“We are on a relentless mission to raise the bar in head protection for mountain athletes”

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Shilko, giddy as a kid on Christmas morning, watched as a semi-trailer carrying the first delivery of her company’s ski and snowboard helmets and goggles backed into the loading dock at Revi Gear’s north-Denver warehouse.

“Today’s the day the 53-foot truck-trailer showed up to the Revi warehouse here in Denver, Colorado,” Shilko said in a video post on the company’s social media channels Wednesday. “It feels absolutely insane.”

She was now set to fulfill the first 70 pre-orders to anxious customers from Alaska to Maine after a weeks-long wait that included tariff uncertainty, a typhoon and last-minute helmet modifications.

Shilko and Revi Gear Logistics Specialist Jesse VanKempen began unloading the 13 pallets of helmets and goggles, Shilko stopping to take photos and videos of the historic moment.

The life-long skier from the bunny hills of Minnesota will be the first to tell you her helmet company is on a mission to ensure your helmet will be better than those from industry titans like Giro and Smith.

“Our mission is to raise the bar in not only head protection, but also safety design expression,” Shilko said. “(We) really create a community here in Colorado around safety by creating a product and a ski helmet that gets people really excited.”

The company concept epiphany conceived by Silko happened while skiing with friends at Taos in February 2025.

“I realized I was wearing the same ski helmet that I bought in middle school,” she said. “We’re all wearing decade-old helmets that are very unclear if they’re still working right.”

Silko would try on every helmet she could, looking for the right fit, feel and technology to compliment her needs.

But she felt nobody had “nailed the whole thing.”

She would even chat up strangers on chairlifts, asking skiers and riders what they wanted from their helmet.

“I started taking notes from everyone, I was pretty insufferable on a chairlift,” Shilko said. “I went to the manufacturing site (in China) in July, and finished all of the prototyping design testing, took a look at everything. They started mass production end of July.”

However, Shilko built the business within 10 months from conception through research to product design and delivery, and now has products ready and in-stock.

REVI HELMET TECHNOLOGY

Shilko said what makes Revi Gear helmets different from others is that each helmet is built using an ESA Protection integrated impact-management system engineered to absorb and disperse energy across its structure.

ESA is also an engineered polymer system co-molded into the helmet’s core, according to Revi Gear.

“By integrating the protection on the inside of the mold, which actually helps it engage faster and be more lightweight, it also helps with the ventilation standpoint too,” Shilko said.

BUILD THEM AND SKIERS WILL WEAR

Revi Gear helmets’ design and functionality have also taken notice with winter sports athletes. Freeride World Tour snowboarder Warren Doyle was that person.

Shilko met Doyle in Fort Collins over summer and talked about Revi helmets as he was intrigued by her product.

“Doyle reached out (to me), because I think he had seen a TikTok I had made, but was just very excited to test it out,” Shilko said, recalling how empowering the conversation was to be.

“We had a very emotional conversation about traumatic brain injuries and how a lot of people on the Freeride Tour have experienced or knew someone who’s life has completely changed because of a head injury or a concussion,” she said.

Shilko said having partners like Doyle who believe in the helmet system will help Revi Gear grow heading into the future.

“I am in conversations with a lot of local small shops in Colorado to get a handful of Revi helmets in them, just for people to try them on,” Shilko said. “I’m looking for in a retail partner is someone who can actually speak to the design and the safety component of it.”

Shilko also said she’s received calls from an Olympic skier in Colorado who shared his story about traumatic head injuries and how it’s confusing why no one’s replacing their helmet.

REVI GEAR LINEUP OF HELMETS AND GOGGLES

Revi helmet – The Challenger ($250) – is offered in seven colors and can be outfitted with a backcountry/touring lining ($20).

Revi goggles – The Catalyst ($160-$180) – is offered in two colored bands (White or Black) with four different lenses (Rose/Gold Mirror, Orange/Red Mirror, Blue/Green Photochromatic and Clear/Transparent).

BREAKING THE HELMET-WEARING STIGMA

Shilko said she’s seen numerous social media threads of people showing off their helmet dings and cracks, like they are battle scars, however those dings and cracks are not helping the skier or rider from avoiding potential injury.

Shilko has begun to ask the question: “When have you taken a big enough hit that you need to replace your helmet?”

“There’s a big thing around if your helmet is not comfortable or if it fits you correctly,” Shilko said. “It’s not going to protect you in the way that it was designed to. That’s why we cared a lot about what the adjustable fit system looked like, the liner on the top, everything.”

FINDING REVI GEAR IN THE WILD

Shilko and Revi Gear will be at the Freeride Film Tour in Boulder on at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Gordon Gamm Theater and in Denver at the Oriental Theater on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Revi Gear will be on hand at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area’s Demo Days, Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7.

Revi Gear is online at revigear.com