Wildhorn Alta Ski Helmet Speakers – Test and Review

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Updated April 9th, 2024

Manufacturer and Model: Wildhorn Alta
List Price: $109

Summary

The Wildhorn Alta wireless ski helmet headphones have decent sound quality at a price that makes them a good value. They are easy to install and operate with 3 buttons. The only downside to them is how thick they are. You will feel them in most ski helmets after installing them.

Wildhorn Alta Bluetooth Helmet Headphones Review

I like listening to music while skiing. They add another level of enjoyment to resort skiing. They can help filter out some of the background noise from having a lot of people around. The Wildhorn Alta helmet headphones have 3 buttons making them easier to control. They are easy to install with decent sound quality. Wildhorn offered a set to try out. I took them out to the mountain to give them a listen.

Let’s get into all the details of the WIldhorn Alta helmet speakers.

1 – Bluetooth Wireless

The WIldhorn Alta speakers use a Bluetooth 5.0 connection to your phone or other wireless device. The 2 speakers are connected with a flexible wire. Paring is done by holding down the large right button for a few seconds to get it into paring mode. They give a message that they are connecting and disconnecting when you turn them on and off. They connect automatically every time after the first time.

2 – Sound Quality

The Alta speakers have decent sound at mid to low volumes with decent bass sound. When I turn the sound up to high they sound a bit tinny especially when there is a high intensity sound. I found that I need about 50-75% volume on an iPhone to clearly hear the music while skiing. Some ski helmets have much better acoustics inside than others. The more wind leaks you have around the ear pads, the more wind noise you will get.

3 – Battery Duration

The published battery duration is 10 hours. I have found that I have enough battery for a full day of skiing which is usually closer to 6 to 7 hours on the slopes. I tend to pause music during most chair lift rides since that always seems to be social chit chat time on most ski days. For me, I can get 2 ski days out of these before recharging. If you listen to music non-stop including lift rides you’ll only get 1 day out of them.

4 – Controls

There is 1 large button on the outside of the right speaker. The left speaker is split into 2 buttons. There is a ridge between the 2 buttons so you can feel them with a glove on.

You use the right button for power on and off and also to answer calls. It will also bring up Siri or Alexa. It’s easy to short tap and long tap the right button with gloves on. Double tapping it to get Siri/Alexa is a bit challenging with a large glove.

The left buttons control volume up and down and track forward and backwards. You do a tap to advance or reverse track. You hold the buttons down for volume up and down. I can do both while wearing a thick glove.

5 – Speaker Size and comfort

The left speaker is a little over 3/4 inch thick with the ridge separating the 2 buttons. They are about 2 inches in diameter plus some extra where the cord exits. The thickness is the biggest problem for comfort while using these. You will notice the extra thickness in the ear pads in almost any helmet you try them with. A wider helmet with thicker ear pads is much more comfortable than a narrow helmet with thin earpads. This is the biggest downside to these speakers.

6 – Installation

The 2 speakers have a flexible wire connecting between them. It’s flat so it doesn’t take up space and is easily tucked under the liner in your helmet. Some ski helmet ear pads have removable foam blocks in the padding. You can take these to give you more space for helmet speakers. You will want to remove them if you can before putting these in because of how thick they are.

7 – Charging

These use a Micro USB cable for charging. They do not supply a 110 volt to USB-C 5 volt plug so you will have to use your own to plug them into a wall. It takes about 3 hours to recharge them from completely dead.

Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?

The Wildhorn Alta helmet speakers are a good wireless ski helmet speaker option. The are easy to control with ski glove on. The 3 buttons are more straight forward to use than the 2 buttons used on other speakers. They work best with wider ski helmets with more room in the ear pads. If you get headaches while wearing a ski helmet from pressure on your ears, these are not a good option for you.

See our guide to the best ski helmet speakers for other good options.

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