Full face helmet - sunglasses or tinted visor?

[pritch]

Shoei (and others probably) sell a visor with graduated tinting.
Quite handy. Completely clear at the bottom, and a dark tint at the top.

I had one of those, but that would still leave you looking through the dark part at night.

[Robbo]

I have a 2" wide strip of black PVC tape fitted across the top inside of my clear visor. It is above my direct line of site and doesn't impair my vision. It is great for when you are riding into the sun as you can just tilt your head down as required depending on where the sun is in the sky and it avoids sunstrike. I have been using this method on my helmets for over twenty years now with no issues and it works well.

[Bassmatt]

Wow - heaps of replies, thanks

Im currently using sunglasses but they are a bit scratched and when I get anything else on the visor (dirt, bugs, rain) it gets a bit hard to see. The "optics" seem fine otherwise , no issues with fitting in the helmet or comfort.
So I need new ones or a visor hence the post.
I dont have any space for a spare visor in my bike but the clear glasses seems like a good idea.
Has anyone tried motorcycle specific sunglasses ala ugly fish or willyx?
Photocromic pin lock?

[Maha]

I have a 2" wide strip of black PVC tape fitted across the top inside of my clear visor. It is above my direct line of site and doesn't impair my vision. It is great for when you are riding into the sun as you can just tilt your head down as required depending on where the sun is in the sky and it avoids sun strike. I have been using this method on my helmets for over twenty years now with no issues and it works well.

All those reasons Robbo, the only difference is that I put the tape on the outside...simple but effective.

[Robbo]

All those reasons Robbo, the only difference is that I put the tape on the outside...simple but effective.

Yep, simple, effective and cheap. As long as it's fitted above your direct line of site then there are no vision issues.

[Tazz]

Wow - heaps of replies, thanks

Im currently using sunglasses but they are a bit scratched and when I get anything else on the visor (dirt, bugs, rain) it gets a bit hard to see. The "optics" seem fine otherwise , no issues with fitting in the helmet or comfort.
So I need new ones or a visor hence the post.
I dont have any space for a spare visor in my bike but the clear glasses seems like a good idea.
Has anyone tried motorcycle specific sunglasses ala ugly fish or willyx?
Photocromic pin lock?

If you didn't hate wearing them replacement sunglasses would be the obvious choice.....you can get sunglasses for $5 bucks and it is less faffing around than a tinted visor or new helmet, or tape which won't be any better for that pain in the ass low level sun strike anyway. Good for midday sun and the like for sure though.

Each to their own and I did try a tinted visor despite what I read to see for myself as well. One other bonus with sunnys is you can ride with the visor up when you feel like a breeze down your frock and not get all those annoying bugs in your eyes that are real hard to kill with just your eyelids.

[Mike.Gayner]

Sunglasses combined with a visor can actually alter your vision (Different focal lengths).

Dafuq are you talking about? Focal length of ordinary sunglasses and ordinary visors is infinite - the inside and outside curvatures are parallel. Any imperfections would have such a minuscule effect on focal length it couldn't be discerned by human eyes.

[rocketman1]

Have a Shoei with tinted visor option, works great, can use clear glasses under it, or wear sunglasses. Better to have all options

[Oakie]

I'm leaning towards sunglasses as I can take them off if it gets dark and will be carrying them with me anyway.

Yes.

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[mansell]

I have worn sunnies under a visor for years now, mind you I tend to get migraines if exposed to sunlight for too long so it wasn't really a challenge. The one problem is findingthe right pair of shades to fit under the helmet and block all the light from the sun. I tried a tinted visor a few years ago and hated it, as soon as the sun went down I had to lift it up to see, I am not going to carry a second visor with me. ALso like a few respondants I like to lift the visor when I hit a 50km zone so the glasses prevent shit from getting in my eyes.

[Delerium]

Bell are now doing photochromic lenses - darken in the sun and lighten in the shade.

It can't be long before other manufacturers follow suit.

That's cool! do you have a link?

[skippa1]

Tinted visor better than sunnies. If you ride into the sun for a long time, maybe 2-3 hours, you will get sunburnt if you only wear sunnies.

[caseye]

I wear sunglasses around town as visors scratch so easily but when touring have a different helmet and glasses under the visor.

So, you wear glasses/sunnies under your helmet!.
Did you actually need to say anything?.
Never used a tinted visor, but have used a chromatic pin lock, this is my choice of vision when riding, never left wanting something else, always works. Unless of course you do a dickhead and try to clean the inside of your pinlock helmet.

[chasio]

Maybe focal length was not quite the right phrase (not what I would have called it as a fairly keen photographer), but it certainly IS possible to get weird optical effects with a combo of sunnies and a visor, especially if the sunnies are polarizing.

You can get photochromic pinlock inserts, but I would expect them to have the same issues that all photochromics have in that they are relatively poor at staying dark when warm. So on a cold, bright day you will have a lovely dark insert as the cold helps it stay dark. But on a warm day they won't go as dark. And on a warm and overcast but weirdly bright day (TM), they just won't go dark enough to reduce the glare. YMMV.

I love now having an internal sun visor and would be very unlikely to buy a helmet without having had it. I have an XR1000 without and use the Maha tape trick on both the tinted and clear visors I have for it. But also when sporting a tinted visor I used to take clear safety glasses for emergencies and sunnies with the clear visor.

[nerrrd]

Photo chromatic visor? Nice idea, hope it's not a Shoei though. Only $300!

http://www.motomail.co.nz/estore/style/shcwrtrvis.aspx

Or could be a job for...the Super-visor! (see what they did there?)



http://www.super-visor.com

David from Whitianga is the first testimonial. More of a blocker than a shader though.