Half helmet or full face helmet – which one is best? The truth is that each helmet has has positives and negatives, and no matter which one you ultimately decide upon purchasing, just making sure that you strap on a helmet every time you’re riding your scooter, motorcycle or ATV is the single best decision you can make.
Comfort
Comfort really depends upon the personality of the rider. If you do a lot of high-speed, long distance travel, then getting a full face helmet would be my recommendation. When I was riding, I had a Bell Star that provided a quiet and comfortable ride on the highway. And, having a rather loud motorcycle, I appreciated the quietness. But, for shorter, around-town rides, I would have liked to have had a half helmet, because my helmet could be kind of heavy and constraining.
Plus, on hot days, even though I could flip up the visor, the smaller, cooler helmet would have been great to have. While riding on cool days, or in the rain, I was always glad to have the full face helmet, because my head was always warm and dry. For comfort, the decision really depends on your personal choice.
Style
What kind of bike do you ride? If you have a chopper or a bobber, wouldn’t you look kind of silly wearing a full face helmet? Purely from a styling perspective, the half helmets really look good on the custom, lowered and chopped bikes. On the other hand, if you ride a crotch rocket, then a full face helmet is practically mandatory. I just couldn’t imagine any other helmet being used with a race bike. If you ride a scooter, then who cares? I think this is a matter of personal tastes, although I’ve seen a lot of scooter riders wearing half helmets as they putt around town.
Safety
I don’t think this one requires much imagination – a full face helmet, that envelopes your head, face and chin is definitely the way to go if you want the ultimate in protection. For example, these types of helmets are used in practically any type of racing – street, motorcross or road racing. In these circumstances, I would definitely want everything I owned protected in a crash at 120 miles per hour.
Which helmet is best? Only you can answer this question – half helmet or full face helmet.