Full Face Motorcycle Helmets Guide

Styles of Full Face Motorcycle Helmets

Depending on your budget there's a wide range of full face helmets to choose from.

In the UK the most popular helmet is the full face. US riders seem to prefer an open face style.

Things to consider when choosing your next full face helmet

Safety
The fact that full face helmets cover the entire head means they are the safest option compared to flip up and open face helmets.

Although flip ups do look the same as full faces when the front is down, they just don't have the same construction as a full face helmet so offer less protection for the front lower part of the face (mouth and jaw area).

The SHARP Rating
(United Kingdom Government Scheme)
In the UK the government has a safety scheme called SHARP
(Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme).

This scheme helps riders choose a helmet based on its safety rating. Some manufacturers have doubted the testing methods used by SHARP, as in some cases it seems that budget helmets offer more protection than top of the range designs.

Manufacturers spend a large amount of money on designing their helmets to be extremely safe, so it is odd that some helmets that cost over £200 have a lower SHARP rating than some budget helmets.

SHARP rating example
The Arai Condor full face motorcycle helmet costs about £200 and has a SHARP rating of 2 out of 5, yet the G-Mac Concept flip up motorcycle helmet costs about £80 and has a rating of 3 out of 5.

After wearing both of these helmets on a ride it is clear that the Arai Condor is much lighter and more comfortable than the G-Mac Concept, but is it really less safe? Arai give their response to the SHARP ratings.

Overall the SHARP rating is another point to take into account when choosing your next motorcycle helmet.

Comfort
This can be difficult to check without testing the helmet out when riding your bike, but trying the helmet on at a local dealer is the next best way to check the comfort. Make sure that the motorcycle helmet that you buy has hygienically treated padding as this will help to keep the helmet clean inside and means that you won't have to wash the interior padding as often.

Be aware of pressure from the helmet on any part of your head. While it might not seem to be a problem in the shop, after half an hour of riding that small amount of pressure could start to hurt your head. The helmet should be completely comfortable and not squeeze your head too hard. If you try on different sizes of one brand and they don't seem to fit, try on a different brand. Some brands just don't fit some rider's head shapes.

When reading any helmet reviews keep in mind that if one person says a helmet is really comfortable, the next review might say that it's the worst helmet ever. It really does depend on your head size and shape!

Some helmets have removable cheek pads, this is something to look out for as the cheek pads come in different thicknesses. This means that if the helmet feels tight around your face but comfortable everywhere else, you can buy thinner cheek pads and fit them instead. The same can be done if the helmet feels too loose around your face.

Noise
Wind noise when riding along is made because of air rushing past the helmet. The type of helmet design, bike and screen used can make a massive difference to air turbulence and wind noise.

Helmets with smoother profiles (not too many air vents and parts jutting out) help to keep the wind noise to a minimum. Shoei design their helmets to have smooth fronts with a one piece construction around the bottom of each helmet. Any gap between parts of a helmet breaks up the air when travelling which can create more wind noise and turbulence.

The fitting of the visor to the helmet and the seals around the visor when closed help to keep the air out. Wind noise can create an annoying whistle that can be tiring.

The most quiet full face motorcycle helmets available are made by a company called Schuberth. They have developed their helmets to be very aerodynamic to keep wind noise to a minimum. The bottom of each helmet has a special 'curtain' that fits closely around the wearers neck. This stops air from whistling past the bottom of the helmet. Try one on it's like sitting in your living room!

Some riders prefer to be able to hear more of what's going on around them. If this is the case with you then wind noise might not be such an issue. Make sure to buy some ear plugs though as at high speeds the wind is so loud it can damage your hearing if you're not wearing ear plugs.

Finish
Single colours are normally the cheapest full face helmet models in a manufacturers range.

A budget model with a very intricate paint design can be more expensive than a single colour intermediate model! If you want the best helmet for your money then stick to single colours.

Beware that some helmet finishes cannot have any stickers put on them as the glue can break down the outer shell and make the helmet less effective in a crash.

Visor
The visor keeps rain, stones and grit out of your face and eyes, but the visor can actually create a problem as in wet or cold weather it can mist up. Some motorcycle helmet manufacturers such as Arai have designed vents into their visors to help this problem.

You can also buy special 'pinlock' visors that enable you to put a plastic insert over the inside of the visor. This creates a double glazing effect that prevents any mist from building up.

It's impossible to completely stop mist from appearing so as well as vents and pinlock visors, you can buy various anti mist products from bike shops that can be used to treat the visor. The best ones will stop mist from building up for about 2 weeks before you have to re-treat.

Weight and Material
The helmet weight makes a very big difference to its comfort. Full face and flip up helmets are generally heavier than open face helmets. The lightest material used to make full face motorcycle helmets is fibreglass. The only problem with a fibreglass construction is that the outside layer of the helmet can crack easily if the helmet is knocked. If this happens then it's time to buy a new one.

As a general rule the top of the range helmets are lighter (although this isn't always the case). Cheaper full face motorcycle helmets are made using cheaper materials and construction methods, but they still have to pass safety regulations.

Why are full face motorcycle helmets safer than other styles of helmet?

Full face motorcycle helmets offer the best protection compared to open face and flip up helmets. These other helmets still offer good protection but not to the extent of a full face. Open face helmets only protect the top and back of your head, in a crash your face is completely unprotected.

Related Articles

• Motorcycle Helmet Law
• BSI Motorcycle Helmet (UK Standards)
• DOT Motorcycle Helmet (US Standards)
• Snell Motorcycle Helmet (US Standards)