Full face or other?

[MelodicMetalGod]

I've got to admit, I haven't tried all brands & styles, of helments & riding gear, couldn't afford that. I've tried probably 10 different full face helments, BMW being the most comfortable, but it seemed very confineing. Tried my buddy's vented BMW leather jacket, & felt I was melting on an 85 degree day. Tried on another buddy's leather crotch rocket suit, & sweat was running out of my shoes before we took off, after appx 50 mi. things got no better. I've really never tried the leather boots that come nearly to my knees, but I think I can imagine what they would be like. For those of you who say the full face is cooler than the open face, please think of what you are saying, Is your coat warmer when zipped up to your chin, or completely unzipped & open in the front??? Vents or no vents, I've got to say I can't see how the full faced helment will ever be cooler, But is sure safer.

Obviously, ANY gear will hold body heat near the body. However, on a hot, sunny day, that same gear provides insulation from the GREATER heat of the sun and engine while also protecting you from the effects of heat exhaustion. The key is to understand how the body works, the climate your riding in and determining the best gear from there.

I will concede that a helmet can be hot in the warmer months, especially if your bike provides a well aimed flow of engine heat that the helmet collect when stopped. Still, given the choice, a bit of sweating beats any amount of bleeding or losing head parts or losing memory, etc., hands down.

[bwringer]

For those of you who say the full face is cooler than the open face, please think of what you are saying, Is your coat warmer when zipped up to your chin, or completely unzipped & open in the front??? Vents or no vents, I've got to say I can't see how the full faced helment will ever be cooler, But is sure safer.

Put on one of your "teeth in the wind" helmets.

Point a hair dryer on "high" at your face. For a couple of hours. Better yet, crank up a garage heater or something and stick your face right up in there -- get a good faceful of hot, high-velocity air.



Now put on a full-face helmet and try the same experiment.



See?

[tkent02]

Full face, ever since they were invented.
I get hit with way too much flying debris to use anything less.
Garbage can lids, dog parts, rocks. Occasionally asphalt. Once a car.
Open helmets are too uncomfortable for any serious riding too.
Can't stand the sun on my face.

[SgtRauksauff]

Back when I first started riding in 1988 (when I was 15-16) I got a cheap 30 dollar full-face from Farm and Fleet (regional farm supply store). Never crashed. dumped it once in a gravel driveway, but that was an issue with letting the clutch out too fast, lol!

A few years later, same helmet, a teensy tiny sparrow flew out in front of me when I was doing around 60 on a back road. hit the front tire, then bounced up and hit me in the face shield. Cracked the shield, and nearly threw me off of the bike. It literally jerked my head backwards. Scared the living crap out of me, too.

Nowadays, I haven't been riding on the bike in quite some time, but I've got a Bell Snell SA approved helmet, because some of the sanctioning bodies that host the track events I go to require it. Still a full-face. From experience (permanent Ti plates in my chin and jaw hinge-joint), steering wheels are NOT what you want to introduce your face too. This was in a passenger car, with an airbag, on snow/ice, not on a track with a helmet on, btw.

I can see an open helmet if you're on four wheels and behind a rollcage. If you're on two, and there's nothing between your face and the ground but some grains of sand, I think the full-face would be the way to go.

If you use a helmet at all, make sure it's worth using.

--sarge

[Ola]

Just another anecdote to the thread. I've gone down once, on my Honda CB 100 which tankslapped me into a ditch at about 40 mph. Landed face first on the asphalt before rolling on the grass, the full face helmet was cracked and scratched but I only had a slightly stiff neck. I would never ever consider anything other than a full face and I probably wouldn't take a pillion without one either.

I have a Caberg Rhyno flip up now. I love it, and I do ride with the face shield open at low speeds in the city etc but outside of stop and go or the narrow streets of Bergen it comes down. That thread on advrider has me concerned, I would probably get along just fine without the flip up.

[rphillips]

Ola, you must be in a cold climate, & flip your helment open around the city, to warm your face up a little bit. Back to the original question, You were concerned with the safety of the 1/2 helment, the open face would be a little safer, the flip up a little safer than that, & the full face is absolutely the safest. I think everyone agrees to that. But only you can determine what you feel comfortable with, & I presume the rest of us have done the same. We all use what we feel comfortable with

[Fenixgoon]

I bought myself a full face helmet. I don't want bugs, gravel, and rocks flying at my face, and I definitely want the most protection for my head. And I think they look cool

To me, anything other than full-face is simply making you more vulnerable to injury in the event of an accident. No one even plans to go down, but I'd rather have as much protection as possible if I do.

[Ola]

Ola, you must be in a cold climate, & flip your helment open around the city, to warm your face up a little bit.

Yes I am, although Norway is perfectly toasty for my taste in summer. I can attest that there is very little cooling effect of having the face shield open in summer. If I feel hotheaded it's better to have the visor cracked a bit and let the thin but fast airflow hit me right on the nose.

That also allows me to cover most of the wetted area facing front shielded from attacking bees.

[kparkfan]

i also like the full face helmet. my face might not be that pretty but i want to protect it as much as possible.