Modern Buddy

Hey all you non-full face helmet wearers, a question.

What do you prefer for eye-protection? A face shield, glasses, goggles, what?

Any recommendations? Right now I'm ridin' with a brain bucket half helmet and some wrap around clear glasses, but I look like a doofus, so I was wondering what others did.

Normal sunglasses?

I don't personally wear a half helmet, but my boyfriend does and he wears these cool aviator googles he got at a local scooter shop. They look like the old school wrap around goggles, but with a modern twist. He said they are really comfortable and keep the wind out really well. Of course, it doesn't help much in the sun.

My headgear needs some serious upgrading. Currently, I wear a half helmet and big Jackie O sunglasses.

Quite frankly, the full face helmets and full visors make me claustrophobic. I'm in the market for a 3/4th helmet with a half visor. I know this still leaves my chin unprotected, but I'm willing to take that risk.

I have both a half and a full face helmet. I use safety glasses I got a Home Depot. One pair is clear and the other is tinted dark. They wrap around and meet OSHA standards. So I feel safer if a rock hits them they will be able to handle the impact.

Susan

Fueldrum,
I can tell you that riding with regular sunglasses in anything remotely cold is not very fun. I look like I'm just bawling away like a baby; I plan on upgrading to some goggles very soon.

Anything below about 45 degrees gets the goggle treatment...above 45, I settle for good wrap-around shades.

--Keys

I have Emgo Bandito goggles, the wrap variety, that I like quite a bit. Comfy, sturdy, good visibility and with replacable (dark, clear & amber) lenses. You can find them pretty cheap online or on eBay.



Before these, I had a similar-looking pair from Birdz. Foam fell off. Lenses were replacable but never felt like they were securely mounted. Pretty poorly made.

Now I wear a Nolan N-42 helmet which has a full visor and a separate short tinted sun visor. Makes me look like a reject from a bad sci-fi movie, but I like it. I got it in blue to resist the urge to do a Battle of the Planets mod:

Fueldrum wrote:Any recommendations? Right now I'm ridin' with a brain bucket half helmet and some wrap around clear glasses, but I look like a doofus, so I was wondering what others did.

If you do not like the look, you could buy a bycycle helmet or wear a ball cap. All three will do the same thing if you go down or if you have a rock hit you in your face. Nothing.

There is no point in wearing a half helmet other than to keep you legal if there is a helmet law. If you think about it, what are the chances that you will impact exactly on the top of your head if you are in an accident?

I will take not having to eat through a straw the rest of my life over fashion any day of the week.

This is what I wear. A good full face.


Dave

I cannot tell enough people my experience with a face shield.

I--too--didn't want the "full-face" helmet......however, I did go with the 3/4 helmet with face shield--similar to the one Ericlam shows. As Gatsby said, this leaves your chin exposed.

Well, I took a nast spill--broken wrist, surgery--and am still in a cast, but have recently been going against my surgeons wishes and taking short rides on Sonny.

Anyway, here's the hook. When I crashed, my head was one of--if not the--first things to hit the ground. It happened so fast, I cant put it all into sequence, but I DO REMEMBER my face being one inch off the pavement as I slid along the ground. Do you understand what that means? I got NASTY rash on the backs of my hands and a little on my shoulders.........but my FACE WOULD HAVE BEEN SCRAPPED OFF!!

Instead........no injury whatsoever to my head or face. So, to recap. If your face isnt' important to you, go with a 1/2 helmet and goggles. I for one will never put on a non face sheilded helmet.

We never plan on wrecking.......it just happens. And the second you think it won't be you, Karma will show your otherwise.

yeah similar to KD, when I wiped out I was in a half-helmet and the same goggles Eric's supporting (I really hate the bloody things). I went down, shoulder hit first, then a loud crack where my neck whipped and slammed my helmet into the pavement. Slid about ten feet, stood up, and I was generally fine. I think the only time you're going to need the chin protection is if you try to watch the ground as you're about to hit it or if you head off the front.

GenuineSlacker wrote: I think the only time you're going to need the chin protection is if you try to watch the ground as you're about to hit it or if you head off the front.

When crashing, it seems that the type of crash, combined with good 'ole physics, is more likely to determine where your head is going to end up than if you want to "watch" something or not. If you get separated from the scooter at high speeds, you'll just be along for the ride, not in control of anything...

vitaminC wrote:

GenuineSlacker wrote: I think the only time you're going to need the chin protection is if you try to watch the ground as you're about to hit it or if you head off the front.

When crashing, it seems that the type of crash, combined with good 'ole physics, is more likely to determine where your head is going to end up than if you want to "watch" something or not. If you get separated from the scooter at high speeds, you'll just be along for the ride, not in control of anything...

Yeah, my one chin injury from childhood came from me flying off the back of something and landing on my chin. I think if you go over the front you're more likely to land on the top of of your head.

Still, it's one of those things where instinct is going to take over when the time comes. While you may "know" the best way to fall/land, doesn't mean it's going to happen. Kind of like how you have to break the natural inclination of sticking your leg out.

It's physics and physiology. Your head is like a weight on a spring — this is the basis for whiplash. When you crash to the ground from any direction, there's a good chance you'll hit your head. If your head snaps back, it'll snap forward (or whichever direction) once the rest of you hits the ground.

When I crashed I landed on my shoulder first, but my open-face helmet did hit pavement — the front was scraped up and the visor snapped off and cracked. A few inches of rotation and things could have been much worse. That said, ALL helmets offer some amount of protection. Any part of the head which is exposed is, of course, vulnerable. And having your chin bashed in or shattering your jaw can pretty much ruin your good looks.

But there's no point in lecturing... All we can do is inform and share our experiences and leave it up to others to make up their own minds.

For me, I have chosen the full face helmet.

It is not because my rugged good looks need protecting. It is because I am fundamentally opposed to the pain and suffering I could encounter if my face and some pavement should decide to fight it out at high speed. There are lots of nerve endings in my face, and I use some of the parts located there to do things like breathing and eating and such.

ericalm wrote: But there's no point in lecturing... All we can do is inform and share our experiences and leave it up to others to make up their own minds.

True. And wise. You may have very strong feelings about ATGATT but others feel just as strong about their right to take risks. And yes, there are other factors, like medical costs and insurance costs, but for the sake of argument (or avoiding argument), where it's legal to ride sans helmet people can and will make the choice. There really isn't much point in arguing.

I've seen some moto forums get pretty nasty when the ATGATT crowd goes up against the non-ATGATT crowd. Seems like the folks here and at Modern Vespa wouldn't slip into that sort of trap, but you never know. It's just important to respect other people's opinions, no matter how wrong they are.

I always wear a helmet and 90% of the time it's full face. I always wear solid shoes or boots and gloves and almost always wear an armored jacket. That's my choice. As long as you understand the risk of half helmets, that's your choice. But, like ScooterDave said, a half helmet exists only to meet the letter of the law. If you go down hard in a half helmet, chances are, that helmet will come off.

I have an HJC AC-3 that I use more than my fullface. Have a clear full shield for the winter when it's dark early, and a smoked screen for the summer. It's a 3/4 helmet but it leaves the face open, and the shield does a great job at making it feel like you have no helmet at all. Doesn't bother me a bit, and still provides great protection against debris/wind and possibly even a crash

I went with a vented Fulmer full-face helmet. I wear my prescription glasses with ballistic quality polycarbonate lenses behind the face shield or, when wearing contacts, ballistic quality polycarbonate lensed sunglasses behind the face shield. My eyes aren't replaceable, and my wife really likes my face. (Go figure.)

ECS

I wear a 3/4 helmet with flip down face shield. Couldn't find a full helmet that fit my head and there is also my glasses that fog up easily.

My Zox helmet has adjustable vents so I am able to wear it when it is warm without totally sweating.

Might continue to look for a full face helmet that fits but I admit I am not searching too hard these days.

Have to put a plug in for the Scorpion FF, here. It runs small (I wear a large, but on all other brands, a medium), but the fit is NICE and the price tag even NICER.

jontlyfamouse wrote:Yellow is popular in fashion, casual, flashy and eye-catching yellow. It is recommended that it be filled with bright and cheery sunshine yellow is associated with optimism and joy. idealism.According.

Seriously. Go be Bob Ross and paint happy little trees if you like colors so much. You apparently have no input on scooters whether you are or aren't a bot.


Anyway. I'm in a 3/4 with a full shield, because I really didn't think I could handle a FF. Let me explain handle- I'm not typically claustrophobic, but for some reason, think about my whole face enclosed by something made me seriously uncomfortable, it was akin to the panic one associates with claustrophobia (I was as a child). So, I got the closest thing, hoping I'd get use to having the shield near my face and my next helmet could be FF because I know how much more protection they give.

That being said, I have a friend who doesn't know dick about two wheels but wanted to pretend he did about helmets because every now and again he ATVs for shits and giggles, and has a FF for that. He tried lecturing me about how the shield was useless in a crash, it would just flip up on impact, or shatter.

Well, pretty sure they are shatter resistant, and they ARE made to pop off rather than splinter and get you in the face. But when I went down and broke my hand, my helmet hit the ground right bottom edge of the shield first, and didn't budge. It wasn't as high-impact as it could have been, but there's something to be said against the argument that 3/4 shields are 'flimsy'.

My two cents is that I would NEVER EVER wear a brain bucket unless my other choice was nothing. I hate goggles, if I put goggles on I am going swimming- and I don't even need them then

What I do for sun- I was considering getting grandpa clip on sunglasses to put on my regular glasses, when I found an awesomely HUGE pair of Gucci aviators at work that nobody claimed. So I took them. Not usually my kind of sunglasses, but so big in the lens that they fit over my normal glasses just fine. And riding on the scooter they look pretty sweet, gotta admit.

LunaP wrote:

jontlyfamouse wrote:Yellow is popular in fashion, casual, flashy and eye-catching yellow. It is recommended that it be filled with bright and cheery sunshine yellow is associated with optimism and joy. idealism.According.

Seriously. Go be Bob Ross and paint happy little trees if you like colors so much. You apparently have no input on scooters whether you are or aren't a bot.

Bot. Post deleted. Bot banned.

Luna, have you tried on the Nolan N43 trilogy? It's almost a fullface, but has a very large faceshield and the small chinbar is removable. Three riders from our group, who were also @Richmond own and attest to them. It's very roomy inside when the chinbar is on, and a huge area of visibility.

BootScootin'FireFighter wrote:Luna, have you tried on the Nolan N43 trilogy? It's almost a fullface, but has a very large faceshield and the small chinbar is removable. Three riders from our group, who were also @Richmond own and attest to them. It's very roomy inside when the chinbar is on, and a huge area of visibility.

Also, the newer version (may not be in stores yet) has a larger chinbar and some other improvements.

That's the kind I want to upgrade to when I outgrow my current helmet and move up- I love the idea of a removable chin bar. I know modulars run pricey, though... gear is not my friend right now. I have to wait til I'm ready for a new helm to justify the investment

If you do not have the book Proficient Motorcycling, you will want to get it. Written by a motorcycle rider of many decades, he has really good info in there.

I bring it up, because he has a pictorial showing percentage of time each part of a head is impacted in a crash. As a new rider, I bought that book. When I saw how often the face and chin were impacted, I went out and bought a full faced (well, modular) helmet.

Sure enough, less then 3 weeks later I got to test it out myself: the chin area and the visor in front of where my nose was (and still is, thank God ) got all chewed up.

I am convinced that book saved me plastic surgery, and permanent disfigurement, at the LEAST.

ericalm wrote:Now I wear a Nolan N-42 helmet which has a full visor and a separate short tinted sun visor. Makes me look like a reject from a bad sci-fi movie, but I like it. I got it in blue to resist the urge to do a Battle of the Planets mod:

DAMN YOU, ERIC!!! now i want yet ANOTHER helmet . . . coz i would TOTALLY do the Battle of the Planets mod!

black sunshine wrote:

ericalm wrote:Now I wear a Nolan N-42 helmet which has a full visor and a separate short tinted sun visor. Makes me look like a reject from a bad sci-fi movie, but I like it. I got it in blue to resist the urge to do a Battle of the Planets mod:

DAMN YOU, ERIC!!! now i want yet ANOTHER helmet . . . coz i would TOTALLY do the Battle of the Planets mod!

At this point, I'd have to paint mine green so I could do Tiny.

gettin' cold here--full face or freeze. I've got a half helmet (Scorpion), three quater (Z1R), open face (MOMO), and full face Vemar. Vemar is first choice always. Use aviators with open face because Bobster Bugeyes and foam lined sunglasses don't fit between sides of helmet. Not really that much difference in hotness during summer since at 105 degrees anything is hot.
all but the MOMO have face shields. (momo is pricey and worthless--huge within it's size--XL is about a 7 3/4)

BootScootin'FireFighter wrote:Luna, have you tried on the Nolan N43 trilogy? It's almost a fullface, but has a very large faceshield and the small chinbar is removable. Three riders from our group, who were also @Richmond own and attest to them. It's very roomy inside when the chinbar is on, and a huge area of visibility.

I am in love with the Nolan and would have bought it a long time ago if only it would fit on my head


I started with a 3/4 and goggles... in January... soon realized how painful frozen water droplets are at 45MPH and upgraded to a full shield (the Z1R Ace Royale Transit, which I love).
Been looking for a full face for protection in accidents and from the elements, but so far nothing will fit me except for some really heavy modulars...

It's getting cold here as well. I currently own a 3/4 helm, I should have bought a full face but didn't have the money for one. I modified it for cold weather. I put velcro on the bottom part of the visor and in the center of the back for wrapping a neoprene "scarf" around it, this blocks all the wind. I had to put anti-fog on the inside and wear a clava, so far it works great. With that said I'm still getting a full-face when I get employment.

That's a good looking helmet. If I didn't value my jaw so much, I'd get one.

Lokky wrote:......so far nothing will fit me except for some really heavy modulars...

If that is what is stopping you, I can only say that I did notice the weight of mine the first time or two I rode, and now I never even think about it. ....and mine is one of the heaviest modulars (the Scorpion EXO-900).