Helmet

[dhgeyer]

I have a full face and a 3/4. For longer rides, or at highway speeds, the full face helmet is much more comfortable. The wind in your face is great, but only for so long, and then it adds to fatigue. Also, I've been hit by sand off a truck, big bugs, and various airborne objects enough to appreciate the extra protection of that face shield.

When it's really hot, and I'm not going that far or that fast I wear the 3/4. I don't like it as much, but at some point it's safer not to fry your brain.

As for crash safety, it has been established by at least one study that a disproportionate amount of hits on helmets are on the front when accidents happen. This means that a full face helmet has a greater safety differential than you would think just by the relatively smaller area it protects.

I have seen the aftermath of a couple of accidents in which people were wearing half helmets, and I would never wear one of those. Upon impact they have too much potential for sliding around, leaving areas unprotected that should be. I remember in particular being first on the scene of a crash involving an older gentleman. He had a very bad gash over his eye where the helmet should have been. It must have slid back, and his head hit the handlebars, or whatever he hit. The Snell Memorial Foundation won't even test half helmets, or develop a standard for them.

I have found that the claustrophobic feeling of a full face helmet goes away after you wear one for a while. To me, it feels like a very comfortable extension of my head. I feel much better with it on, and enjoy the ride more. I've been wearing them for years.

You can wear glasses under a full face helmet. You put the helmet on first, lift the face shield, then put on the glasses. I've worn sunglasses that way for years. When touring, when a FF helmet is all I have, I have removed the face shield or simply ridden with it up when the weather got really hot. Still hotter than a 3/4, but not by a huge amount. Of course you need glasses or goggles if you do that, same as you would for a 3/4 helmet.

I'm not a full ATGATT guy, but close to it. Having survived one serious crash with only very minor injuries because of the gear I was wearing, I'm a believer. My wife is alive today because of the gear she was wearing. I'll shed gear only under the most extreme conditions of heat and humidity. Mesh gear actually can keep you cooler in hot, sunny weather, as it concentrates airflow and keeps the Sun off your skin.

Good safety gear requires a substantial investment of money, and also the time to research what you need and what's any good. If it saves your life, or keeps you from serious injury even once, it's well worth it.

How many riders have never gone down? How many never will?