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When I ownded 2 outfits I used an open face helmet around town and a flip front when out on the open road. I had a big screen on both Viragos so wind noise with the flip front was not a problem.
Now that I have gone over to a solo I use open face around town and a full face out on the open raod. I had to sop using a flip front as the wind noise was bad even with ear plugs in. I know the dangers of using an open face if I come off and my chin hits the road. But in summer and in commuting tarffic an open face is so much more comfortable. My open face has a cut down flip up clear visor as well. I use this only when it is raining. In the middle of summer my full face is a sweat box. Then again I do ride behind a BMW with a RT fairing. I can lower the screen and this does make a small difference allowing the wind to hit the helmet and direct air into my face with the visor open. So for me it depends on the ride and weather as to what helmet I wear. |
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If my face gets messed up despite wearing a full face helmet (I recollect a guy on TV who was hit in the face by a pheasant) then where does that leave me? Do I blame the helmet manufacturer or as in the first scenario do I just say well those are part and parcel of the risks of riding a motorcycle. I really don't like the modern disease of looking for someone to blame and trying to seek compensation. I am happy to live with the consequences of my actions and thus far have no regrets about my choices. So in summary I will continue to wear my open face whilst using my 'passive/fuzzy' judgement :mchappy: |
catch22
That's one of the facinating aspects of being human! Calculating cause and effect is time consuming, tiresome and just gets us down.
Blame is such an interesting concept especially when we try to avoid doing any of the assessing ourselves (because it makes us unhappy) but then expect everyone else to consider the risk and consequences of their actions to the nth degree (exageration for effect)! |
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Full face
I would swing towards the full face, just as it is so much safer. With the lid open alot of cool air will come in.
Once a bee even came in and stung me on the cheek, hurt like hell. I could'nt get the helmet off fast enough. The full face looks better. But different strokes for different folks. |
In a good deal of the world you see next to no one with helmets and many of these places are likely to be significantly more dangerous then developed countries. When I crossed Tibet, the only thing I could find was a local helmet. These are like the plastic ones they pass out to kids on helmet day at the baseball park!
There are times when I find a full face exasperating. This is mostly when touring in foreign countries. When I arrive in a Peruvian city and am search for hotels or when I am tooling along a deserted dirt road taking photos every half km or so. So on my last South Am trip I carried a good full face and a compact half helmet that I would put on when the full face was being a bother. Now I have a flip face that is admittedly more dangerous than A fixxed full face and the little half helmet. I try to wear my full face as much as possible when I ride in the states, but when I tour I am using the flip face and carry the half helmet for passengers or at times when I just don´t really want to bother with a helmet (ie.a Sunday morning test ride on my quiet little street). I think I get a greater degree of protection when touring with the flip face because I am less tempted to wear my half helmet. The half helmet is only really so if I do get killed the news article can say I was wearing a helmet. At some point most of us decide to take risks for the sake of convenience, but this can be dangerous indeed. There are times when I has nearly maimed or killed myself (not necessarily on motos), by trying to do something in more convenient way. |
For travelling I would 100% always take a flip-face helmet. As stated they are alot more practical for putting on/eating/drinking/photoing/talking/yelling at passing camels. And since I wear glasses, being able to put it on without removing them is a huge plus.
But they are also as safe (almost as safe??) as a full face when you scrape them down the road. Last trip I fell wearing one and gave the chin piece a bit of a scrathing, and I am still very glad it was the helmet and not my face that copped it. Ben |
+1 on all the "talk to locals, feel immersed, like a convertible car compared to a hard-top, easy on-and-off, especially if you wear glasses"
One thing that hasn't been mentioned: Active safety. Wearing an open-face with good peripheral vision in Istanbul, I felt more aware of my surroundings and hence was actively safer. I concede, any injuries would probably have been worse had I hit the tarmac. |
Nolan N41
Using a Nolan N41 for current trip ... very impressed with it.
Open face Peak Visor for evenings, rain, cold And the visor is very very scratch resistant. Mine is almost unmarked after 4 months on the road. http://www.ajbike.fi/images/webkuvat...110-N41-54.jpg |
Update
My Roof flip front dropped to bits. First the rubber bits that held the visor shut broke, then the hinge itself worked loose. Not a good buy IMHO.
My FM is also no more, dropped it off the seat and having decided the last time I did that was about eight years ago, I decided it must have been past it's sell by date. Pity, it was a really good lid. My Shuberth is still going strong and I'm now wearing about the cheapest open face scooter helmet I could lay my hands on for the city. Andy |
I have a Schuberth Concept, I removed the chin curtain as it was a pain in the backside, I can now flip it up and down with one hand whilst moving.:thumbup1:
Before I had to stop and use both hands to flip it either way.:thumbdown: It doesn't feel as claustrophobic either. Trophhymick |
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