My wife, 13 y/o son and I just purchased our first utility ATV's. For more on that, I introduced myself in the proper area on the forum. I've received some differing advice on helmet options and would like to hear some of your opinions.

Our ATV use will be for general trail riding, no jumping or extreme riding. While safety is paramount, I'm also looking for helmet's that will be comfortable to wear even on day long trips in the heat of summer. My salesman does ATV segments on a local outdoors TV show and recommended the open face style helmet's. Other people have suggested full face MX style helmets for maximum protection. A third option I've had thrown at me is the modular helmet style where the chin protection area lift up along with the eye shield. So.... which way to go?

With DOT and/or Snell safety approved helmets, my thoughts are we want lightweight off road use helmet's as opposed to the heavier weight of some of the general cycle helmets. Secondly, they need to be comfortable and keep our heads cool. The need to stay cool while wearing a helmet on longer trips is the reason why I believe my dealer suggested open faced helmets. Other people have told me that the MX style helmets will be just as cool. Modular helmets came because they would offer protection to the mouth and jaw yet still allow the rider to open the front for taking a quick drink with out having to remove a MX style helmet.

Am I being unsafe for even considering the open faced helmet for general trail riding? Don't worry about sounding policticly correct if you think it's overkill. As it is, Wisconsin doesn't have a required helmet law for adults. What would you recommend? Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I use an open face helmet mostly because of my head size. 3X. Got to store the brains somewhere. With the open face you are more prone to getting the occasional branch to the face and also get a ton of grit and grime when riding in dusty conditions. I hate goggles because of how tight they are on my big ole' head. So I where poly carbonate glasses. If I were to buy an all around, I would personally go with the modular because they are also nice to keep the head warm when out in winter time. An MX style with goggles is good for fast riding in dusty conditions. Hope my meandering helps a little.

 

Dress for the crash, NOT the ride......

Well, I'm not a big fan of open fan helmets for ATV for multiple reasons...... I've even less of a fan of a 13 year old wearing one.....

If it is one thing I know about 13 year old kids, is that they tend to learn quickly and to do that they often push themselves past their limits. No matter how responsible the kid, eventually they might ride above their heads. So a good helmet is priority #1 IMO.....

On the flip side, even a slow trail ride, can turn into a scary moment....I've heard of everything from a stuck throttle, or lost wheel..... anything can and will happen.......

Dress for the crash....not the ride......yup I said it again....

I've taken large rocks and sticks in the chin bar of the helmet....If you are wearing an open face helmet, a stick or a rock in the mouth could be very bad. ... .... I saw a tree fall in the trail and hit a guy right in the head.... He was going about 10mph and this tree fell, kicked and hit him square in the mouth of the helmet.... Knocked him right back off the ATV in front of me...... He got up, sore and with a blood lip, and that was WITH a full face lid.....if he had been wearing an open lid, it would have surely been a trip in an ambulance.

One thing to remember, is that it is just as easy to get a concussion by hitting your jaw, mouth or nose, as it is hitting your forehead. If your hand slips off the grip and you hit your chin on the bars, it will hurt a lot less with a full face.......

My point is not to preach about helmets....well maybe it is......But as someone who has had several concussions in their life and still suffers from some PCS symptoms, I can tell you that helmets are paramount....

As they say, you dress for the crash, NOT the ride........yes comfort is important, but only to a point....... The thing is that with safety gear, comfort costs money. Cheaper $100-$150 helmets will do a great job keeping your head safe, but compared to a $300 lid they are often heavy and hot..........This is just because of the difference in materials.

Cheaper lids are poly blends, basically plastic.....very strong plastic....but plastic..... And while plastic is great for safety, there are better materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and Kevlar to strap to your head to have a lighter and cooler helmet..... That is not to say poly blends cannot be ventilated, of course they are, just by nature something made of fiberglass is going to be cooler and lighter.....

I have a $150 Thor helmet, a $90 HJC helmet, and a $350 Troy Lee Designs helmet......all three are SNELL, DOT, ECE etc..... approved, and all three will protect my head just as well as the other....... The difference is that in that Troy Lee helmet my head is a lot cooler, and a lot lighter.......I can wear that thing all day and be totally comfortable.......

I would not advise an open face at all..... full helmet and goggles......they are not hard to get used to. Just like anything else you learn to get used to it..... it takes time to get used to playing football with bars in front of your face, it takes time to get used to a plastic shield in front of your eyes while playing hockey....at some point baseball players need to get used to using wood bats if they plan on playing in the majors......after a few days of wearing a full faced lid, a 13 year old would never notice it again.....

 

I was in the same position you were just last month. We had just purchased ATV's for my husband and I. Previously we had been riding our friends ATV with no helmet and I loved the feel of the open air. We ride in the desert hills so heat is a major factor and I really thought a full face helmet would be over kill so we considered an open face helmet. We are very cautous riders.

I finally found a motorcycle asseccory shop with a very knowledgable and helpful salesperson. Pretty much what you have been told here to dress for the crash. He steered us towards the full face MX Style and really said there was no other option for ATV's. It has nothing to do with how you ride, but has everything to do with what you are riding. He encouraged me to try on the helmet of my choice and walk around the store in it for awhile, after checking to make sure it appeared to be a proper fit. Luckily I found a $200 helmet closeout for $80 so it was lighter weight then some others and great approval. I could tolerate it on in the store. Was told the chin would losen up after a couple days of riding and he was correct. My husband bought a less expensive helmet, because that is the one he found with the best fit and was most comfortable for him (he dislikes the helmet I chose) So what is good fit for one person will not be for another even if you wear the same size. Also Size varies greatly by style so until you know exactly what size you wear in that style you pretty much need to stay away from online ordering.

I thought I would hate the helmet, but it really wasn't so bad. The heat didn't bother me. I found a way to tilt the helmet to be able to drink. The only big henderence I found was it was harder to talk to each other. You just have to speak up quite a bit louder. And true to the salesmen word in a day or two the helmet became much more comfortable. They really aren't that bad and if you ever ride on an unknown trail they can quickly get you into situations that require a helmet even without a crash, like the tree branch I hit just this last time out.

Go for a good fitting MX. I don't think you will regret it.

 

Kick back and reminisce about all those "fun-filled" hours you've spent sitting in the Dentist's chair. Getting a great visual?
Now think how many hours/days would be spent there for reconstructive jaw surgery. And dentures. And eating your dinner through a tube during the months that it takes to complete it all.
And all the time you're sitting in that chair you'd be thinking....if I'd just been smart enough to wear a full-face/modular/MX helmet instead of that open face helmet....

 

I don't know about you but the "bowl" helmet I'm done with. It cost me almost 4000$ to fix my teeth after doing wheelies oops! NOW I wear a full faced motocross style skidlid.

 

I'd go with the full faced mx helmet, I always wear goggles for trail riding simply because if you go around a corner and you don't see a low hanging limb or vine, that can hit you in the eye causing danger or so forth. But I strongly agree with ss97, Dress for the CRASH, not the RIDE. Enough said on that.

 

Wow, I guess an mx helmet is the way to go. I just got the shoei vfx for myself and just a half helmet for the wife. I was having a heck of a time even getting her to wear a helmet at all. We are very mellow riders and hardly ever exceed 30 mph. Its hot up here in AK right now and on an 85 deg day...a no helmet putt putt cruise is soooo awesome. Anyway if you want comfort for your head just spend the extra money on a high end helmet like the shoei cause they are ten times as comfortable as a 70.00 dollar one trust me.

 

Here's a link to some incredibly comfortable helmets that are so comfy to wear you may leave them on after the ride..lol.
ShoeiHelmets.com - Best Price Free Shipping on Shoei Helmets

 

My wife wears a full face street bike helmet. She wears glasses and does not like putting goggle on over them. The nice thing about the street helmet is that it is very well vented and if she gets hot she just opens the face shield.

I agree with everyone...cover your grill. It doesn't take make more than a jolting, sudden stop to put your face into the bars.