Open-faced helmets

[conflicttheorist]

My GF wants an open-faced helmet because it looks cuter when she rides her scooter.  Can these possibly be safe?  Some of these helmets are even SNELL approved.  How is that possible?  Wouldn't your face scrape off or chin break?

[My Name Is Dave]

Man, I have never seen a scooter rider wearing proper gear. Always a "cute" helmet and summery clothes. They don't hit speeds like us, but I'm more concerned about cagers than my riding abilities, and would be the same on a scooter.

[callmelenny]

I'll admit I sometimes wear a 3/4 Nolan helmet on my 5 mile commute. I know that I am taking a bigger risk with my fat face but it is sooo much cooler that I give in on the really hot days.

The ratings are based on the performance characteristics not the face protection quotient.

[raylarrabee]

I believe that the impact testing done in the Snell tests looks for impact protection in only the areas of the head covered by an open-face helmet.  For helmets that DO have integral chinbars, they drop a weight onto the chinbar, and will fail where the chinbar smooshes in too much.

Obviously, a full-face helmet is the best protection, and the ONLY protection for chin/jaw impact.

3 days ago, I saw some moron cruise by me on a busy road doing 45+ mph on a scooter...he was wearing a bicycle helmet with the chinstrap unbuckled.  Pretty smart.  Last night, I saw a college age girl who was at least wearing a full-face helmet (although her shorts and tank top weren't great safety items).

Tell her the truth:  full-face is better than open-face.  Open-face is better than nothing.  None are 100% protection, but you are a LOT less likely to get a serious injury if you are wearing a proper full-face helmet.

[conflicttheorist]

I'll admit I sometimes wear a 3/4 Nolan helmet on my 5 mile commute. I know that I am taking a bigger risk with my fat face but it is sooo much cooler that I give in on the really hot days.

The ratings are based on the performance characteristics not the face protection quotient.

You are still better protected than 90% of the texas riders, at least.
The snell standards only apply to protection to the beanie portion of the head, I found.  That is understandable, I guess.  But still, is the risk of your face being rubbed off pretty significant when you wear a 3/4 helmet?  I like my girlfriend's face.

[conflicttheorist]

Anyone have any anecdotal evidence that the face gets tore up?  I told my GF to put on the 3/4 helmet, lay on her stomach and try to drag her face around the floor, and then imagine how she'd look without any of the parts of her face that dragged on the floor.

[My Name Is Dave]

I'll admit I sometimes wear a 3/4 Nolan helmet on my 5 mile commute. I know that I am taking a bigger risk with my fat face but it is sooo much cooler that I give in on the really hot days.

The ratings are based on the performance characteristics not the face protection quotient.

You are still better protected than 90% of the texas riders, at least.
The snell standards only apply to protection to the beanie portion of the head, I found.  That is understandable, I guess.  But still, is the risk of your face being rubbed off pretty significant when you wear a 3/4 helmet?  I like my girlfriend's face.

Trust me, I dated a girl without a face one time, and it is no walk in the park. Heed my advice and avoid them.

Dave  

[calamari]

im a new rider myself, and I use full-face helmet on california. for the past 2 weeks, I have been riding under 105-109F  

[natedawg120]

When I took the MSF course this was discussed.  In an accident where the rider is thrown, the initial impact is to the chin and face 60 or 70% of the time.  I will have to look it up in there but I know it was at least 60%.  Use that cause in that case all you can do with a 3/4 face helmet is hope for a good plastic surgeon.

Nate

[conflicttheorist]

Trust me, I dated a girl without a face one time, and it is no walk in the park. Heed my advice and avoid them.

Dave  

Did she at least have a nice body?

[My Name Is Dave]

Hell Yes...

(gratuitous photo)

Dave  

[KJB: Changed the inline photo to a link -- it may not be "work safe" for some folks.  Besides, you didn't really want this thread to go to the Tard Farm, didya?   ]

[calamari]

all I can see is a pair of boobs.


so, did she have a nice body?

[conflicttheorist]

Dammit, man!  I don't want to go to the tard farm again!

[My Name Is Dave]

So to summarize, avoid the 3/4 helmets, lest you wind up with a faceless girlfriend. And even with boobs, nobody wants that.

Dave  

[Blazinjr]

From what I see it looked good, but if no face then did you just close your eyes?

:dunno:  :mrgreen:

[Roadstergal]

So to summarize, avoid the 3/4 helmets, lest you wind up with a faceless girlfriend. And even with boobs, nobody wants that.

:lol:

I saw a pic of someone who had crashed with an open-face on one of those too-gross-for-work sites.  I'll look for it when I'm, er, no longer at work.

[My Name Is Dave]

So to summarize, avoid the 3/4 helmets, lest you wind up with a faceless girlfriend. And even with boobs, nobody wants that.

:lol:

I saw a pic of someone who had crashed with an open-face on one of those too-gross-for-work sites.  I'll look for it when I'm, er, no longer at work.

No thanks!

Dave  

[roguegeek]

I'm probably wrong on this (and please correct me if I am), but I thought open-face helmets aren't even eligible for SNELL approval.

[pnaberhaus]

Way back in '74, I worked with a guy who raced (motorcycles) in AMA events around the midwest. He wore the usual gear of the era but also wore a Bell Star, one of the first "full-face", Snell approved helmets. One weekend he came of his bike really hard and  landed on his head and slide off the track, face down. It was too awful to think about. When I finally saw the resultant minor injuries, I couldn't buy a Bell Star  for myself soon enough! My friend suffered some minor bruising and lacerations to his face, but the front of the helmet was deeply abraded, scored and scuffed from his accident. If that sort impact and abrasion is visited upon someone's face, the resultant damage is too horrific to contemplate. I've always ridden with a Snell approved full face helmet since then.

[Roadstergal]

As said above, they can be Snell approved.  They can even be Snell SA approved as well as M.  There's just no chin bar to test.