Topic: What kind of Helmets do you guys like?

[cbass*gxc]

Ya I have always liked the design but never the look.  Seems now they actually have some decent looking ones coming out.

Here is another one that I like.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KBC-FFR-MODULAR-HELMET-SOLID-BLACK-M-MEDIUM_W0QQitemZ230205028187QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230205028187

[heffay]

i will admit, i'm a bit leery of modular helmets.  the "what if" bothers me... what if, the flip up part  is cheap and breaks off?  or worse off... was designed to!
but, aren't full face helmets really 2 molds "welded" together?

[Terry in Australia]

I've got a new Nolan modular helmet, and after years of owning Arai and Shoei full face helmets (Army supplied) I can say that modulars are without a doubt, the best compromise between a full face, and open face helmet. BMW pretty much "invented" the modular helmet with their original "System" helmets, and most long distance  "tourers" won't wear anything else.

I'm leery of some of the Chinese helmets flooding the market though, KBC, HJC etc, I'd rather be wearing a helmet made by a contented, well paid German or Italian, than a Chinese prisoner working in a forced labour camp. Funny thing is, they both cost about the same..................   

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I'm with Medic on this one. He's seen them and I've been one.

This is my full face after my head on collision with a ford van. Hit the windshield with my helmeted face and landed on my forehead after a short 50' flight. No spinal cord injury AND no broken facial parts. I gotta say that every accident is different so no 2 outcomes will be the same except the outcome of death. What would have happened without ANY helmet or an open face helmet? Injury or death would have occurred without a doubt!   

A ONE PERSON/SURVIVOR STUDY

[ekim98]

I agree that a helmet is a good idea and will prevent a lot of deadly injuries but there was/is some talk about an increase of neck and spinal injuries because of helmets. The extra weight could have a bad result in that respect. As a first responder I've only seen one bike accident that resulted in a death and in that case his helmet didn't make any difference. The guy was really busted up all over and lots of internal injuries. He t-boned a small pichup and he was moving pretty good. He pushed the truck about 20 off the road, and he flew over 90 feet  himself. He was riding a big harley. They won't be fixing that bike I don't think. It was a real bad scene. I've got an open face helmet now but I will probably go with a full face one next year.

[DarkRider]

in reguards to the sunglasses or tinted visors thing with my Bell i wear sunglasses but with the new Zeus im probably gonna pick up a tinted insert since they have this nice lil system where theres a flexable sub visor that snaps into place inside the helmet.

[heffay]

I've got an open face helmet now but I will probably go with a full face one next year.

glad to hear you're going to the helmet store on tuesday!   

[Hope]

I have 3.

I have a black full face helmet (Nolan) that I wear a lot.  It has orange reflective vinyl decals so I can be seen at night.


l also have a silver, black, and multi-colored HJC full face helmet. 


My 3rd helmet is also an HJC, but it is an open face half shell that I had painted to match my bike.


Depends on my mood & time of day & weather....

I tend to wear the open face on pretty days when I won't be riding until late...  I don't want to be caught in the dark with a tinted face shield.

When I'm taking long rides and feel like I might be caught in the dark, I usually take the black Nolan because I like the reflective strips on the helmet.   (Better for people to see me!)

When I'm taking long rides, but will probably not be caught in the dark, I take the closed face HJC.  It is very snug and works OK when using my MP3 player.

So, basically, you can tell what my intent for my riding day will be by the helmet I wear.

[ofreen]

I didn't read the report Andy provided a link to.  The 49 page thing put me off.  But I've seen plenty of scratched up helmets (including dirt bike helmets), including a couple of mine, unfortunately.  The gouges and scratches I've seen on chin bars and visors tell me enough about the relative protection between full face and open face helmets without reading yet another study.

But an open face helmet is better than nothing, but sometimes not much more.  My dad fell off of his Harley several years ago flat on his face.  Open face helmet.  He didn't die, but his face was one big scab for a while.  The worst part was that part of his gums were torn away in front.  Cost him a few bucks to fix that.

[754]

I have to laugh at comparing full face use on GP racers to a strret scenario!!

What street scenario do you live in where you are,

A.. guaranteed to have an ambulance response in under 4 minutes??

B..guaranteed to have medical personel trained to deal with you wearing a full face helmet when it comes to treating you.


drowning in your own vomit.. a very overrated experience..!!

[Fuzzball]

I take it you're trying to say that a full face helmet may contribute to one's demise in case of an accident. Not denying it. Point made and taken earlier in this thread. Yes, weird sh---t happens and we've all got to go some time. Again, my point is it's about playing the odds.

Your observations really just reinforce my point. They wear this type of helmet to ward off the immediate impact effects, because it is most effective at doing so. The post impact issues are then dealt with by the rapid response of emergency personnel.  No, we don't have that type of support on the street, and yes, we may indeed perish in our vomit, but we are playing the odds, just as professional racers do, based on statistical evidence, that the full face helmet mitigates the effects of the initial impact and gives us a chance to continue to survive secondary issues.

[techy5025]

Figuring the odds is an interesting thing. For some things we do, the odds are carefully weighted and decisions made based on the result. As this thread has proven, buying a helmet fits in this category. Probably the fact that it is clearly a safety related item forces us to do so.

Unfortunately other factors come into the equation other then safety....price, comfort, looks, etc. It's really easy to rationalize away the safety factor given the other considerations.

I'll gladly accept whatever problems are associated with removing or attending to a down rider in a full face helmet if wearing it allows me to be alive to face them.

Jim

[heffay]

guaranteed to have medical personel trained to deal with you wearing a full face helmet when it comes to treating you.

guaranteed? no.  but, most medics these days are trained for that, yes... even if it is a simple "leave them in the helmet until you can safely remove it". 
and how does 4 minutes vs. 15 minutes have ANYTHING to do w/ full face or not?

[754]

Have you survived 15 minutes of obstructed airway???
..I am truly impressed!!

Wait till you experience a partial amputation..

( I and another family member has)

Then ask yourself if you feel an extra 11 minutes LUCKY  !!!


======================================

Speaking of which when you mention the odds.. why is it so many full face riders  cant be bothered with:
sleeves or jacket
long pants
gloves
boots.

not looking at the odds methinks

[Fuzzball]

Speaking of which when you mention the odds.. why is it so many full face riders  cant be bothered with:
sleeves or jacket
long pants
gloves
boots.

not looking at the odds methinks

Agreed: that's foolish. But it would be equally foolish with any other helmet choice.
So what have we learned? Some riders behave foolishly. I completely agree. Glad we got that settled.

[DammitDan]

I'm just gonna say, I don't always wear my riding jacket, but I do always wear my Nolan N102 Modular.  I figure my face skin is more important than my back skin (though I would rather keep all of it, that's why I try to ride with as much gear as possible...)

I also have a cheap full face Chinese and a Nolan N100 Modular helmet for any ladies who might want to ride (unfortunately the Chinese helmet seems to fit the ladies better...  So I just don't tell 'em it's a cheap Chinese helmet  )

As for experience with a cheap Chinese "V-CAN" modular helmet, I will never buy one again.  I suffered a get-off at about 40mph into a ditch, and according to a witness the helmet had flipped open and came off my head before I even hit the ground.  I suffered a broken nose and bad cut over my eye (4 stitches) because of this.  Fortunately the gods were smiling on me and besides some road rash on my back and a scar on my ankle, that was all I suffered.  Though I never want to spend 5 hours on a spineboard ever, EVER again.

We took the helmet home and put it back on my head, and with just the lightest pressure on the chin the (all plastic) locking mechanism popped open, the face went up and the helmet slipped forward and off my head, even with the chin strap cinched down uncomfortably tight.  I'm guessing the wind caught under it and flipped it up and off when I went flying through the air.

I contacted V-Can and they sent me a new NON-modular full face helmet (their top-of-the-line model, about $100 more than the original modular I had crashed in).

SO, lesson learned:  Don't buy cheap Chinese modular helmets.  My Nolans have a 100% steel locking mechanism that won't flip up no matter how much pressure you put on the chin.

[Terry in Australia]

SO, lesson learned:  Don't buy cheap Chinese modular helmets.  My Nolans have a 100% steel locking mechanism that won't flip up no matter how much pressure you put on the chin.

Good to know Dan, I've got the same Nolan as you, and I'm very impressed with it, so far. Glad you survived your cheap chinese experience, that must have been scary!

Now can anyone tell me why it is that at every accident site I've seen, there's always one shoe sitting in the middle of the road? Is that an "X File", or what? 

[Steve F]

I'm wondering if most helmets can be stripped off your head from the back.  In other words, can you take a helmet off with the chin strap still sinched by pulling it forward?  Is there anything that can be done to prevent this?  Watching football, you see a lot of helmets getting knocked off in a "good hit", and I'm wondering if this is why? 
To change the subject a bit, I wear a full-face Shoei RF700, and am looking to getting a new helmet this year. The problem I have with ordering a new helmet is that I'm not sure about the sizes and the fit.  My Shoei that I have now fits OK, but when I tried on a new Shoei of the "same" size, it felt like my face was getting squished.  I don't know if they keep the same dimensions for the fitting when they design a new model, or if the sizes are just a generalization.  Also, are some models better at reducing the wind noise over others (speaking of the Shoei brand)?

[andy750]

Steve, as you likely know already any new helmet you buy is going to have that "squish" effect since the helmet padding is going to need a little time to mould to your face. This is what makes a helmet a good fit in my opinion. Of course there is a difference between a little squish and hamster cheeks but you know what I mean. One of the tests for a helmet fit is the ability (or lack thereof) to pull the helmet off with chin strap secured. If you can, then dont buy that helmet as clearly its not a good fit.

Only way to know if a helmet will fit or not is to try a bunch on- this is where ordering online should only be done after going to a real shop. As for wind noise -cant help you there but let me know what you find out -Im also in the marker for a new Shoei - currently have a Shoei Raid (Uk model) which I think is the same as the Shoei RF900? I liked the Raid and helmet noise was minimal - all to do with visor fit in and vent positions I think -my HJC CL-10 is noisier due to the visor not having such a good lock fit as the Shoei.

cheers
Andy

[ofreen]

In other words, can you take a helmet off with the chin strap still sinched by pulling it forward? 

It shouldn't if it fits correctly.

My Shoei that I have now fits OK, but when I tried on a new Shoei of the "same" size, it felt like my face was getting squished.  I don't know if they keep the same dimensions for the fitting when they design a new model, or if the sizes are just a generalization.  Also, are some models better at reducing the wind noise over others (speaking of the Shoei brand)?

I've been using the Shoei RF series for over 20 years now.  They always fit me best.  Unfortunately, Shoei changed the shell shape when they went to the RF-1000.  It doesn't fit me right, either.  Too bad, because for me the Shoei helmets were the quietest, starting with the RF-800. I believe because of the shield design.  My RF-800 was quieter without earplugs than my RF-200 was with them.

[heffay]

Have you survived 15 minutes of obstructed airway???
..I am truly impressed!!

no, and i'm not sure i could survive 4

Wait till you experience a partial amputation..

are you wishing bad luck on me?

( I and another family member has)

unless it was a partial brain amputation, i don't see the relevance... although, sad

continue on w/ your half helmet in fear of drowning

oh, by the way... what are the odds on drowning in your helmet?

[754]

I am not wishing bad luck on anyone. I was making the point that time is crucial after impact (& saying that comparing racetrack scenario to open hiway is an unfair comparison)

Also mentioning the fact that a full face can cause problems after the fact, like removing helmet needlessly & causing spinal problems, or not removing it and having trouble maitaining clear airway.. that sort of thing.

Basically if you did not have a facial injury, it  can become more hindrance than help.

Also yes I do know someone that laid down their bike and ended up in the lake, had to be held up by sweveral people till the ambulance came and they figured out how to best deal with him.

[DammitDan]

The helmet would only slip off my head if the face was down on it...   The helmet was a good fit (tight enough to squeeze my head but not pinch it) but it apparently only worked when the face was down.

[mick750F]

   It's a Nolan N100 modular for me. I originally bought it when I had "wrap around the ear" side pieces on my glasses and a full helmet wouldn't do. In retrospect I'm happy that I have the modular. It's easy to flip up the chin bar to talk to the station attendant, your riding mate, some pretty girl you've just seen or to give some jackass that nearly hit you a piece of your mind. Also it's easy to have a quick drink of water...for longer drinks I pull over and sit at the bar.    I have a clear shield but use an Icon Sun Strip across the top edge. It's great when the sun is low in the sky. Sunglasses can go on or off no problem. It's well vented and you can crack the shield open a notch or two for more air...I've never found it to be too hot. Around town in the summer I usually have it up all the way. I found it a bit noisy when I bought it so I added some tape between the top edge of the shield and the helmet body which reduced the noise to a more comfortable level. Heavy??? Nope...I have a strong manly neck unlike some of the crybabies who complain that they're too heavy so it's not an issue.

Mike

[754]

I think that "What kind of Helmets do you wear??"

would be a good title..