Full Face Helmet, 'Jaw' Swings Up

[Grug]

So I've owned my bike for 3 days now.  Still haven't gotten my license yet (will happen next spring). 

I need to buy a helmet and I noticed there are full face helmets that have (for lack of a better word) 'jawbones' that swing up to make your helmet an open faced style.  The best of both worlds??

I'm thinkin' that because I wear glasses, maybe this style of helmet will make it easier for me to get my glasses on and off when putting the helmet on or off. Make sense?

Any suggestions or advice?

[ailkel]

I have seen many folks choose the modular (chin bar swings up) because they feel it is easier with glasses.  I use a full face helmet with my glasses with out issue.  My eye wear provider is accustomed to me bringing my helmet in to check the fit of perspective frames prior to the purchase of a new pair.  I have a feeling I am not the only one because they have never even as much as raised an eye brow when I try the new frames with my helmet on.  I prefer the full face helmets because they can be so light weight (helmet technology has come a long way).  Several good friends swear by their modular helmets.  I recommend trying on several helmets and styles at your local shop and buy the helmet with the best fit.

[Hawks_Nest]

+1 on trying different helmets before you buy. Everyone has different head shape. So best helmet is the one fit you well. Check this website to see which brand/model may fit you better:
 http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-shapes.htm

If this is your first ever helmet, choose the size based on your head size. It may feel very tight at first try but after break-in period it will fit better.  How do I know?  When I got my first helmet, I tried several different sizes at a store. Sales person told me my head is Medium. XL fit me comfortable then. So I bought XL. After one year of use, it started spinning around my head :)

I wear eye glasses. Modular helmet is very convenient but heavy compared to full face helmet though. You need to take glasses off when you put on/off helmets either case.

[jerjohn]

I am not aware of any modular helmet that has passed snell tests. There are those who not put stock in the snell safety rating, I am one of those that does. I wear a full face helmet with glasses, no big deal. Take glasses off, put on helmet, put on glasses, and tighten chin strap.

[Bumblebee]

A best fit involves the helmet being fairly snug, not loose and one that fits the shape of your head. It will loosen up over time as the foam compresses a bit. You must decelerate with the helmet, not against it which means it must be a good tight fit. Go places and try on helmets until you find several that fits properly. Then, and only then, select styles and extras based on the helmets that actually fit your head properly.

Don't bother with open face helmets at all. Crashes are called faceplants for a reason. Get a full face helmet or the modular with the flip up chin bar. If it's modular, ride with the chinbar down and locked.

I'm not sure if a modular is the best of both worlds. I only wear full face helmets. The old helmet I crashed with, I slammed my face directly into the ground just before the sliding/grinding started. The cheek padding that was soft to start with didn't do much good and I ended up getting punched in the nose by the inside of the chin bar quite hard. Better cheek padding would have kept my nose off the chinbar or at least reduced the forces involved. I say this because I have yet to see a modular helmet that has any cheek pads thus you lose that additional protection. Modular protects your face however it's not the same level of protection as a FF with good solid cheek pads.
As for convenience and glasses, it takes about 15 extra seconds to put glasses on after putting the helmet on. Seriously, it's not a big deal.


And get the rest of the crash gear. Jacket, pants, gloves, boots, etc. It doesn't do much good to save your brains if you're skinned alive and maimed for life or dead from severe road rash on the rest of your body. Shattered joints, major body skin grafts or having to find a friend to wipe your butt for 6-12 months doesn't sound like much fun considering how easily some if not all of that damage can be avoided.

ATGATT - All The Gear All The Time - every time without fail regardless of riding distance - or get what you deserve.

[Messorius]

I am not aware of any modular helmet that has passed snell tests. There are those who not put stock in the snell safety rating, I am one of those that does. I wear a full face helmet with glasses, no big deal. Take glasses off, put on helmet, put on glasses, and tighten chin strap.

Zeus makes modular helmets that have the Snell rating, but only in XS to M. They also have cheek pads(at least the model before does, I can't see why the new ones wouldn't), but I don't know how decent they are, aside from giving me fishface.

[tdw]

When I was looking for a new helmet this past spring, my first thought on seeing a modular one was 'interesting' but this was immediately followed by the thought 'not interested'.

I couldn't really see any advantage to it except maybe a slight advantage to putting it on and less of a claustrophobic feeling by flipping the front when not riding. Neither of these seemed like much of an advantage to me.

Further, I was not at all interested in one as I just viewed the hinge as a potential point of failure. While they may pass all the safety tests and my logic may be flawed; but, with all other factors remaining equal, I can't believe that a two piece shell will be as strong as a one piece shell.

YMMV

[Bumblebee]

.Further, I was not at all interested in one as I just viewed the hinge as a potential point of failure. While they may pass all the safety tests and my logic may be flawed; but, with all other factors remaining equal, I can't believe that a two piece shell will be as strong as a one piece shell.

I tend to wonder about the testing procedure itself. Look at the descriptions or video's. The helmet is rigidly mounted and either it or a metal ball is dropped on it to deliver a specific force onto the shell.
In the real world, you will never hit the ground like that. The helmet goes through an off angle high force that's not tested in any of the video's or descriptions I've seen. It involves lots of shearing friction that the test doesn't cover. IOW, the hinge can take a straight head on high force impact easily however can it take the same amount of force at an angle while the hinge itself is under load from the ground it just impacted?

Do helmet manufacturers test in real world impact conditions? Say a test dummy tossed out of the back of a speeding truck.

I can deliberately design stuff all day long that can take 500 pound hit from a 3 foot drop without damage all day long yet will fail instantly with a single 20lb hit at an angle. I'd like to see the results of a 45 degree angle impact force applied to those hinges.

[hppants]

I wear the Fulmer M1 modular helmet.  I've got about 22,000 miles on it, and the foam is still holding out nicely.  It fits me very well, and the visor area is much wider than other helmets I've tried, for more periphial (sp?) vision.  One negative is that this helmet seems to be a tad louder in the wind than others, per the reviews.  I do wear ear plugs.  It's so easy to put on and take off with my glasses.  Also, at stop lights and other stops, while riding with friends, lifting the chin bar makes it easy to communicate.

I've crashed twice with it on, but both times I didn't hit my head so I can't report any real world crash test.  Let's hope that report never comes.

Within a year or so, I'll be in the market for a new helmet.  It will be a modular unit, but I'm not sure which one.

[ExTex]

My wife & I both wear glasses.  When we shopped for full coverage helmets last Spring, we both liked the HJC CL-16.
It was the best at allowing us to slip on our glasses after putting on the helmets.
We just purchased chin curtains for them at $5.00 each.  They are also a bit noisy, but inexpensive.
The curtain reduces noise and wind that comes up under the chin opening.
Certainly warmer this time of year.


Happy Thanksgiving,

[Messorius]

I couldn't really see any advantage to it except maybe a slight advantage to putting it on and less of a claustrophobic feeling by flipping the front when not riding. Neither of these seemed like much of an advantage to me.

Aside from being less hassle with my glasses, honestly? It's 100% easier to blow my nose. Flip, snork, done!

[fortyhourdays]

Aside from being less hassle with my glasses, honestly? It's 100% easier to blow my nose. Flip, snork, done!

Just blow your nose on your visor, then smear it around.  It keeps it from fogging up

[ailkel]

Just blow your nose on your visor, then smear it around.  It keeps it from fogging up [/quote]

Who knew and all these years I've been using spit

[hppants]

Aside from being less hassle with my glasses, honestly? It's 100% easier to blow my nose. Flip, snork, done

Also, the modular helmet makes for cleaner sneezing!!  Unless you are following me too close!!   

[tuxfan212]

I like my full face HJC CL-15... I don't wear eye glasses, but I have to wear sunglasses all of the time. Sometimes I even have to wear sunglasses inside, using a bright computer screen, or in very early dawn/late evening. Like the others I don't really see the advantage of a modular helmet. It takes me an extra 4 seconds to flip open the visor and slide the shades on. Plus I just feel safe in a full face.

[Soupskin]

Well, I like mine because taking my prescription glasses on and off 2-4 times a day and setting them on the seat, inevitably ends with them landing on the concrete.

If I just rode occasionally, I could deal with that, but I ride everywhere.

[cgaskin921]

+1 on modular helmets. I've had a KBC modular for 6 years now and absolutly love it for warm weather riding, easy to get on and off with my glasses especially with a quick release chin strap. It's nice to be able to flip up and get some air when sitting at a light in 90+ temps.

[B83550nighthawk]

I have a modular as well, and I don't have to take my glasses off to put it on or take it off. Have no crashes so can't testify to it's function or lack of in that instance and hope to never have that capability. It is a bit noisier in my opinion, or maybe it just seems like that because I read that somewhere....