Open face helmets vs full face helmets - what's your preference?

[GrayWolf]

I recently dropped my cheap-arse first helmet so I'm looking to get a new one.

But with summer coming up I've been considering buying an open face (possibly in conjunction with a full face for longer/faster riders - bugs in your teeth etc). I just think it would feel much nicer on the commute into work with an open face during the summer months.

Any thoughts on safety/looks/practicality of open face vs full face?

have used al three types, so all I'll do is put down personal experience, thoughts.

Open face... the best for peripheral vision, and really for hearing engines behind you etc. Downside? Little facial protection, even with a fitted screen like some now have. The other downside? I found out too late, is the level of wind noise without earplugs.. I now have 'industrial level deafness' of the type found on people who worked around heavy plant/machinery. Other 'con' is no facial protection in rain, sleet, hail etc without a screen, or one of the new style 'matt black n well 'ard brigade' scary neoprene face masks!

full face.....overall the best protection you can get,, bearing in mind checking SHARP/SNELL ratings, you get what you pay for. Biggest issues in my experience is the cheaper brands tend to use one shell size to make all internal head fittings, so either very difficult to get on and off as the opening at the bottom is too small, or floppy as it's too large, can mean an excess of padding to puff out the inside, rather than a different Styrofoam inner shell. Often cheaper and 'basic' internal impact absorbing shell is inferior. Straps/fixings/clasps can also be a bit suspect. Downside is enclosed, can be difficult to find a good fit for chin, mouth, nose etc.

Flip Front? SHARP will tell you which ones are good, like em or loathe em, Nolan consistently have a 100% 'non failure' rate of the locking mechanism. I think the top (Justissimo) Carberg had only a 70% non failure rate. The advantage of a flip front is the ability to talk, drink etc without removal, and for me also the critical reason for using them... can be opened in commuter or city traffic, giving excellent peripheral vision, and hearing. Downside is, the cheaper ones do have a higher 'failure rate of the lock mechanism....and they tend to have higher wind noise levels than a full face in general.

[scumdog]

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...a plus to an open face out here is not having to stop for lunch...but six or eight of these up your nose and a dozen in each eye makes for a hell of a ride...

Wear an neoprene face-mask ya big jessie!

[007XX]

Wear an neoprene face-mask ya big jessie!

Or harden up and take your protein like a good girl

Re:flip fronts. Schuberth are quite awesome, but not the cheapest.

http://www.schuberth.com/en/motorcyc...8cfe184d72dc40

[BlightyBiker]

I found out too late, is the level of wind noise without earplugs.. I now have 'industrial level deafness' of the type found on people who worked around heavy plant/machinery.

That's interesting! Didn't even consider wind noise because I've never really experienced noticeable wind noise.

[caspernz]

That's interesting! Didn't even consider wind noise because I've never really experienced noticeable wind noise.

A few hours on the open road with an open face and you're gonna hear the wind roar for a few more hours...

Me, flip face. Even my first helmet was a fullface. Good brand, last helmet was a flip and my current one is a flip. I don't like bugs or roadrash

[Gremlin]

That's interesting! Didn't even consider wind noise because I've never really experienced noticeable wind noise.

Be careful. Generally, the wind noise at 100kph is sufficient to give you permanent and sustained hearing loss.

[ellipsis]

Be careful. Generally, the wind noise at 100kph is sufficient to give you permanent and sustained hearing loss.

...sorry, I didn't hear that...

[Maha]

Be careful. Generally, the wind noise at 100kph is sufficient to give you permanent and sustained hearing loss.

Hair loss?....why wasn't this explained to me in the begining?

[caspernz]

Hair loss?....why wasn't this explained to me in the begining?

I think I did the damage in that department a long time ago...maybe that's why I do the flipface thingee now...to keep my follicly challenged noggin under cover

But like Gremlin mentioned...hearing damage...so earplugs it is

[Banditbandit]

I used to think that I would only ride in an open face helmet ... but I bought a full face because it was better for a commuter through Wellington's weather ..

Then one day I dumped the bike at a reasonable speed - and the lower part of the full face looked like someone had attacked it with an angle grinder .. I thought 'Shit - in an open face that would be my skin and jaw bone' .. so I have never used an open face since ..

[jafar]

I use a full face for most of my riding, have done for years. I have a flip top as well & use that when the mood takes me. The flip is good when in slower traffic or when I havn't finished my smoke before I leave the gas station
Wind noise is a bit more with the flip but not so bad as to be uncomfortable.
I don't have an open face helmet, they are for scooter riders & push bike riders IMHO.

[xknuts]

I use a full face for most of my riding, have done for years. I don't have an open face helmet, they are for scooter riders & push bike riders IMHO.

Face or NO FACE!

[jafar]

Face or NO FACE!

Exactly, not too hard to guess the outcome if this had been an open face helmet

[The Lone Rider]

Posts like this make me think we need not only the pointless drivel section, but the "Obvious, Straight Forward, Or Neverending" section.

The "waving" thread could go in that section to.



PS.. I use both types of helmets. But not at the same time.

[Road kill]

Full face helmets are very dangerous,in my big crash I was wearing a full face,,but I'm sorry I don't have any pictures because I don't like to advertise my cock ups,,,,like some people

But in 40 years of using open face helmets I've never had a crash while wearing one.

I can also post heaps of pictures of undamaged open face helmets as proof positive of both this and my Owesome riding skills

In fact I belive full face helmets are actually accident promoting devices due to their making their wearers feel safer than they really are.

Exersize,,,put one of those squids out on the road with no helmet at all and see how he rides.

Then put him out there with a full face on and see how he rides.

I rest my case