Normal or Full Face which do you use

bwfc4eva868

I have a 2 inch scar on my chin from when i was into dirt jumping back when i was 14 and skidded along the floor. Now 10 years later, i will ride most trail centres with a full face. Riding to the centres i stick a normal helmet on.

I may look a knob on a XC bike with a FF but its better than having No chin.

RevellRider

Generally, I wear a Bell Sweep for commuting, and 90% of all other riding. The rest of the time I wear a piss pot helmet, as the rest of my time is spent in skate parks, street riding and on bmx/4x tracks.

I am considering a full face helmet, not because I've had a nasty crash but because I'm considering racing BMX next year

Northwind

pat mcgucken wrote:

Why if you attach such importance to wearing a helmet to protect your head in a crash would you only want to protect half of it and why would you choose the half that if your pointing downhill isn't the half thats facing the ground?

Practicality, obviously :? Wearing an open face helmet all the time is no hardship, wearing a full face all the time is. But there's also the fact that while your face isn't protected, your skull is- most people aren't wearing helmets to avoid scrapes, they're wearing them to avoid brain surgery.

Course, most people will never take a head hit that would have been fatal or damaging without a helmet anyway, and when people say "Oh my helmet saved my life",chances are it did no such thing. It's a bit of a risk dislocation thing. According to the studies I've seen you're something in the order of 10 times more likely to suffer a permanently damaging knee injry than head injury. Your brain is in an armoured box, well located to keep it off the ground, and your entire instinct is to protect it... Whereas your knees are delicate, exposed, and often the first thing to hit the ground, with your weight behind it.

But despite all that if you ride without a helmet you're an idiot, but if you ride with knee pads you're a poof

pat mcgucken

ha ha I do think that sometimes as I'm putting my FF helmet in my back pack and looking at my knee pads hanging in the garage as I leave. Personally I think its more to do with peer pressure and what you think other people are going to say about you which is pretty stupid. I wear a skate helmet at trail centres because I wear it all the way round and a FF would be too hot. I took a FF and just used it on descents (which I have) I would feel ridiculous if somebody faster came down after me in an xc lid. That is the stupid bit, it's his face and his risk but it's affecting what `I do-I would still be guilty of it tho. I hate riding in knee/shin pads, my shins are a mess of scars and holes anyway, I'm not sure they could get that much worse
A mate (who is a really good rider) wearing an xc helmet on a night ride recently crashed and now has plates fastening his top jaw back onto the rest of his skull, which I think is slightly more than "a scrape", its this sort of smash that I am trying to avoid by wearing a FF on steep rocky descents, if my front wheel washes out on a loose rock and I'm going down face first then I would like to protect as much of my head as possible.

bartiebat

Northwind wrote:

But despite all that if you ride without a helmet you're an idiot, but if you ride with knee pads you're a poof

^^^^^^ LIKE!!

Karen
(currently the owner of one fractured knee & 3 torn & reconstructed cruciate knee ligaments - no I wasn't wearing knee pads)

bartiebat

Northwind wrote:

But despite all that if you ride without a helmet you're an idiot, but if you ride with knee pads you're a poof

^^^^^^ LIKE!!

Karen
(currently the owner of one fractured knee & 3 torn & reconstructed cruciate knee ligaments - no I wasn't wearing knee pads)

peter413

Northwind wrote:

But despite all that if you ride without a helmet you're an idiot, but if you ride with knee pads you're a poof

I know we are anyway but apparently we are Glentress Mincers because of just this

Northwind

We're glentress mincers cos we're so slow and cowardly mate

peter413

And because we always wear knee pads

jay12

Northwind wrote:

But despite all that if you ride without a helmet you're an idiot, but if you ride with knee pads you're a poof

or because after a crash your brain is still working 100% well :P

dan shard

I dont really see the problem anyway, were not in the 1980's where knee / elbow pads look rediculous, theyre designed to look good now. have you seen some of the POC and Troy Lee stuff?! Its really nice looking gear!!

lochussie

If the ride is mostly long ups and long downs, I think you're better off wearing an xc ff (eg Met Parachute) on the downs and putting it on your bag on the ups than just wearing a normal xc lid all the way. You're much more likely to smash your face going down than you are to hit your head going up. If the ride is undulating then a normal xc lid is prob a better comprimise.

Shaggy_Dog

I only wear a full face if I'm competing (so, not much these days!) and the rules insist on one. I struggle to breathe in a full face

slimboyjim

I've both. In my opinion, FF is very hot for summer. I wear the FF when I'm out on my own. I wouldn't like to have a serious off when I was out on my own. Keeps the Mrs happy too! Rest of the time, I have a Flux.

FF is good in the snow though!

As to why someone would only protect half their heads it will always be a balance between comfort and protection. I personally believe a blow to the face is unlikely to be life-threatening, but I can't say that about a blow to the head, and yes I have had surgery following an accident (face mashed up but head fine, possibly down to helmet).

I wear knee and elbow pads all the time now too.

DodgeT

Wore a FF for the first time while at llandegla yesterday. Bit warm, but somehow made me feel a lot safer, like i was in a bubble
Had a couple of off's on the ice too, so was pleased i'd got it on.

getonyourbike

I XC lid for me all the time as my riding is a bit of everything, road and towpaths getting then and then up and down whe there. When I have some more money something like a 661 recon will be on teh cards though.