I see modular helmets a lot. They flip up to let air in or when you get off the bike for quick tasks like to fill the tank. They can be nice when you are cruising at a slow speed around town and don’t want to be hot. It makes sense, it’s a good idea in theory and I suppose it has been a good seller for most brands. But do those conveniences out-weight the possibility of lesser protection in the case of a crash?
Other cons in my opinion are they weigh more than a standard helmet. They probably won’t last long in a dusty environment, especially if you ride a lot of dust and then it rains on you, all you will get is grit inside all those pivot points. This is a real-world scenario for most adventure riders. Those are major issues and that’s not even getting to the protection in the case of a crash.
Let’s argue that adventure riding has a higher risk than a standard paved road ride. I think adventure riding does have a higher risk of crashes, especially single vehicle crashes. Most adventure or dual sport rides take us on both pave and dirt roads used by everyone. Dirt roads obviously have less traction to make corrections in the case of another driver’s mistake or our own mistakes. Single vehicle crashs on adventure rides tend to be most common.
We, therefore, want the most protection possible. We also encounter things like rocks, ditches and trees on adventure rides. On adventure rides if you get ejected from a “high side” crash you’re likely going into a rocky ditch or if you have a high-speed “low side” crash, you will likely slide into a tree or again a rocky ditch. No matter what, the rocky ditch on the side of a dirt road is part of the scene.
I recently talked with a rider who showed me a helmet that was involved in a single moto crash and the rider was wearing a module helmet. It was a paved road crash, and he left the road and hit a road sign from what I could understand from the details of the crash. The helmet, as you can see from the photos, came apart. It’s now in pieces. Not good and the rider was lucky to have survived considering the state of this helmet.
I think we can all agree that adventure riding in remote areas puts us in a higher risk category in terms of crashing. We just have less traction to adjust for mistakes or other drivers. So, do we want a helmet that will come apart like this one did or do we want a helmet that protects us as much as possible? Does the convenience of fresh air for the fill up or the slow speed through town out weight the stronger more reinforced one-piece helmet? I’m going to say no, no it does not and I’m always nervous when we get riders who show up with these modular helmets on our remote adventure riders. I prefer all riders to wear a full-face one-piece helmet.
I’ve been on enough crash scenes to know that the right gear can absolutely make a difference between getting hurt or walking away to continue tour ride.
Other cons in my opinion are they weigh more than a standard helmet. They probably won’t last long in a dusty environment, especially if you ride a lot of dust and then it rains on you, all you will get is grit inside all those pivot points. This is a real-world scenario for most adventure riders. Those are major issues and that’s not even getting to the protection in the case of a crash.
Let’s argue that adventure riding has a higher risk than a standard paved road ride. I think adventure riding does have a higher risk of crashes, especially single vehicle crashes. Most adventure or dual sport rides take us on both pave and dirt roads used by everyone. Dirt roads obviously have less traction to make corrections in the case of another driver’s mistake or our own mistakes. Single vehicle crashs on adventure rides tend to be most common.
We, therefore, want the most protection possible. We also encounter things like rocks, ditches and trees on adventure rides. On adventure rides if you get ejected from a “high side” crash you’re likely going into a rocky ditch or if you have a high-speed “low side” crash, you will likely slide into a tree or again a rocky ditch. No matter what, the rocky ditch on the side of a dirt road is part of the scene.
I recently talked with a rider who showed me a helmet that was involved in a single moto crash and the rider was wearing a module helmet. It was a paved road crash, and he left the road and hit a road sign from what I could understand from the details of the crash. The helmet, as you can see from the photos, came apart. It’s now in pieces. Not good and the rider was lucky to have survived considering the state of this helmet.
I think we can all agree that adventure riding in remote areas puts us in a higher risk category in terms of crashing. We just have less traction to adjust for mistakes or other drivers. So, do we want a helmet that will come apart like this one did or do we want a helmet that protects us as much as possible? Does the convenience of fresh air for the fill up or the slow speed through town out weight the stronger more reinforced one-piece helmet? I’m going to say no, no it does not and I’m always nervous when we get riders who show up with these modular helmets on our remote adventure riders. I prefer all riders to wear a full-face one-piece helmet.
I’ve been on enough crash scenes to know that the right gear can absolutely make a difference between getting hurt or walking away to continue tour ride.
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