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full face vs modular vs adventure helmets

My favorite type of helmet is

  • full face

    Votes: 26 32.1%
  • modular

    Votes: 50 61.7%
  • adventure

    Votes: 5 6.2%
  • other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    81

frozenpoet

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So it's about that time where I start to look at buying a new helmet. So far in all my years of riding, around 8 years, I have only used full faced helmets. I've been looking at some of the other styles and can't quite make up my mind. I like the look of the adventure helmets and I think the visor would be useful, but could also cause some issues. Modular have some perks, but I don't know how often I would actually use the flip chin bar. I also use a Bluetooth headset with a boom mic so I'm not sure how it might interfere.

So what do you use? what are the pros and cons?
 
It's a matter of personal preference and potentially a matter of safely.

I have both full face and modular types. I prefer the full face. I rarely need/want the flip up feature of the modular, so I prefer the lighter weight and lower cost of the full face. I wear eyeglasses when I ride, but the full face is just as easy as the modular for dealing with eyeglasses, IMO.

Many full face helmets are Snell certified, but very, very few modular helmets are. Either there is not an applicable standard or they aren't submitted for testing. Snell Foundation - M2015 certified helmets

Edit to add: This list of two helmets seemed to be the only Snell certified modulars and they are for the 2010 standard, not the 2015. Snell Foundation - certified helmets At this link, search on "Modular" for the helmet type. There are apparently no modular helmets that have 2015 Snell certification.

I'm curious myself what the advantage is with adventure helmets. Is it more than just style? I have an off road helmet but I sure wouldn't wear it on the street.
 
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Safety first... And less weight secondly... So all my helmets are full face.

Adventure helmets you mean those for enduro / motocross riders. They are designed that way because of the dirt, heat, and to offer some protection for that terrain...

They're not suitable for street use.
 
Modular here. I know they aren't as safe, but its nice to be able to flip it up to scratch an itching nose. Not to mention, that time i got food poisoning and left early from work.
 
I have a Shoei Modular that I like a lot!! That said, , a few years ago I bought a Shoei Hornet Adventure helmet!! It is light, , , Full Coverage, , , has a "Visor", , , & best of all it has a built in shield like most street helmets have!! I have used that helmet for On and Off Road & faults are hard to find!! One very small fault with that first gen Hornet is that the visor does cause small unwanted movement with wind!! I just bought the second Gen Hornet & Shoei seems to have corrected the Buffeting issue with lovres in the visor!!

Over the years I have had almost all the helmet configurations!! I still have most of them, , ,
 
Safety first... And less weight secondly... So all my helmets are full face.

Adventure helmets you mean those for enduro / motocross riders. They are designed that way because of the dirt, heat, and to offer some protection for that terrain...

They're not suitable for street use.

No, I think in this context he means Shoei Hornet, Arai XD-4, Icon Variant, etc. Not a specific Motocross type.

I picked my Variant based on what I liked, and what I wanted more of from my Icon Alliance helmet.
-much more ventilation
-rubber tone surface
-kevlar carbon fibre construction versus the Alliance polycarb
-sun visor
-very large eyeport
-lots of "free space" between mouth and chin bar
-all internal padding comes out easily for washing

I don't mind that the price was hundreds and hundreds less than Shoei and Arai, and I like how it looks. It's definitely more towards the street side of ADV versus dirt, and I am perfectly fine with that.

The only thing I truly don't like about it, is the shield changing method. It completely sucks compared to the quick change abilities of my Alliance and my HJC CL-16
 
I have full face, flip front and ADV helmets. For commuting I used the flip front. I can put it on/off without removing my glasses. I can go into the quickmart with it flipped up, etc. Lot easier to take pics with the flip front. My full face is quiet so I use it on longer rides where I'm not taking it on/off frequently. I use the ADV when going off-road. Where I ride is in and out of shade so I don't like sunglasses or the integrated sunshield. I can use the peak to block the sun. On slower technical rides I use goggles with it. All 3 helmets have integrated flip down sunshields. Won't have a helmet without that feature. TourTech and I forget who actually makes the helmet has a new convertible flip front ADV helmet that has peaked my interest. The peak is easily removable for street use and has the integrated sun shield.

I have a friend that rides a Ninja with an ADV helmet. He rides east in the morning and west in the evening so he uses the peak to block the sun. I thought it was an odd choice at first but it works well for his situation.

Note: I consider any helmet with a peak and a shield to be ADV whereas just a peak is a MX helmet.
 
I currently own two flip fronts, the Schuberth C3 and the Shoei Multitec. Of those two the Shoei is a better quality helmet and it is in every day use. I have an intercom in the Schuberth and that is only used when touring with the Wife. I couldn't go back to a full face again. I have however considered an adventure style helmet, mainly for the peak which is very useful in winter time when the sun is low. My ideal helmet would be a Shoei Neotec with a peak. However it now looks like Caberg and Schuberth both have such a helmet.

Schuberth E1, New Adventure Helmet ! | Good Bikers (GB)

Caberg Tourmax Review - webBikeWorld
 
I have had two Nolan flips...currently the N104. I also have an adventure helmet, an Arai. On my first Nolan, I bought the electronic with boom mic...didn't work very well. I liked the peak on my Arai, but it does catch wind and could be more dangerous in a crash because of the possible torque that can whip you head around. I put a piece of white duck tape across the top of my shield as a cheap beak. Works well. I found a boomlets speaker/mic system that I plan on trying for coms and to bluetooth music and GPS directions to helmet speakers. (UClear 200)

I find the flip very useful. whenever I talk with someone, I just flip it up. Sometimes when I stop to take a photo, I flip it up rather than take it off. The newer Nolan has a larger screen area and has an internal sun visor.

I did crash once with my first Nolan and the chin bar dug a pretty good trench without failure.
 
Modular helmets are normally noisier and heavier than full face helmets. Modular lets you flip it front and talk to people without the fuss to remove the helmet. I think it is also easier to put on glasses and zip up your coat when trying to look down to match up the zippers.
 
I have a Scorpion EXO GT3000. It''s pretty light weight for a modular and very comfortable. I too wear glasses and the arms behind my ears are fairly long. That makes it very difficult to put on a full face. It's vented well with internal sun shield.
 
There is one key point about helmets from the Harry Hurt Study done in the late-80s. Just wear one!

The sole exception is the half-helmet because most safety people don't consider them real helmets.
 
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I have an HJC IS Max 2 modular. For me I had trouble getting my glass on in different full face helmets. Probably my head shape 0.o I think 670cc did a nice job on his post. The modulars don't do as well in the testing and they shouldn't when you think about the construction. Think about your usage. I would miss being able to flip up the front. I know if I wanted to do a track day I would probably need to get another helmet to meet the standards.
 
I must admit, i like my Nolan N71 as jet-helmet when it is warm (above 15° degrees). I got it at a greatly reduced price @80€ and was more of a emergency-buy in the last summer because my brain started to melt in my BMW Systemhelm Evo 6.

But i also have some issues with the BMW helmet that make me prefer the "cheap" Nolan: Like i find the BMW helmet really quiet in a bad way: While it dampens every outside sound like my engine-sound, other cars, alarmsignals, voices etc. (at time it feels like riding under water), the buffeting remains and stands out until it gets really distracting. Ear-buds don't help, as it is more or less transmitted directly into my head.

The Nolan-Helmet, especially as jet-helmet on the other hand does way less dampening. I can hear my own engine (which is a joy), others and can hear voices without much problems.

For the coming season i plan on buying a new/better modular/refittable helmet where it is easier to remove/add the chin-part and does have some color (not just plain black like my current Nolan).
 
My favorite helmet design is a modular. On a ride I do not have to remove it to talk, eat, drink, or fiddle with a zipper, snap or minor bike maintenance item or the GPS/phone/radio that is out of sight behind the chin bar of a FF. At gas stations or quicky stops I don't have to remove it to present a human face to the attendant or someone speaking to me in traffic etc. I favor Shoei helmets currently a Neotec but I had a Multitec previously. An HJC SyMax hooked me on modulars. I always wear ear plugs, noise and weight aren't worth consideration.
 
I only use modulars and have for the last ten years or so. My last helmet was a scorpion XO 900, it was ok but noisy and heavy. However I wear hearing aids and the modular is much easier to put on and adjust. Second, I also wear transitions glasses and with the helmet visor blocking UV they don't darken, so the integrated visor is a valuable feature for me. Current helmet is a shoei neotec and I am very happy with it so far, I did try a Scheubert (sp) and it just didn't fit my head shape.
 
On the safety side of things, I remember in my MSF class the instructor telling us that snell didn't even test the modular helmets since there is no guarantee that the chin bar would be down during a crash. While that may not be completely true, I can see the logic. From what I've found looking around, the weight between a modular and a normal full face isn't as much of a difference that it used to be. Full face helmets are still better in the weight/noise/safety categories, but I don't believe they are ahead by that much anymore.

I really like the looks and visor of the ADV style helmets, but at the same time, the visor catching wind at speed is a concern for me. How much of a problem this that?
 
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