When it comes to riding your bike, you need to wear a helmet— no exceptions. It seems that every year, when warm weather approaches, drivers of all kinds get more risky. Especially when it comes to motorcyclists, wearing less means more danger. A helmet can protect you from serious injury in a crash, it can save you from some pretty nasty road rash, and not to mention, it can save your life.
While South Carolina has yet to introduce regulation on helmet use, in North Carolina, wearing one is the law. However, while the law out here does require you to wear your head protection, it doesn’t specify which type. That’s where you can decide if you want to go for style, protection, or a little bit of both. Your choice of helmet says a lot about you as a rider, therefore you want to make the right choice. So here’s a look at helmet types and which one might be the right pick for you…
Helmet Options: What’s Your Best Fit?
Open Face
One of the popular types is an open face style. With this option, the back portion of your head remains covered but your face is open. By having this open face, it allows you to see out of your peripheral better. However, it also leaves your face exposed to debris and other things. Since this helmet covers only half of your head, there’s still a lot of exposure in the event of a crash. Therefore, it is more stylish but less safe.
Three Quarter
Much like open-face options, this style still leaves the face mostly open. But like the name suggests, these helmets cover slightly more than the open face. By covering roughly three quarters of your head, this type provides just a little more protections through the ear and neck areas.
Full-Face
Of all the different coverage types, the full-face style offers the most protection. By covering your head, face, and into your neck, these helmets can do a lot more to prevent damage in the event of a crash. However, due to the increase in coverage, these helmets tend to be on the heavy side. Also, they can be rather hot and don’t leave much room for air to travel. So, they are the height of protection, but not so much style or comfort.
Modular
This style combines two helmet types and gives you different options in one helmet. With the modular type, the helmet can function as either a three-quarter style or the full-face type. Therefore, this helmet offers both function and versatility, depending on what your need it for. So, it might just be the best of both worlds.
Half-Helmet
For the most part, of all types, the half-helmet offers the least protection overall. This style covers only the top and back of your head, with no neck coverage. While it does allow you to see well, it offers very little when in a crash. However, this remains a popular style amongst cruisers— while we advise against this style, some protection is still better than none.
You have options
The key here, is to realize that there are plenty of different options depending on your specific wants and needs. No rider is the same, and everyone values things differently. So, explore your options! See what’s out there. After all, new products are hitting the market every day, and your perfect choice might be one Google search away… The most important part is finding which one is right for you and serves your purpose.