# advocating for full face helmets and a question for those that use them



## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

I wrecked hard this weekend and landed full force on my face. I HAD been on the fence about full face helmets for xc but I'm not anymore. My lip was ripped in the corner of my mouth and has been ripped free from my gums and jaw to the base of my chin. It hurts. My helmet crushed like it's supposed to so no brain injuries. The trail was an intermediate xc trail I had not done before and I just got a little too rowdy on a jump and had a 20+ mph OTB.

For those of you who use full face helmets, obviously when it comes to FF and XC everyone talks about the Parachute and the Super 2R. But are there "non XC" helmets that have good ventilation and light weight, that should be considered along side those two? I live and ride in central Arizona (Mesa) so the ventilation part is really key.


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## Joss002 (Sep 22, 2014)

I went for the the Urge Archi-Enduro after trying on a few other full face helmets.With the Archi-Enduro you dont really notice the chin guard.I guess its a happy meduim between a full on fullface and an XC helmet as it has a relatively open face making it easy to breathe and drinking from a Camelbak is no problem,so it was a good choice for the trails I ride,red graded trails.
It weighs in at 935g for the Large size(with a couple of GoPro mounts),made of Fiberglass so its pretty tough.
I'm in the UK and used it in temps of 25'c (77f !) and I dont find it too sweaty and I dont do well in hot temps lol,of course it is warmer than a regular XC type helmet,and guessing it will be warmer than the 2 you mentioned but i prefered the 1 piece design and the fact its made of Fiberglass.
Theres always going to be a trade off when it comes to amount of protection against comfort/breathability!


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## El_Duderino (Dec 2, 2005)

I think you should look for a helmet that passes the ASTM1952 cert.
I chinbar that breaks or shatters can cause way more damage then no chinbar at all


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## jazzanova (Jun 1, 2008)

El_Duderino said:


> I think you should look for a helmet that passes the ASTM1952 cert.
> I chinbar that breaks or shatters can cause way more damage then no chinbar at all


The met parachute seems to be the best light option for trail riding. It meets the chin guard requirements...


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## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

I was wearing a Specialized helmet and can get 20% off my crash replacement. Any feedback on the dissident vs dissident comp?


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

I'm liking my Parachute, although I will admit to not wearing it as much as I should. Which should be all the time.

If you haven't seen this thread, it's likely the latest one.

http://forums.mtbr.com/apparel-protection/met-parachute-926625-6.html


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## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

Harryman said:


> I'm liking my Parachute, although I will admit to not wearing it as much as I should. Which should be all the time.
> 
> If you haven't seen this thread, it's likely the latest one.
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/apparel-protection/met-parachute-926625-6.html


Yeah, I've seen that thread. It sounds like the met is a pain to get but I'll look into it.

As an updated, I just left the plastic surgeon. He says that basically my chin has been "gloved" and that there is nothing to sew onto so I'm on liquid through a straw and hopefully it just heals. Really wish I had been wearing a FF.


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## kristian (Jan 20, 2004)

aggrochooks said:


> I was wearing a Specialized helmet and can get 20% off my crash replacement. Any feedback on the dissident vs dissident comp?


They look hot. I used to ride XC in a Specialized Deviant which was a well vented FF, but it doesn't look like they make them anymore. Bummer--that was a good helmet. Your post makes me want to go back to an FF. I hope you heal quick!


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Healing vibes aggrochooks

I smashed my face in 2009 wearing a xc hemet. I never did get a ff for trail riding, although I wear one for dh. It's aTLD D2 It's lightweight but way too hot to wear for xc

I don't have a recommendation but hope you have a speedy recovery


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## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

I'm fairly certain that I feel the same as you guys, I'll have both. Most of my riding is on two trail systems each 5 minutes from my house. One is flat, pretty mellow and I can't really imagine crashing like I did on it. The other trail system has a multitude of places where I could do it. That is the appeal of the Super 2r, but I tried it on yesterday and it doesn't fit me worth a damn so I just think I'm going to get two helmets.


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## kristian (Jan 20, 2004)

aggrochooks said:


> That is the appeal of the Super 2r, but I tried it on yesterday and it doesn't fit me worth a damn so I just think I'm going to get two helmets.


Yep, me too. You might want to try the MIPS version as supposedly they fit differently (although it still didn't fit my noggin). It seems like that helmet is making a lot of waves this year though so hopefully there will be a few others on the market in the US. I see Uvex now has one (but it won't be easy to go to the LBS and try that out). Giros have always fit my head best and I would really like them to revive and update the Switchblade which was the first removable full face from back in the late 90s. I owned three of those over the years and was happy, even though the chin bar was pretty flimsy.

I'm surprised with all of the "ENDURO" stuff lately that there aren't more airy full faces without removable chin guards too...


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## armourbl (May 5, 2012)

Another vote for the Met Parachute (the newest/latest version). I also live in the Phoenix area. My wife went OTB and cut up her face. I have had a broken jaw before, so I've always been on the fence about FF for mtn biking. After my wife's incident I decided to get a FF helmet.

I've not use the Bell, but I can say that the Met Parachute literally feels like a traditional mtn bike helmet when you are wearing it. It has a ton of ventilation, and I hardly notice the chin bar when riding (full disclosure, I also ride motorcycles, so FF helmets are normal to me). I will say that it is still a bit more warm than my regular All Mountain/XC style helmet. Because of this, I do switch back and forth between the two depending on the trail conditions.

But, for any trails with any amount of tech, I grab the Met.

I got mine from an Italian distributor for about $225 shipped. There are now US distributors such as Art's Cycles, but they retail for about $300.

ben


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

aggrochooks said:


> I wrecked hard this weekend and landed full force on my face. I HAD been on the fence about full face helmets for xc but I'm not anymore. My lip was ripped in the corner of my mouth and has been ripped free from my gums and jaw to the base of my chin. It hurts. My helmet crushed like it's supposed to so no brain injuries. The trail was an intermediate xc trail I had not done before and I just got a little too rowdy on a jump and had a 20+ mph OTB.
> 
> For those of you who use full face helmets, obviously when it comes to FF and XC everyone talks about the Parachute and the Super 2R. But are there "non XC" helmets that have good ventilation and light weight, that should be considered along side those two? I live and ride in central Arizona (Mesa) so the ventilation part is really key.


While not as bad as you this is what my face looked like, you can't see the stitches in my eye brow, but a little lower and I could have lost my eye.

Love my MET, won't ride without it. I see the Urge recommendation, if you search there was a thread on here about a guy that crashed with one and it failed or flex enough ( dont remember which) he still had damage to his face.

Lots of people running the Super- all personal preference. For me, no point to a FF if it doesn't meet the only cert that tests the chin bar, so MET was the only choice- again to me.

I ride on the East coast with the high humidity. The MET is only slightly warmer on climbs than a half dome, but once you have any speed it doesn't feel any warmer than a 1/2 dome to me. No trouble getting it. Measured my head, bought the size based on that from Germany, had it in a week. Worth the effort.


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## Tystevens (Nov 2, 2011)

This is a topic I've been thinking about, after coming millimeters from needing some major dental work done a couple weeks ago (otb into some sharp lava rocks, hit my face hard enough to gash the skin between my upper lip and nose, but not hard enough to displace any teeth!).

I do have a full face (Bell something or other) that I wear riding lifts or on some long shuttle runs. But any extended pedaling with that thing on and I'm stifling, breathing my own air. It probably isn't the best ventilated helmet out there, but ... my concern is that if it's light enough to breathe and not be too hot, is it going to do any good?

If something like the MET parachute is strong enough to really do some good, I'd wear that on probably 75% of my riding.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

Tystevens said:


> This is a topic I've been thinking about, after coming millimeters from needing some major dental work done a couple weeks ago (otb into some sharp lava rocks, hit my face hard enough to gash the skin between my upper lip and nose, but not hard enough to displace any teeth!).
> 
> I do have a full face (Bell something or other) that I wear riding lifts or on some long shuttle runs. But any extended pedaling with that thing on and I'm stifling, breathing my own air. It probably isn't the best ventilated helmet out there, but ... my concern is that if it's light enough to breathe and not be too hot, is it going to do any good?
> 
> If something like the MET parachute is strong enough to really do some good, I'd wear that on probably 75% of my riding.


It's ASTM 1952 certified That pretty much says all that needs to be.


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## rpearce1475 (Jan 24, 2015)

I've got the MET after crashing and hitting my face. Managed not to break anything (I thank my youth for that one) but got a MET at the suggestion of one of my riding buddies. I'm in Alabama, so I can assure you that it's significantly hotter and more humid than most of the rest of you. As mentioned, on very long climbs (20 min. plus) in the summer heat it can get a bit stifling, but if I'm moving it's honestly better ventilated than my Bell Stoker half shell. I used it for a 24 mile ride in 92 degree heat with 80%+ humidity last week, no issues. I also got mine from the Italian LBS mentioned above, they were very quick about the whole thing


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## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

I ended up replacing my Vice with another Vice and ordering a Dissident Comp. If it proves to be too damn hot I may look into ordering a Met.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

aggrochooks said:


> I ended up replacing my Vice with another Vice and ordering a Dissident Comp. If it proves to be too damn hot I may look into ordering a Met.


Ouch, it's a pound heavier based on what I could find. No way it's as well ventilated from what I could see. Good luck.


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## aggrochooks (Mar 28, 2015)

TwoTone said:


> Ouch, it's a pound heavier based on what I could find. No way it's as well ventilated from what I could see. Good luck.


I checked out the carbon version in the store, it really isn't that bad, it's around 1000 grams. They don't publish the weight of the comp but I found someone on here saying they had weighed both and the difference was 1 ounce. Hopefully it's a winner, if not it's my park helmet.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

aggrochooks said:


> I checked out the carbon version in the store, it really isn't that bad, it's around 1000 grams. They don't publish the weight of the comp but I found someone on here saying they had weighed both and the difference was 1 ounce. Hopefully it's a winner, if not it's my park helmet.


Hopefully you're right, the weights numbers I saw was 1200g.


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