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-   -   Open Face vs. Full Face Helmets : How Safe are they? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/146632-open-face-vs-full-face-helmets-how-safe-they-5.html)

I am looking for buying a Bluetooth helmet and have the following doubt

1) How do the Full face Modular helmets (Flip up ones) fare against the full face non-modular ones ? Are they strong enough structurally ?

2) Does anyone have any feedback on the 'LS2 FF318 flip up helmet with Bluetooth ?

IMHO, a full-face helmet is much better than a flip-up helmet. It is surely structurally stronger and I also remember reading of an incident where the part flipped up on a fall. And the chin is usually the place that takes the hit!

Full Face Helmets are more safe anyday. I've been using a FFH since the day I started riding a bike. Few people complain that they can't hear horns properly while using a FFH, feel claustrophobic while wearing it, their glares don't fit in it etc. IMO, if they start wearing FFH, they'll get used to it eventually. I've known people who earlier used to wear Open Face Helmet because of these reasons and they have started wearing FFH and they don't complain now, they're used to it. I would like to give an example of my dad who used to wear an Open Face Helmet and now wears a FFH after I forced him to wear one. After all, Life is precious, it's better to be uncomfortable in a FFH rather then being comfortable in an Open Face Helmet.
Attaching a pic of my old hemet and my new one. Both ISI certified.

My old helmet, Aaron Hybrid. Served me well for 3 years, still have it. Paid Rs.1200/- for it when I bought it back in 2012.


My new helmet, Vega Offroad. Bought it few months ago. MRP was Rs.1800/-, I bought it during an offer and paid Rs.1000/-

IMO, its a Full Faced Helmet anytime, any day!

I was driving at low speeds on my pulsar, was in 1st gear, as there was a jam ahead. Suddenly a bike came zooming from behind, hit me on my left and sped away. Guess they were riding triple, their sheer weight threw me off balance, i landed on my head (Right ).
Luckily i was fully armed, wearing a helmet, jacket , biker gloves and shoes. My helmet visor cracked, jacket shoulder (right) was torn , gloves were scratched, shoes protected my right foot from bruises. I was shaken though. Was literally unscathed. No matter, how many precautions we observe, rogues are plenty in traffic.

Its always better to be geared up , every time. I saw somewhere in posts ATGATT :) All the Gear , All the Time !

It must be a full face plus must be tight and also we must tie the chin in tightly.

In 1996 I had an accident where in I was wearing a Studds Kevlar Mix helmet costing about 3500 K which was a big amount for helmets in those days. First day of monsoon and I skid across the road the helmet saved me but as I had tied the chin a bit loosely he chin area moved up and I got stitches on the chin. The screen / lid was scratched indicating what my face survived.

On another occasion in 1997 I was not wearing an helmet and again slipped to save my face I had to take the full impact on my arm. Which was badly bruised. Presumed wrongly that I don't require an helmet for a slow short drive.

I completely agree with this,

I personally faced a plunge accident on 2008. I was traveling on a highway at 11:30 hours on 60 kmph

A Maxicab van over took me on the left and immediately took a right siding in order to take a U-Turn he will miss if he didn't side !

No usage of indicators, and i presume he never looked at the side mirrors

I hit the brakes which managed to reduce the speed of impact (but was not enough distance to come to a complete halt) The scooter crashed at the back of the van shattering his fiber bumper to 3 pieces

I was catapulted from my vehicle, If it was not for my original Studds ISI tested full face helmet - i would not have survived

The first impact was to the top portion of my helmet and the immediate was to the side

My scooter's Mudguard caved in forcing the wheel not to rotate - Took the help of public to decrease the dent on the bumper to a point of wheel rotation but the chase was bent so much that when i was pushing the vehicle with the handle bar straight ahead, and the bike was siding to its right !

Imagine facing such a force on your chin area with a half face helmet.. or worse with no helmet at all !

Dear experts, need some advice here.

I regularly travel by scooter to my office, and my wife rides pillion. The commute to office is around 10 km one way, so approx. 20 km everyday. Due to traffic we sometimes take almost 45-mins to an hour to cover this distance. Horrible road conditions in Hinjewadi, Pune, so the ride is not very comfortable.

I have always insisted on helmets, and both me and my wife wear full face helmets during our daily commute to office (we wear it without fail for even short trips).

My wife is suffering from chronic neck and back ache for the past 2 years. It has been diagnosed as cervical spondolysis, and treatment is underway. However, nowadays, she finds wearing the helmet extremely uncomfortable and painful. It seems to add to the pressure on her neck, and this coupled with the laptop bag on her back, is troubling her.

Needless to say, I do not want her to ride without an helmet, and that too a full face one (don't want to take the risk of the half face/open face ones). Is there any specific brand/type of helmet that is made for folks with such orthopaedic problems? I tried a quick search, and the only articles that I came across were doctors suggesting that the helmet should be a proper fit.

Her current helmet is a STUDDS NINJA (pic attached), and it is a proper fit.

Please advise.

Sorry to hear about your wife's troubles. I had a similar condition a decade back (but was not riding then)

First things first -
1)get rid of the laptop backpack

2)review the two longest duration activities in our 24 hours if not already done so:
a. Seating posture & seat at workplace
b. Pillow, mattress & sleeping posture

3) Consult a yoga specialist and start doing yoga - there are specific exercises to help with this condition. I benefited a lot from this action alone.

Now coming to the helmet, I have no experience with this Studds helmet but it does look a lot like a sports helmet. Do read up on touring helmets (as opposed to sports helmets)- these are helmets which are designed by manufacturers to be worn in upright riding position. Sports helmets are designed to be worn in the 'tucked-in' position. Your wife needs a lightweight touring helmet designed for upright riding position.

webbikeworld and revzilla are two excellent resources on this topic.

Lastly, this tip is from my personal experience of evaluating touring helmets before buying:

locate the point inside the helmet which is in contact with the crown of your head in normal wear position. This is the CG point of the helmet/head combo. Now try to balance the helmet with one finger at this point. If the helmet leans one way or the other from this point, it will exert pressure either at the neck or the forehead during riding. Good quality helmets take care of designing this point precisely in their helmets. Aids to the comfort level immensely. Even if the helmet is heavy, if the point is aligned to one's head shape, one can wear this helmet for hours and hours without any discomfort.

Hope this helps and wish your wife speedy recovery!

Start using a car or public transport.
An accident with the condition would be catastrophic, especially with her sitting as a pillion.
You can try with no bags and lighter helmets (carbon fiber ones are around 1200 gms) but I do not think that will solve the problem.

Hi Venkats2001,

Those are excellent suggestions from outofthebox.
Just to add on, I found that not only my seating posture at office was causing the pain but also the posture i take while riding the bike !

For example, you can see few people on the road with a pulsar who does not have enough arm reach lean forward (not to mention that nowadays the bike manufactures are forcing this position on the riders for stability over faster rides). Wearing a helmet in this posture for sure will cause a strain on your neck

For me its the other way, i drove a scooter which was too short for me in terms of length and height. So naturally my body tends to concave to the backside (Body looks like a "C" from the side of me) when i drive to find natural resting position.

When i intentionally started correcting it (Made my body upright in a way it looked like a "|") i did not have the neck pain even after traveling for continuous 2 hours !

I have a ISI certified Studds helmet and in certain situations founded that an ISI certified Vega helmet is much lighter than mine. May be your wife can give it a try

Hope this helps and wishing your wife a speedy recovery.

I would suggest you to try a light weight helmet. MT has one made of fibre glass but pretty expensive. Else I would suggest your wife to use a neck brace (under Doctors permission only, my mom suffers the same and the neck brace does wonders).
Riding a scooter does make the problem worse. A person with a bad back should never ride or sit on a scooter. I would suggest to buy a motorcycle or commute by car/public transport, but it might turn out to be a bit hectic because of the famous Hinjewadi traffic.
One thing i observed, why does your wife carry the lap top bag on her shoulder?
You could easily place it on the footboard of the scooter.

Thanks outofthebox for your suggestions. She is currently slated to visit another specialist (second opinion) for this condition. Previous doctor had prescribed exercises for correcting posture etc., and also suggested specific mattresses and pillows made out of memory foam to help her.

Will check on the touring helmet. Thanks for your tips on choosing the light helmet.

Thanks rakesh_r. We have started placing the laptop bag on the footboard only recently, since I have a dicky installed it was causing some trouble initially. Now, we have managed to fit it with a new backpack.

Recently bought a car, and are newbie drivers. We have only recently started driving it but since the Hinjewadi traffic is bad and we are not very confident, we need to start early. This then becomes a function of maids coming early in the morning on time etc. Invariably, we get delayed and then to reach office on time for calls etc., we end up taking the scooter.

But yes, the plan is to eventually travel daily by car. That should hopefully ease things a bit.

But it seems there are no custom-made special helmets for folks with medical conditions. At least I could not find any through a quick search online.

I'm not an advocate for open face helmets, but I have personally used light-weight open-face helmet Vega Cruiser in the past to get rid of stiff neck and headaches associated with helmet's wobbling. The aerodynamic cap on top of the helmet reduces wobbling - Its a nice design. Even after hours of riding, I was immune from stiff neck and the associated headaches. I used to own a STUDDS Ninja 3G before. Made the switch to Vega Cruiser and thanked myself. An aerodynamic and light-weight helmet will be of immense help.

Thanks devsoftech. I am evaluating lightweight carbon fibre helmets.

Obviously, over the full face and open face helmets, my priority is always the full face one. When i was about to purchase my new helmet, i ensured that i do not buy the one which has the option of opening the chin guard. Basic reason was the fact- what if i am driving with the chin guard open and i meet with an accident? Incidences do not happen with prior intimation. They just happen. Also i ensure that i drive with my elbow and knee guards. People do mock me but they are also aware that it is for safety.

Better safe than sorry.