Shields are good in Rain and Cold. But I HATE them trying to ride down a dirt road ... especially one with ruts where reading the terrain is crucial.

But when it's below freezing or raining, tucking in behind a nice shield is good.
But do you want a big "barn door" style shield on that little bike? Some like it.
I saw this in Thailand. If the shield is optically perfect then you can see through it pretty good. If not ... it's like riding on LSD.
(l like LSD)

I also am not fond of a shield in HOT weather as it blocks cooling air.

On the DR650, guys buy the cheap National Cycle Shields and take them off and carry them off road, bolt them back on when needed. It's very quick and simple on some shields.

Looking down at your front wheel instead of look up and look ahead are we? LOL! Just teasing.

Ja, a tall screen does hinder vision on technical dirt. Then again, the reduction in wind and noise at high speed is a plus on long days and much less tiring. Just tall enough to deflect wind past top of helmet is fine for me. Amazing how not much height is required to achieve that.

Shark evoline series 3... if it fits your head.

The helmet is one of very few flip fronts that are legal and comfortable to ride open face. It has a built in sun visor. Also, fitting intercom is easy. The helmet is easy to operate. But it is expensive...

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before you blame the shield for buffeting ,try removing those mickey mouse earred mirrors,was the entire cause of buffeting on my Buell.

Flip up, you can communicate with people better when you stop for directions . Sun shield as per above or others ( schuberth etc) is gtreat for varying sunlight, tunnells etc). Some flip ups can be noisy so try a few.

nolan n44, customize as you like

I guess that Nolan would be OK if you don't mind carrying around all the extra bits and pieces? (screws, nuts and bolts)

I won't ride with open face helmet. Chin bar please!
I've seen unprintable scenes from accidents involving open face helmets, like the woman I met at a BIG Harley rally...half her face ...missing
She'd already had 9 operations ... more reconstruction to come.

I like a flip up option for travel. Some like an internal pull down tinted shield. These are good ... until they get so scratched up you can't see through them ... about a month of travel. Most not very scratch resistant, don't last long. Had them on both my former Nolan and current HJC Symax ll. Useless.

I prefer high quality sun glasses and a piece of elec. tape put across the top of face shield. Simple, works pretty well.

This seems like a good solution! With and internal sun visor, you'd need to keep the helmet ventilated. In the UK, where we're not always blessed with warmth I've used an internal visor when it's really sunny but quite chilly (so kept vents closed, etc) and the second I breathe the sun visor fogs up and I can't see a thing! Useless! For me, Arai's the way to go. By far the most comfortable, well fitting helmets I've ever owned, and allegedly the safest on the market. This does mean that they don't have some of the features of other helmets, but if it saves my head in crash, I won't care will I?!

With the greatest respect to your valued opinion, the "top shelf" helmet manufacturers waste huge sums of money on expensive (glossy) advertising and professionals are paid silly money to wear their brands of helmets. Expensive does NOT always equate to increased protection and thats a FACT borne out by SHARP tests in the UK where sub £100 helmets have blown away "top shelf" helmets costing 4 times as much. I remember that a £70 helmet was awarded the full 5 stars whereas Arai's most expensive helmet crept home with only 3 stars....

I realise it's not just about protection and that comfort, build quality and lovgevity come into play....

I use a MT Flux "system" helmet which cost me £90. I picked it after trying on 20 or so alternatives including some costing £400 plus. I can afford to buy top shelf helmets but merely prefer to buy a bargain.
Finally, I can assure you that Aldi/Lidyl often sell some pretty awesome biking bargains. I can also assure you that many mid-range (and above) helmets are made in (wait for it)..... CHINA! Many companies base themselves in Europe but farm out manufacturing to Chinese companies. I understand many of these helmets are also made in other developing economies. Reminds of of Triumph Bonnies which are now made in THAILAND (mines an original Hinkley made carbed 790). Mine has a metal tank badge not an inferior plastic one. I'm not saying that Thai made bikes are bad bikes (they are excellent), what I am saying is that often Chinese made goods are of excellent build quality and in the case of lesser known helmet manufacturers are often a great bargain.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Certainly some good points. Regards the Sharp results, I'd be curious what helmet standards they developed and what tests they do. I know previous British Standards testing is said to be very good, highly regarded world wide.

Results can often be skewed depending on what tests are used and how they are evaluated. I spent a day with the SNELL people in USA, interviewed the principles about testing, the Japanese, the Koreans ... and of course the Chinese. Won't go into that here ... suffice to say, you are correct, the Chinese are making much better product than 10 years ago. Problem is:
There is NO regulation
Govt. are totally corrupt, so hard to know what is going on!

Despite this, the products have got better.

I would not equate the Triumph/Thailand story with how the Chinese helmet market has evolved.

Very different, IMO.
I've visited Hinckley twice, had detailed discussion with execs about Thai operations. Amazing quality coming out of Thailand!

The big difference is: TRIUMPH RUN Thailand directly ... hands on with real Brit engineers/managers there IN PERSON .. setting things up, double checking quality control ... on and on. I'd say: Job Well Done! (Triumph owner here)

Do you think Italian AGV send anyone to China to monitor helmets made with their name spray painted on them?

Many Chinese made helmets all come from the same factory ... about 100 different brands ... all same helmets with some small detail differences, colors/graphics, vents moved around, features added and such. All same helmet!

In China ... it's open season on Get Rich Quick.

But I hear what you're saying about overpriced helmets and good value ones.
But honestly, you can't really feel safe with an open faced helmet? Can you?
Do you think your invincible?

Seriously, I wish you could have been with me when I meet a woman at a Harley event about 10 years back. (no, I'm not a Harley guy, I'm press)

If you could have seen her face ...you might change your mind about open face helmets. I hope you haven't eaten ... but just imagine ... half her face ... was GONE. She'd had about 6 operations, more to come. So sad. Drunk boyfriend dumped her off ... she landed face first. Not Good. You just had to see her. Gives new meaning to the term Chin Bar ...
she had NO CHIN.

Sure, I rode open faced for years in my youth. Rocks, bugs and
rain biggest downside. But a face first landing could bring bad result.

My flip up Shoei Multitec works well, all the advantages of open face, all the safety of full face.

This is something which is often overlooked by those of us who are in the habit of preaching to others (with limited funds) that they MUST buy "premium" "expensive" "top-shelf" helmets. The top five "premium" helmet makers spend millions every year on vastly expensive "glossy" advertising and pay the well known racers to wear their product. The costs here are passed onto customers with increased helmet prices. It follows that many lesser known helmet manufacturers are able to pass their savings on by offering their products much cheaper. Of course if you have the money to buy "top shelf" helmets then that's perfectly fine, what does annoy me is those out there who deride others not in a position to do this. The UK SHARP tests have proven that cost of helmet does NOT always equate to increased protection in a crash. Finally, the difference between a cheap helmet and an expensive one MIGHT result in being a vegetable instead of being killed. The point I'm making is that in very serious collisions, a helmet regardless of cost isn't going to save you.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

I think I remember Jamie Whitham (ex superbike racer. . Now eurosport commentator) saying he would wear a frying pan for a lid if the sponsor paid enough. . .



So far into my current rtw trip my shark evoline has been great. . . Full Face when I need it and great for riding through town or to aid communication. . . .

The all the kit all the time brigade may not be happy with am open face lid but it makes perfect sense at times. . .Just be sensible and accept your own risks. . .gosh I even ride in jeans sometimes

;-)

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Mark
http://chasingdreams2014.blogspot.co.uk/

Well, as said before the best helmet is the one your wearing, with a proper chin strap, when the inevitable happens.

but seeing as this is a bit of a pole, for me:

IMO full face is a must - I crashed pretty hard in a full face years ago and it made the difference between a medivac and riding out. Conversely, my sister had a similar (but much slower) high side in a quality 3/4 helmet, banged her jaw, and consequentially had to have about 12 root canals to repair broken root stems from the shock. It pretty much ended her riding career, and I'm convinced with a full face lid she would have forgotten about the whole thing hours later.

that being said, I hate having to take my helmet off every time I stop for a photo, or to talk with someone briefly so a 'flip front' style full face has been my compromise for years. Is it as safe as a non-flip front type? Definitely not, but way better then no chin bar at all.

After years of various HJC, which fit well and IMO are well made, I decided to treat myself to a Shoei Neotec and love it. I'm not as impressed with the flip down sun shade as I thought I'd be, but the venting, fit, and overall utility (nice positive locking chin bar) are excellent. Even though i do quite a bit of 'off road' type touring, I have never tried a dual sport helmet with a peak and goggles. I like riding with my visor up (unless it is raining) and sunglasses on to keep bugs out of my eyes. I try not to ride close enough to anyone that dust is a major issue, I'm not racing right? And if my eyes/ nose are getting clogged up, so is my airfilter!

Now on to the earplug debate - I wear earplugs unless i'm doing consistent slow speed (under 60km) riding. I prefer the rubber finned cone to the squishy expanding type.

One of my chief pleasures in life is listening to recorded books (and music occasionally) while riding, particularly on long Hwy sections. For this purpose I use a set of Comply NR-10i 'noise reduction' earphones. These are basically a medium quality speaker embedded in a squishy expanding ear plug. They block out similar amounts of wind/ bike noise as a pair of regular ear plugs, and allow me to set my phone/ Mp3 player at a moderate (not damaging) level. Pure nirvana!

I don't use them when in traffic or other places that require a higher level of awareness, but for riding on the open hwy they are great. My personal theory is that riding with ear plugs is safer because your not being overwhelmed by sound blast, and can focus more of your attention on the sense (sight) that will more likely save you.

YRMV

Neotec! Good choice. I own a Multitec and Neotec will be my next helmet.

I'm not fan of any flip down sun visor I've used. I also have a HJC Symax ll and the flip down tinted visor is worthless,
very poor optics/clarity, scratches easily.

Note that the Neotec (and Multitec too) have steel parts in their flip up chin bar. And if I know Shoei ... they've tested the chin bar seriously in crashes.
If they say it's strong ... I believe them. HJC? Hmmm .. not so sure.

I've hit the ground lightly a few times on my Multitec ... no problems with anything. Dirt will foul the flip up lock mechanism but washing clears it right up. Overall a great helmet in my 60K miles riding in it. The interior is now wearing out after 7 years use. I'd buy it again. Quieter and more comfortable the HJC SyMax ll. (very highly rated HJC helmet)

Any good tips on sourcing good audio books (ie cheap!) ??

Studies PROVE you ride better with ear plugs in. Better concentration and focus, lower heart rate, lower rate of breathing and over all more relaxed which will have you making better decisions and riding BETTER.
EAR PLUGS: Only Way To Ride!

No arguments about earplugs - I'm still on a quest to find the best balance between efficiency and convenience with them though. In the meantime I've just bought a box of disposables on eBay to be getting on with.

Maybe I've just not experienced enough of what the world of auditory inserts has to offer but trying to find something good enough to cut out high levels of road noise yet still allowing intercom err ... noise (from my wife ) to get through isn't something I've succeeded in so far.

Re cheap audiobooks - my local charity shops often have a reasonable number of tape based ones but you'll need an old Walkman to play them. TPB has a good selection of digital ones (so I'm told, anyway).