Helmets - Open face vs Full face

[PaulF]

When I first got my scooter I bought an open face helmet and rode with that for ages before getting a full face but it was only after reading a lot of articles on the real protection you need in an accident that I stopped wearing my open face.  I was reminded again when reading an article from a local bike magazine where one of the editors was telling the story about his friend who had an accident in an open face and needed to get his nose reconstructed by a plastic surgeon and now is disfigured for life. 

Here is a photo of a helmet from a spill or accident and a diagram of the impact zones on a helmet.  Ride safe.

[boo]

is something I think about and have debated in my mind for years. When I use to ride motorcycles, I would wear a full face helmet. But for some reason when I ride scooters, I like the open face helmet. On very hot days, the open face is much cooler and I can see better wearing it. Once in awhile, I even ride with shorts and tennis shoes. I know this is a no no and i`m taking a chance with my body. When I ride bicycles, I do not wear a helmet at all and most of the time have shorts on. Funny thing is, two times in my life I came very close to getting killed on bicycles. That is the honest truth.
Some times we just simply do not do what is in our own best interest.
I think about the open face vs full face every time I ride.

[pipster326]

I have a full face helmet, that I mainly use all the time. I also have a modular helmet, sometimes it’s just too hot for the full face. The modular is the best of both worlds

Rich


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[Snorvey]

I considered open face for about 0.0002 of a second.

I'm not a bonny chap by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to have what I have made worse by being dragged along the tarmac.

[beermak]

I used to ride with a 3/4 then after some intel went to a modular. To many information arround to explain why we should wear those helmets


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[Mr. Paul]

I ride a full face only. After riding bicycles and crashing them many times over the years I have discovered you have no control as to how you are going land. And as Stig has so eloquently stated, we all have limited cosmetic currency. Gotta protect what we got!

[hypophthalmus]

I started out riding full face all the time, and I wouldn't have considered anything else.

When I moved to  quiet town in Texas, I stopped wearing a helmet. The risk just felt too low, and riding without it was much more pleasant. At first it seemed to me that there might be some advantage to it too, as I felt much less protected. But after time, it just felt the same.

Whenever I'd leave the town though, I would wear a jacket and helmet. The roads out were all 70+ mph, and I'd probably be going somewhere with more traffic. Or unfamiliar.

The first time I went camping in the Ozark mountains in Arkansas, I wore a jacket and helmet like I always did on the way there. But on whim after finding one last patch of cellphone reception to check in with my family, I decided to drive the remaining 20 miles of quiet mountain roads without my helmet -- very carefully looking out for wild animals. The ride there was already incredible, but even so it was so much nicer without a helmet on.

Now that I live in the Ozark mountains, I'm stuck with only a minivan whose engine could well be on its way out soon with over 250,000 miles on it. *face palm*

I don't think it's as simple as saying full face helmets are safer. If it were, we'd all be driving cars. Or even staying home.

[Mr. Paul]

I started out riding full face all the time, and I wouldn't have considered anything else.

When I moved to  quiet town in Texas, I stopped wearing a helmet. The risk just felt too low, and riding without it was much more pleasant. At first it seemed to me that there might be some advantage to it too, as I felt much less protected. But after time, it just felt the same.

Whenever I'd leave the town though, I would wear a jacket and helmet. The roads out were all 70+ mph, and I'd probably be going somewhere with more traffic. Or unfamiliar.

The first time I went camping in the Ozark mountains in Arkansas, I wore a jacket and helmet like I always did on the way there. But on whim after finding one last patch of cellphone reception to check in with my family, I decided to drive the remaining 20 miles of quiet mountain roads without my helmet -- very carefully looking out for wild animals. The ride there was already incredible, but even so it was so much nicer without a helmet on.

Now that I live in the Ozark mountains, I'm stuck with only a minivan whose engine could well be on its way out soon with over 250,000 miles on it. *face palm*

I don't think it's as simple as saying full face helmets are safer. If it were, we'd all be driving cars. Or even staying home.

It IS simple. Full face helmets are safer than open face helmets that are safer than no helmet. Driving a minivan with a full-face helmet is the safest of all! 

[ole two wheels]

I began riding in the 50's when the only people who wore helmets were foot ball players. I believe in safety and try to ride as safe as I can. Since helmet laws have been in effect ,here in Tennessee, I've obeyed the law. All my helmets are half shells. DOT approved. In the winter months I have a zip-in leather piece that covers my ears. If it's really cold I use a full mask that covers every thing except my eyes. I don't wear body armor. I know I would be more protected with al the stuff that's available, but I wouldn't be as happy. I'm not advocating that anyone should ride in the manner that I do. It is a choose and one that I may or my not live to regret. To me, riding is all about freedom and being chose to nature, and no asphalt is not part of nature.

[Snorvey]

....And as Stig has so eloquently stated,

Oi!

[AMAC1680]

For most a full face is an obvious choice.
As long as other factors don’t negate the obvious.

AMAC