear it, but this ensures that you can hear your surroundings.
Phone or bluetooth speaker
Another option for listen to music while riding is to play it loud on your phone, or on a small bluetooth speaker. You might have something like the waterproof JBL Clip stashed in your pocket for background music when riding down or waiting on the lift.
Using a speaker for playing music is generally a safe choice as it will let you hear others approaching, so you stay aware of your surroundings: Also, others can hear you when you get closer to them. It’s also easy to stop the music or change the volume.
Some riders, however, feel that helmets with built-in audio systems are a more respectful choice, being quieter and not breaking the mountain vibe for other riders.
Another alternative is to have a speaker in the collar of your jacket, which is more comfortable than earbuds as it won’t get pushed into your ears. It doesn’t obstruct your ears either. However, the issue of noise pollution for others still applies.
Beanie with earphones & other options
Audio speaker beanies (beanies with built-in speakers) are another possible way of listening to music while riding. With these you can easily move the speakers from your ears when you need to hear or talk with someone without turning off the music.
Conclusion
If you snowboard mostly on your own and on quiet slopes, listening to music can be fun and help with your technique and relaxation. If you ride with friends most of the time, it’s generally best to listen to music at safe volumes so you can communicate with them easily.
It’s always better to be able to hear other riders on the slopes to avoid accidents. Consider turning off your music in crowded conditions or when riding with beginners as they may not hear you yelling out warnings. You also want to make sure you can hear your buddies if they need to talk to you.