It's important to be clear-eyed about what a full-face adds, and doesn't add, in terms of rider safety. It surely increases facial protection. But when it comes to concussion and brain trauma, I'm not aware of any evidence that fullfaces are better than halfshells. And they may be worse. More mass and a longer lever arm could increase direct and rotational forces on the brain vs. the same crash in a halfshell. And I wonder if hotter helmets lead to increased fatigue and more crashes. Nothing I'm saying here proves that fullfaces result in more concussions (and, to be clear, I'm neither an insider nor an expert, just a rider who had a bad concussion recovery and has paid attention to this ever since). But if you're buying a fullface thinking that it's the safer choice across the board, you could be making a mistake. I'm a lot more worried about my brain than my teeth, and my best guess from the crappy info available is that the safest option for trail riding is a modern halfshell from a company with a strong track record of concussion-safety innovation with multiple concussion-risk-reducing design features, not a fullface.
Nov. 11, 2020, 9:56 a.m. - OldManBike
It's important to be clear-eyed about what a full-face adds, and doesn't add, in terms of rider safety. It surely increases facial protection. But when it comes to concussion and brain trauma, I'm not aware of any evidence that fullfaces are better than halfshells. And they may be worse. More mass and a longer lever arm could increase direct and rotational forces on the brain vs. the same crash in a halfshell. And I wonder if hotter helmets lead to increased fatigue and more crashes. Nothing I'm saying here proves that fullfaces result in more concussions (and, to be clear, I'm neither an insider nor an expert, just a rider who had a bad concussion recovery and has paid attention to this ever since). But if you're buying a fullface thinking that it's the safer choice across the board, you could be making a mistake. I'm a lot more worried about my brain than my teeth, and my best guess from the crappy info available is that the safest option for trail riding is a modern halfshell from a company with a strong track record of concussion-safety innovation with multiple concussion-risk-reducing design features, not a fullface.