helmet dilemma

[hairy1]

Hi,

This isn't really a dilemma for me - (I think) I'm convinced, but I'll put this idea out there for consumption/discussion/heckling.

I crashed 6 weeks ago and did a fairly good job of rearranging my face, teeth and one of the bones in my hand (see the crash pics thread for entertaining photos). On an impulse (pretty much once I got home from hospital) I bought a full face helmet (met parachute). I had already observed the evolution of helmet designs that offer more protection ('enduro style') and got on board with a really cool fluro green bell super a couple of years ago. I figure the more protected my brain is the better.

I should confess that I work in health and have spent much of my working life looking after people on life support in various settings, including people who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Believe me when I say you do not want a traumatic brain injury.

The catch with a full face helmet is that, as most of you who have ever crashed will recognise, to receive the benefit you need to wear it all the time, which will be fun here in Darwin, on my SS hardtail, but I'm comfortable with not being cool (figuratively or literally). I know I could just get better at riding and not crash, and I'll work on that too.

thoughts?

 

[ForkinGreat]

rock the Parachute helmet with some authority mirror sunnies, and develop Tourette's syndrome for good measure.
Ride fast everywhere and regularly yell: "STRAVA RUN", peppered with obscenities.

The MET parachute is (??) the best ventilated fullface helmet, so if you fear grinding faceplants, then it's probably a good choice.

 

[bennyp1]

Interested to know how this goes for you. I've considered the move to a helmet like this. As I am far from the most attractive critter on this planet I don't know that I can afford to have my face rearranged. However I don't know that I can afford to lose anymore cool points at the track head ( I mean how far into the negatives can you really go). Full face on a spark. People would point and laugh.

 

[findbuddha]

Asking this for my curiosity, not to put you off getting a full face: is a full face better at protecting against traumatic brain injury?

 

[trickbooter]

I hit a roo and smashed my helmet and neck up (thankfully nothing serious), and seriously considered getting the Met. I ended up with a TLD A1 but I do still wonder if the Met would be a safer bet. Let me know how you get on with the heat and weight.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jp80]

Yep, I had the same questions... Ended up with a parrabellum but still thinking of the parachute for "big" days... Something like, "I wear the parachute if I'm putting pads on".
Thanks for doing your job!

 

[Mattydv]

It's an individual risk analysis Hairy, I don't think that what others say is really that likely to influence you. The weather here in Cairns isn't quite as bad as Darwin, but theres no way I personally cbf'd wearing a full face for day-to-day riding.
I came off my motorbike a few weeks ago and the windshield went in the space between the helmet and the jaw protection - gave me a decent cut and a good bloody nose. Because of this I put goggles in the same bracket as a full face, and I'm happy to have drawn my line prior to wearing both of those.

 

[Buntley]

Hi,

This isn't really a dilemma for me - (I think) I'm convinced, but I'll put this idea out there for consumption/discussion/heckling.

I crashed 6 weeks ago and did a fairly good job of rearranging my face, teeth and one of the bones in my hand (see the crash pics thread for entertaining photos). On an impulse (pretty much once I got home from hospital) I bought a full face helmet (met parachute). I had already observed the evolution of helmet designs that offer more protection ('enduro style') and got on board with a really cool fluro green bell super a couple of years ago. I figure the more protected my brain is the better.

I should confess that I work in health and have spent much of my working life looking after people on life support in various settings, including people who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Believe me when I say you do not want a traumatic brain injury.

The catch with a full face helmet is that, as most of you who have ever crashed will recognise, to receive the benefit you need to wear it all the time, which will be fun here in Darwin, on my SS hardtail, but I'm comfortable with not being cool (figuratively or literally). I know I could just get better at riding and not crash, and I'll work on that too.

thoughts?

http://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub,2/The-Enduro-craze-and-Safety,9134

I know you haven't mentioned Enduro specifically but this is along the same lines.

It raises the question, why has there been a shift away from full face helmets, when enduro riders tackle much the same terrain as what DH riders do?

Heat and comfort on the climbs is an obvious answer, but surely safety should take precedence over comfort.

I reckon marketing has played a big role here, most of the guys I ride with own 2 helmets now or have forked out for a super 2r.

Personally I reckon those guys who where a fullface all the time are the smart ones.

 

[mtb101]

I'd be more focussed on skills and judgement to avoid nasty crashes - we all want to push the limits, that's the fun part, there's a difference between recklessness and taking controlled risks. you don't have to think you'll automatically crash in mtb its about riding within your safety envelope and surely that's the most effective protection.

 

[rowdyflat]

I agree w mtb101 after several nasty crashes just slow down.
I think if you are too hot in a fullface in Darwin it affects your concentration anyway, see recent Catalyst on ABC about motorbike clothing + physical performance + concentration when hot .

 

[ForkinGreat]

I'd be more focussed on skills and judgement to avoid nasty crashes - we all want to push the limits, that's the fun part, there's a difference between recklessness and taking controlled risks. you don't have to think you'll automatically crash in mtb its about riding within your safety envelope and surely that's the most effective protection.

+1. Also bike setup. proper suspension setup if your SS isn't fully rigid. Brakes working properly. Tyre choice and pressure. I always like to run a front tyre that has maximum grip. rear too. fast rolling is nice but having the front wash out on you or the rear slide around when you don't want it can really suck.

 

[John U]

I agree with the last 3 posts. To that I'd throw in possible extra risk created by any vision limiting factors that might be introduced by a full face helmet, and impacts if might have on your hearing.

Protection from the helmet should be secondary to doing the right things to avoid the accident in the first place (within reason that is. Don't stop riding).

 

[scblack]

I agree with the last few posts, nothing wrong with that view.

However.

I know that when I am riding with extra protective gear, I do have the extra confidence to push my limits further. That makes me progress faster with my riding skills.

 

[Jim Junkie]

I had a similar incident myself, although it was a bit embarrassing given the situation.

Basically I had just taken a quick run down an easy (green xc) trail and was trundling out the bottom, still with a bit of speed on. Given I had pushed a bit hard, I was a little gassed and didn't spot the 2 guys coming the other way until a bit later than usual. I went to go left, but they went the same way so I had to reverse and grab some more brake. Being tired, unbalanced and at the top of a small drop, I went straight over the bars and face first into the ground.

It was a stupid crash, but it cost me stitches under the eye and many other bruises & scrapes, just because I was caught out not paying attention. That was the end of the 661 Stealth as well, given the nice dent in the brow.

My point is that you can do everything to get the right set-up, have the skills, ride properly, etc., but for me it was the bit of time I wasn't paying attention because I thought I was through the tough stuff that got me.

Anyway, I opted for the Bell Super 2R MIPS as a new helmet. Given this is Qld, it gets warm. My usual process when just trail riding is having the faceplate on most of the time, but taking it off for the slow climbs. I figure that gives me the increased protection for all the riskiest stuff (and would have covered the situation above), but doesn't cause such an inconvenience that I might opt to forgo the face protection. Been pretty good so far and I love the helmet. Still got the scar under the eye though .

 

[Buntley]

I had a similar incident myself, although it was a bit embarrassing given the situation.

Basically I had just taken a quick run down an easy (green xc) trail and was trundling out the bottom, still with a bit of speed on. Given I had pushed a bit hard, I was a little gassed and didn't spot the 2 guys coming the other way until a bit later than usual. I went to go left, but they went the same way so I had to reverse and grab some more brake. Being tired, unbalanced and at the top of a small drop, I went straight over the bars and face first into the ground.

It was a stupid crash, but it cost me stitches under the eye and many other bruises & scrapes, just because I was caught out not paying attention. That was the end of the 661 Stealth as well, given the nice dent in the brow.

My point is that you can do everything to get the right set-up, have the skills, ride properly, etc., but for me it was the bit of time I wasn't paying attention because I thought I was through the tough stuff that got me.

Anyway, I opted for the Bell Super 2R MIPS as a new helmet. Given this is Qld, it gets warm. My usual process when just trail riding is having the faceplate on most of the time, but taking it off for the slow climbs. I figure that gives me the increased protection for all the riskiest stuff (and would have covered the situation above), but doesn't cause such an inconvenience that I might opt to forgo the face protection. Been pretty good so far and I love the helmet. Still got the scar under the eye though .

+1 Regardless of how well your bike is set up, the fact of the matter is we all do, from time to time stack it.

 

[ForkinGreat]

+1 Regardless of how well your bike is set up, the fact of the matter is we all do, from time to time stack it.

true - and if there was no chance of stacking, there wouldn't be the buzz from riding, and you wouldn't be able to get the flow-state from having to pay maximum attention to what you are doing. No risk, no reward, IMO.

 

[slippy]

My worst accidents have been at low speed, so wearing the best protection only when you plan to go big could backfire. BMXers wear better fullfaces than we generally do and they're riding full rigid single speeds at relatively low speed. Met Parachutes are well ventilated, go for it I say.

 

[bloodpuddle]

My point is that you can do everything to get the right set-up, have the skills, ride properly, etc., but for me it was the bit of time I wasn't paying attention because I thought I was through the tough stuff that got me.

+1 with this.

Last week, after losing concentration for a second (thinking about work of all things :yuck, I somehow managed to go OTB on a flat, smooth bit of singletrack at low speed, landing face first against a rock and taking a bunch of skin off my chin and upper lip (fortunately, kept all my teeth).

It was a stupid fall on the simplest bit of trail you can imagine.

Taking delivery of a Parachute this week, and will be wearing it for pretty much every trail ride.

I had the same experience with taking skin off knees and elbows, so wear knee and elbow pads on pretty much every ride now too.

Yep, I'll look like a bit of a goose riding everyday trails, at low speeds, in all that get up, but it's worth it. I looked like more of a goose growing a cheesy goatee because I couldn't shave!

 

[trickbooter]

+1 with this.

Last week, after losing concentration for a second (thinking about work of all things :yuck, I somehow managed to go OTB on a flat, smooth bit of singletrack at low speed, landing face first against a rock and taking a bunch of skin off my chin and upper lip (fortunately, kept all my teeth).

It was a stupid fall on the simplest bit of trail you can imagine.

Taking delivery of a Parachute this week, and will be wearing it for pretty much every trail ride.

I had the same experience with taking skin off knees and elbows, so wear knee and elbow pads on pretty much every ride now too.

Yep, I'll look like a bit of a goose riding everyday trails, at low speeds, in all that get up, but it's worth it. I looked like more of a goose growing a cheesy goatee because I couldn't shave!

Yep. Thinking about work. Clipped a tree, full rupture of ACL, MCL and a bunch of other damage. Started wearing knee pads after that.

Almost got a parachute after my roo collision. Maybe I should go try one on, all this talk of face first'ing rocks is making me interested.

 

[hairy1]

I have been wearing knee pads for a year or so also on every ride, in the belief that I'm going to crash when I least expect it. This crash was in that basket - pretty simple ~half meter drop on to a graded 4wd track that I ride every time I go there.

cheers