After last weeks coming together with the ground and rock I thought about possibly purchasing one of these. I don’t want a complete full face as it’s essentially xc riding that I do but there are definate areas I ride which the downhill lads also use. Thanks in advance for any advice!

You will get a variety of opinions on this and very litttle in the way of facts.

the “chinbar” is not tested as part of the CE testing, it contains no EPS to absorb impact.

IMO its far too far from the face and offers little protection in exchange for giving more potential for rotational forces on your head. If you consider it as a brushguard to stop branches and the like from hitting your face then it might do some good – and you have to judge if this outweighs the risks involved of having this irregular angular bit of hard plastic stuck infront of your face.

There are stories of them shattering and making injury worse but I have never been able to find anything reliable.

Consider the casco viper perhaps which does have EPS in the chinbar and thus has more potential to absorb impact

I would never use one myself. If you want a FF get one

They kill people.

Lots of people who don’t own one will tell you they don’t work. Lots of people who do own one will tell you they do. Lots of crap about impact absorption.

I own one. Reducing gravel rash on my face is a useful feature for me. Just like gloves and even shorts reduce gravel rash… all without any impact absorption.

Inexcusably unpleasant to look at.

Spend more, look better. Casco Viper ftw.

Who care what they look like – we all look like utter idiots in all our kit anyway.

5th – preventing gravel rash in that way they might work for – its the major impacts I am concerned about.

No real data anywhere that I have been able to find tho so its anecdote and conjecture.

5thElefant – Member
Lots of people who don’t own one will tell you they don’t work. Lots of people who do own one will tell you they do. Lots of crap about impact absorption.

I own one. Reducing gravel rash on my face is a useful feature for me. Just like gloves and even shorts reduce gravel rash… all without any impact absorption.

I reckon this sums it up quite well.

A mate had a bad spill at Penmachno. He scraped the chin guard of his Parachute along the ground for quite some distance. His face would have been a mess, had he not been wearing it.
But in other situations it MIGHT have made no difference or it might have made it worse. Hard to say for sure.

There is an argument that says it gives you a false sense of security and you are perhaps more likely to ride like a div as a result….

Agree with TJ and 5thElefant.

I own one too. Great for deflecting branches, useful at stopping some impacts to the face, and awesome against gravel rash. All tested, best/worst being deflecting my face away from a skinny after the front wheel slipped off and nose-dived 4′ to the ground.

I wear it on all MTB rides apart from DH-only stuff when the big bike’s out to play (proper full-face lid).

found a pic of a guy with a smashed face after faceplanting in one and the chinbar smashing – but of course that could have been worse in an ordinary helmet.

Might just get a gum shield, probably be cheaper! 🙄

I own one. I agree with TJ though, bit hard to say how much it would work, I haven’t landed on it yet.

on the plus side aside from looking a bit daft they aren’t heavy or hot so even if it is only a bit more protection it doesn’t come with massive downsides

roll on freezing conditions so it is possible to wear a proper full face for trails riding!

No protection against antelopes.

what about gravel rash caused by antelopes?

I used to own a met parachute. They are good at keeping branches out of your face but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security that it serves as a “light DH helmet” as they are much more flimsy.. Now I have 3 helmets. A DH full face for DH, a piss pot type for a bit techy XC (and very useful in mid winter!!) plus a Giro Xen for trail use.

Sorry,but can you buy one of those chinguard things
to attach to an ordinary helmet?

MonkeyCMonkeyDo, no. It screws to dedicated mounts in the sides of the helmet.

My take is it has very limited ability to absorb impacts but might keep the gravel out of your face. Proper full-face helmets have pads that sit on your cheeks and most also have padding inside the chinbar, so they can absorb front-on impacts much better.

I also ended up wearing mine without the chinbar most of the time, as it sits in front of your mouth and cheeks and on slow climbs it felt noticeably hotter than a normal helmet.

It’s got quite a bulky outer shell with a really jagged back, which I suppose could increase your chances of a rotational injury. You’d have to be doing backflips or something though.

I now ride with a Fox Flux, it seems to fit my head shape much more snugly (which should be the first consideration), and if I crash I just stick my arms out.

and if I crash I just stick my arms out.

and wait for collarbone to break…

A few weeks off the bike, or a catastrophic long-term injury that could change your personality and your intellectual functioning forever? Not much of a choice!

Used to use mine on more techy trails. I haven’t used the chinbar for a long time though. I must admit it did feel like it would offer better protection if I was sliding along on the side of my face, but was never really sure about a frontal impact.

Oh, and I tended to spit into the chinbar when I hadn’t used it for a while ‘cos i’d forgotten i’d put it back on 😆

I have one.Nice and light,use it if I’m planning some more mental riding than I would normally do.Chinguard detaches very easily if you want to use hemet for roadwork/xc stuff,ok I guess for 4X/freeride but too flimsy for DH.IMHO.

I’d say get one. But it’s part of the unwritten code that you have to wear full knee shin guards and elbow/forearm guards whilst wearing it.

But being honest, IMO there are better helmets out there.

I’d get one of these over a parachute if i needed the chin guard. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58789

Or just get a decent open face helmet.

With the group of people I ride with we tend not to buy the same kit, i guess it’s the same for most groups.

But during the last couple of years, most of us ( me included) have changed to Casco Viper helmets, after seeing how effective they have been saving faces of people who crash right next to you.

Mine has paid for itself several times over. a few weeks ago one of the group replaced the chin guard after cracking his in a crash, so he at least must have thought it helped to save injury.

Cant really comment on the Met Parachute as such, but as a concept, a chin guard on XC helmet, has worked for me.

I have a medium one if you want it.
Its only been used for a year and since then in my cupboard for two years.

Colour Silver and Black.

Have it for free just need to make space

To be honest maybe better buying the Speaclized Deviant helmet
I use this for hard hitting trail riding

It’s all right.Much more venting than the giro remedy I’ve got.
I still take it off for the uphills,but it’s proper hot here.
It’s not as comfortable as a full facer.or a normal lid.
expensive though,it’s gone up a fair bit I think.