Open Face Helmet .v. Full Face Helmet ?
 

I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the merits/disadvantages of wearing an OPEN faced helmet in the Summer when the weather is fine as an alternative to a FULL faced one. I like the idea of an open faced helmet when it's hot but will I be taking an unacceptable risk by wearing one in the UK? My riding is likely to be 70% road (in heavy traffic) 30% offroad (nothing to technical or muddy cos I don't like to get my bike dirty!).

An open faced helmet appeals to me because it is likely to be much cooler...

I don't want to spend much more than about £80.

well.......
 

OPEN FACE is my choice off road.

but watch out for the wasps!

Your better off with a Motocross type lid & Goggles!

Martyn

PS GET IT DIRTY! you know you want to!

Depends on what you mean by "open" helmet - moto-cross or pilot type helmet? The enduro is ok, but the second type I consider as potentially dangerous, no matter how good your riding skills are. Things do happen now & then, like broken jaw etc. when going for a loop.

I could not find a 'full ' helmet with a chin protection that i could wear with my glasses. I used an open faced one with peak until last year when i bought another open faced one with screen. The reason for the change was the aforementioned wasps ( and hornets) and the odd stone that would bounce off my bikes fairing. I do miss the peak. Oddly the new helmet is noisier an I hope this year to fit a slightly taller screen. But I feel safer from the threat of a small flying stone going through a lens on my glasses.

Caberg Justissimo Flip Up, as I like to filter with it up and for hot weather slow riding around town (inner visor protect my eyes), and as soon as I reach 40 flip it down from protection.

As you know I'm far far too pretty not to look after my face, hell I've only got the one.

As for off road, the Berg is ok with good visability but I also own an enduro lid and googles.

That's really for you to decide - everybody's idea of an acceptable risk is different.
Personally I'd never wear an open face helmet, either on the road or off-road - I like my face and teeth arranged the way they are.
For low speed road riding in hot weather I'll wear my MX lid with sunglasses. Off-road it's the MX lid with either sunglasses or goggles. For normal road riding out of town I use my road lid whatever the weather.

Next time you go to buy glasses .. chose ones that work with a helmut! The distance from the hindge to the lens should be small - minimusing the width. I take my hemut with me .. if the glasses don't fit .. I try the next shop.

I use a Schuberth J1 - open face Jet style with some chin protection and I can wear my specs too.

I'm afraid a open face helmet might give the words "jaw dropping" a new - and more literal - meaning. So I prefer my Schuberth full face for touring and my HJC cross helmet for offroading. But that's just me. Others prefer otherwise, I'm sure.

I have heard in a few places that some MX lids and even some flip down lids are no better than an off face lid in a crash as the chin bar is not that strong so just breaks on impact. cant remember where i heard this.

Personally i like a full face helmet even if it is hot, 1 for protection and 2 i ride a motorX type bike so no fairing, and can get very windy. Also the weather here in the UK changes very quickly. For off roading at the moment i dont have a MX lid but will hopefully get one soon with a set of googles.

Dont know what it is but i just feel more safe, properly because its enclosed more

Its what I use...
 

Vaufi, I totally agree on your points there. But the Enduro type lid & Goggles are no good if you are a spectacle wearer like Myself. I can't wear Contacts, tried n Failed at that. so what do I do?
So, I use a fully open lid. Jet style, OK, it offers no lower face protection, and I know that, it is a risk I am prepared to take. I have ridden perhaps most of my road miles and definitely all my off road miles in a lid of this type. I know the risks and wont moan if I lose half my face if /when I come off!
I DO own a full face lid, and I hate it... I feel claustrophobic in it. I only wear that if on a long journey on road now.

As for a Broken Jaw, Yes, Been there, done that! ( Pushbike)

Martyn

I use a schuberth J1 also this is great, its open face has a removable Bar type chin jaw protector a flip down dark visor as well a superb full face clear shield visor, the helmet is very comfortable and stable at all speeds, even the visor up position the helmet is fine at speeds upto 100mph without the visor flipping down and virtually no drag from the visor being up either. I have used this helmet since its release on the market about 2 1/2 years now and have never returned to wearing a full face since. The internal ventilation works really well as well giving a definate stream of air jetted onto the top of your head cooling the bonce when its hotter. I ride all weather snow rain sun whatever and find the helmet warm and comfortable in every situation ( save for a bit coolness around the chin (a windstopper tube saves that problem). downside is its pricy - currently about £250 from some retailers.

Full face.

For me, the likely damage to your face in the event of a crash is too horrendous to consider wearing an open face. I have worn a motorcross lid with goggles for when its raining or windy etc and this has been fine. I should point out that I have always had the Arai fullface too and do not find it claustrophobic, but the motorcross lid was used on our S America trip to good effect. It was very airy.

Like Martynbiker, I also wear glasses: always have done and I have never had problems with googles. However, my frames are not massive, but they are not tiny either...

I really do feel that, if a conventional full face is not to yor taste, a motorcross lid is your best bet for ventilation (but it will be noisy at speed). Flip-up lids? These look like to be a nice compromise, but in the UK they are only classed as a Type A EC approved lid with the chin section down. Once raised the helmet no longer conforms: something to consider from an insurance point of view...

Pushbikes are dangerous
 

You weren't going too fast on your pushbike, were you? Be honest :-)


I'm so used to my closed helmet - sometimes it's even protection from heat. In Africa temps once reached nearly 50°C. Closing all vents was more comfortable than incoming air, which felt like the blast of the furnace .

Hans

err Yes.
 

Yep, I was, I was 15 and on my Dads Bike too. :innocent: Bent the frame!:eek3:

Martyn

Flick Up lids seem to be the best for overlanding.

It worries me too you know......
 

It worries me too, and I would love to find a Motocross lid & Goggles that will fit correctly.

What Make of Helmet? & What Brand of Goggles? Please?

Martyn

I've got a pair of OTG (Over The Glasses) goggles and a Lazer motorcross helmet. The combination works very well for me.
Goggles also worked with previous helmet as well.
I think the goggles are Scott but we've just moved house and whilst I know what box they are in I haven't got to it yet.
I have found the receipt for them though and whilst it doesn't show the make it says they are model 87 and I'm pretty certain they are by Scott.
I'm afraid I'm a couple of days away from getting to the box they are in but I'll confirm when I get there.
Moving house eh, try and avoid it if you can.

I know this is probably going to sound daft to some but what exactly are the differences between a Moto X lid and a road orientated helmet?

I can see they are a slightly different shape but other than that I know not a lot?

The BIG question is are they as SAFE as a road lid?

Are they a better alternative in the Summer months when it hots up?

Basically, a peak to help keep the flying stones and mud at bay combined with goggles (easy(ish) to change them) in place of a visor.

The Arai Tour X (and one or two more like it) are a compromise with the road going helmet in that it uses a visor with the detachable peak.

Thnx!
 

Thank you.

and im allergic to house moves....... did 7 in 7 years..... I couldnt find stuff for YEARS after!

The long neck
 

Hi, there is a risk with driving with a flip-up helmet open. The slightly higher weight can damage your neck if you take a fall since the weight of the flip-up front is up and above your face, almost on top of your head.

Just keep in mind when driving like that...

(Using a Shoei Syncrotech II at work.)

I hope you don't have long hair like a girl.

?
 

What is that suppose to mean?

Open face or flip front - bad idea
 

As a rider who wears glasses and cannot wear contacts I know fully the hassles of wearing a full face helmet, especially in hot countries.

BUT I have also seen the carnage they cause/allow.. and I would never wear one. If you want to see the graphic results of why not to wear an open face or ride with a flip front up.. then have a look at these;
Earlier in the day:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...181small-1.jpg
Whilst waiting for the ambulance:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...271small-3.jpg
In the hospital;
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...321small-2.jpg

If you still don't think they are a bad idea.. then put one on and lay down on the road face down.. arms beside your sides and lift your head up and down.. then imagine that sensation as your sliding down the tarmac at 50mph or more.

Fact : You loose an inch of bare flesh for very second you are sliding on tarmac at 30mph. Once the flesh is gone you start to loose the bone.

The full story for the;
Day Trail Riding In Yorkshire - Page 3 - ADVrider

Don't mean to upset anyone on this, but I really feel strongly that front face helmet are a big risk. Why potentially spoil a trip of a life time, by wearing one when even a small fall could leave you injured and your trip ruined, or worse.
I advise customers when asked to go for moto-x style's like the tour-x or similar for hot climates. But full face always.

John

Stupid is as Stupid does, that's why I have two helmets and will be taking both with me.

I got glassed once (hit by flyingbottle) and it did the same to my lip but it was the lower half and it got torn right long where the lip joins the skin so it only looks like a 1cm cut but it was two inches stung like a bitch. Can't even say I got off with the nurse who sowed me back up as it was a he, still could have been much much worse.

You got an after pic? Are you still pretty? Did the misses beat you after?

John,

Nuff Said!!!!

I trust you have recovered from that awful accident?

All the very best to you.

Four Helmets
 

JohnW,
Hope you recovered from that crash.
I agree with you because I had an open face and got smacked on the cheek by a Locust, I crashed in a motocross race and my chin bar got ripped off, although I only ended up with a mouth full of sand and a broken wrist.
I have a Lazer flip front which I find heavy, noisy and won't stay up but handy at fuel stations and police checkpoints.
My latest is a Suomy full face which I think is the best helmet I have ever had and my glasses fit great but then I did pay 2,000 Saudi Riyals for it.
Cheers
Ian:thumbup1:

Flipper up or flipper down
 

Ian,
I used to have a Lazer flip up, complete with a pull down sun visor inside the normal visor - this all seemed like a great idea in the shop.
But, it was heavy, I rarely (if ever) used the sun visor and I didn't flip the front very often either - so it was sold.
Currently, like you, I am using only full face helmets.


Yes, I agree (I think this is what most people are saying) - don't ride with the flip front helmet in the "up" position, as John is doing in his first pic.
IIRRC (I read John's post on the other website some time ago) he went over the bars and split his lip on the windscreen - which may be a higher than average touring screen?
Anyway, I guess there would have been less injury, pain, nause etc if the flipper was closed during the impact.

Lazer Sun Visor
 

Dave,
I used to use the sun visor but because of the slide fitting dirt used to make a line down the centre which was a distraction.:thumbdown:
The helmet was noisey especilly when you turned your head to the side to look round.
My Suomy is a race helmet by Drudi Performance for Ducati.:D
I have kept my Lazer for any passenger who hasn't got a helmet.
Cheers
Ian:thumbup1:

not moi..
 

Sorry folks, a slight missconception it was not me.. the photos were of a fellow riding companion (Dazco) not my self, but thanks for the concern. He lost a couple of teeth and had to have several stiches but has recovered well I believe. I will be hoping to meet up with him at the UK ADV rally in Ruthin this april.

I have been firmly against recommending open faces before that, and still am. I know its a personal choice, but for me, incidents like Dazco's and others I have had to attend here in north wales, have driven it well and truly home.

So many moto-x style full faces that offer great protection out there, and are fairly cool. For me the tour-x is a great lid. But I see Shoei are doing a new one called the Hornet too, or there are a myriad of less costly lids and more moto-x dedicated.

Oh a note on sun visors... I love the one on tour-x especially in winter when the sun is low. Though in winter its not as warm as my other shoei lid.