Trails of India
Our head, which consists of the skull, is perhaps the most precious part of our body. The concept of having a helmet, or other protective gear, to cover the skull has been popular with man for thousands of years. And specifically for that reason, the moment we think about the ancient Greeks, the image of a plumed metal helmet pops up into our minds. The helmets protected the soldiers from both blunt and sharp blows. Later on, with the advent of horses, it also became necessary to have other types of protective gears for the soldiers riding them. The horsemen are quite like today’s bikers, and the challenges that they face, most importantly the pace of the animal or the machine going out of control is quite similar in nature, and the pattern of body damage due to accidents is also quite similar. Thus, with the advent of motorbikes it became clear that wearing a helmet is a must.
There are a lot of types in which motorbikes can be classified into. And as there are different types of motorbikes suiting the needs of different creeds of riders, there is a huge variety of helmets also, each one for some special purpose. Let’s begin with the full faced helmet. The full faced helmet gives all-round protection to your head, face and chin. Actually, when we speak about helmets, the picture of a full faced helmet comes in our mind in the first instance. The full faced helmet is the only type which has a chin guard, and protects the area which faces most of the injury during an accident. However, while buying a fullfaced helmet, one must keep a few things in mind. A full faced helmet lacks ventilation, and your helmet must have good ventilation so as to not choke you.
Next in queue is the modular or the flip flop helmets. In this type of helmet, the chin bar can be flipped up to convert a full faced helmet into an open face helmet. This kind of helmet is quite popular among adventure bikers, and dirt bike riders. However, it is very important to note that you must not ride long distances in open face mode.
The most common type of helmet that you will come across in an urban setup is the open face helmet. Compared to a full faced helmet, the open-faced helmets offer same amount of protection as they use similar materials and paddings. The only downside of this helmet is less area coverage, as the open-faced helmet does not have a chin guard. The open-faced helmet is beneficial in many ways. Firstly, it has an airy feel, ideal for warm and humid climate in our country. However, this open feeling might create problems during dust storms and rainy seasons.
Brain bucket helmet
There is another type of biking accessory known as the half helmet or the brain bucket. It provides the most minimal amount of protection, covering only the top of the skull. This type is popular among vintage riders, especially the Harley Davidson community, as the look suits the appearance of the bike.
If you are riding a high-speed sports bike, then you must be equipped with a full faced helmet. But if you are a daily city commuter, riding at average pace, then the open-faced ones comes handy for you.