when in my yard I do not wear one and that includes cutting wood, going to pond (200 yards from house) going to deer stand. if I load it its on when I unload it its on when riding trails its on no questions asked.

another quote for ya all to think about

if your going to be stupid you gotta be tough!

Sorry I missed the questions some of you asked about the radios. In our group of three we have two scala rider 2 headsets and a scala rider g4 that makes it open intercom so the three of us can all talk and hear each other throughout the entire ride without ever taking our hands off the handlebars. We bought the scala rider 2s at Iron Pony for $100 each...which was half price because they had just come out with a newer model with a longer mic. The scala rider 4 to connect we got online...not sure where my brother ordered it, but I am thinking it was around $225. I believe you can link up to four of the scala rider G4 headsets. The range varies depending on the terrain. When we ride at Hatfield McCoy the range is less because of the number of curves around the mountains. With our setup with a G2 up front, a G4 in the middle, and a G2 in the back, as long as the middle person can see the front person and the back person can see the middle person, all three can talk without a problem. We ride our utes pretty aggressively and using the radios allows us to make sure we aren't leaving anyone or getting separated.

yes i wear a helmet cause when i was learning to do low speed turns on a small 97cc motorcycle (you could have ran along beside me) when the chain jumped off and dumped me some how i landed on my head and cracked the helmet i had on at the time (other than ringing my bell i was ok)
but i have to wear a half helmet cause if i wear a full face helmet i will freak out

have you tried the motocross style helmet? they should be as "claustrophobic" as other helmets.
http://images.motorcycle-superstore....Oil-Helmet.jpg

You should alwase wear a helmet. I guess I can see if your only riding slowly for 200 yards to a pond that you don't need one, but helmets are important

Helmets are very important and goggles are very important too. I've been whacked on the head by branches I didn't duck far enough under and swatted in the face with other branches. Once a big butterfly got smashed on my goggles completely blocking the view from my left eye. If I wasn't wearing goggles I would have been hurting.

I DO wish I had been wearing a helmet when I hit the world's biggest dragonfly going about 30. Right into my forehead.... Can still feel the pain.