Full-face Helmet Advantages - Helmet Or Hell Met!

By Santosh

Helmets today are mandatory in most states in the country and with good reason. Proper usage of a helmet can save your life in an unforeseeable incident. In this article we will bring to you the advantages of a full-face helmet in comparison to the other styles available, but not before we tell you that wearing a helmet is of no use if you haven't strapped it on tightly.

Also read: Safety - When A Helmet Becomes The Key To Your Bike

A helmet that isn't strapped on correctly will detach itself almost immediately in the event of you falling off your bike, leaving your head with no protection by the time you hit the asphalt. In India, there is a severe shortage of road accident data, so we will probably never know how many lives were lost because of incorrect usage of helmets. Japan however, has far better accident data, and the primary reason for loss of life in two-wheeler accidents is helmet detachment, when the helmet came loose during the accident. So we urge you to strap on your helmet tightly, or you might as well not go through the trouble of wearing one.

So, let's talk helmets.

The story continues in the next section. Click through the slides for more:

Full-face Helmet Advantages - Helmet Or Hell Met!

Click through for more on the types of helmets and their advantages and disadvantages:

Types of helmets

Types of helmets

Helmets come in three major styles - open, flip up or modular, and full face helmets. Each has advantages of its own, but one kind beats the others by a fair margin. Any guesses?

Open-face helmets

Open-face helmets

Open-face helmets have the benefits of being cooler than their full-face counterparts, and also offer better visibility and score high in the ‘style' department. But remember, there isn't anything stylish about exposing your face to the ground if that fall does happen.

Flip-up/modular helmets

Flip-up/modular helmets

Flip-up or modular helmets have become increasingly common because they offer the ‘same' protection as a full face helmet, but have the advantage of flipping up to cool the rider down at signals, etc. However there are varied opinions about these. Some feel that the helmet could flip up in the event of an accident with disastrous consequences, while others say that these offer the best compromise between the safety of a full-face helmet and the wind-in-your-face of an open helmet. We, however, believe in eliminating as much risk as possible.

Full-face helmets

Full-face helmets

But the fact still stands that the tried-and-tested option for maximum safety on the road is the full-face helmet. This kind of helmet has several advantages over the other styles - it offers the best protection for your head and neck, is effective against dust, flying stones and insects, provides good sound insulation and works well to keep you warm in cold weather. Most importantly, the helmet detachment rate of full-face helmets, when strapped on correctly, is the lowest of the three kinds.

Key impact areas

Key impact areas

In America, where key statistics are available, it was found that 60 percent of all helmet impacts happen around the chin area to just above the visor area. The illustration shows the impact areas on a full-face helmet. This figure can't be all that far from the Indian statistic, and only stresses the importance of being able to keep your entire face protected.

Tips

Tips

Full-face helmets have their disadvantages too, like becoming very hot in summer (prompting ingenious usage of handkerchiefs inside) and fogging up in wet or cold weather. But there are ways around it. An effective and popular household solution to prevent visors from fogging up is wiping them down on the inside with shaving foam or shampoo, as this forms a layer which does not allow condensation to stick. Also, make sure the helmet you buy is well-ventilated.

Last word

Last word

All said and done, the winner will always be the safest option, and the safest here is the full-face helmet. And with innumerable styles and colours available now, these helmets can actually become style statements as well. Correctly-strapped-on style statements, however...

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Article Published On: Wednesday, May 14, 2014, 15:53 [IST]
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