boots are probably the most important part of your whole package, they will last longer than anything else if you get the right thing and take care of them. start with a foot bed #1 that is a must then look into a zipfit liner, they rule and will last much longer than your standard liner
for helmets there are a lot of options and Smith has been putting out a great helmet lately, with the holt being thier first then the variant brim is a favorite of mine and very skier, and two new helmets this year the hustle which is going to be huge is the freeskiing scene and they teamed up with Troy Lee Designs to make a full face which is great for big mtn and snowmobiling and biking too, I really like Smith for helmets,
Bern makes a style helmet with the baker that has always been a "hard hat" and this year it will have an option of "hard hat" or actuall certified helmet