Helmet recommended - full face, modular or shell?

[ZackDaniels]

Yeah there's all kinds of ways besides impact that a helmet can go bad. The polystyrene layer that works as the main reason your noodle is saved is fairly fragile stuff and gets brittle and thus ineffective with time.

Extreme heat and cold can increase the wear. If you leave it on the sissy bar when you park be sure you're not parking in direct sunlight, and don't leave it in the garage if you can help it.

I shop the close-out specials every year in the Fall and get discontinued models. That puts me right around 4 year replacements, but I can get higher quality helmets for $100 so $25 a year is reasonable to me.

Same goes for the padding and what not in your jackets. My main jacket is more than 5 years old, and the next one I get I'll be sure has removable pads so I can just replace that instead of the whole thing.

[Menhir]

I heard the "replace every 5 years" thing myself. Some say it's just the manufacturers trying to sell more helmets. I'm not quite that jaded, but I still tried to research it...on the web...where everything is true.
Fact is, I still had to trust without verification the reasons given, but in the end...I decided on getting a new helmet every 5 years.

I don't buy pricey helmets, either.

One thing to check...and this caught me by surprise, too: I bought the last helmet I owned, an HJC, at a local and reputable bike shop. It was on sale for a very good price.
When I later heard of the "5 year rule," I decided to look under the lining for the manufacture date. I was surprised to find that even though I owned the helmet roughly about 5 years, it was made 5 years before that. I was wearing a 10 year old helmet. No wonder it was on sale.
When I buy helmets now, I look for the manufacture date.

[robandmichele]

i'm embarrassed to say, but i just did a face-plant in a construction zone on my dual-sport (stupid road tires). anyways. full face helmet, gloves, jacket, boots. it was "too much trouble" so i didn't put my kevlar chaps on. of course, the only injury i got was on my knee on the concrete.

its a personal preference really. but i'm happy i've always worn full face helmets. if it doesn't matter to you yet, start with the safest one. it was (gotta replace it now) an o'neal tirade bluetooth and i loved it. can talk/listen to music all day long.

[invalidsession]

Full face is my vote. I have a Shoei and my wife wears an Arai. Both have great ventilation options for warmer days and an added bonus is I can't hear a thing she's saying.

Chris.

[ZackDaniels]

I can assure you it's not just to sell more helmets. The MSF and Snell determined the magic 5 year rule and they don't sell helmets, MSF has nothing to do with them and Snell is just R&D. The 3 part is just speculation on the average helmet being subject ot excessive gas fumes and temps that prevent it from lasting the full 5.

How Long Do Motorcycle Helmets Last And How To Maximize Your Motorcycle Helmet Safety

[Tcspencer211]

Originally Posted by jgarib

The only major annoyance is fogging of the face shield at stops.

Take a couple small drops of dish soap a smear all over the inside of your shield with a soft cloth. Let it dry about 5 minutes, then buff it out with another clean soft cloth. I do this for my full face helmet and on my riding goggles for my quads. Prevents the fogging at stops and slow speeds.

Tcspencer211

[PDM]

I wear a half helmet but I know that if I ever wreck I'll be wishing it was a full face. I've been wanting a full face for a while now, I just got to go out and get one.

Originally Posted by jgarib

...The only major annoyance is fogging of the face shield at stops...

Every year I Rain-X the windows on my mother's Lincoln. This year I also put on some Rain-X anti fog stuff on the inside of her windows that seems to work pretty good. I'm thinking I may use some of that when I get a full face.

[Susan07]

None unless...I'm in a "Nanny" state. Then I wear a "shorty" DOT from Wally world.

[NuBeOnLI]

Just a suggestion but if you decide to try a FF or modular you may want to sit on your bike and try and get a feel for your sight lines, etc. before buying it.

I had a top of the line Arai FF which was very comfortable, very safe.... only problem I couldn't see past my shoulders. The compbination of my body, chin bar, posture on the bike, etc. resulted in my having the inablity to see past my shoulder regardless of how hard I tried to turn my head.

In my case the FF would be better in an accident but not better in helping me avoid one.

It may be very differrant for you so check.

[ZackDaniels]

That will vary by helmet. My Bell Vortex is cut back far enough that it doesn't effect my peripheral much at all. In fact since I have sunglasses that are designed to go over my prescription glasses the stems on those glasses actually cut my peripherals more than my FF helmet does.

I would imagine that's true of any big stemmed sunglasses vs cut back full face.