I was thinking of purchasing a Met Parachute helmet so I have the chin attachment for trips to the Alps and possibly events like the Kielder round of the Avalanche trophy. What does it look like without the chin piece, and would it be robust enough for things like the Avalanche trophy with the chin piece attached?

Get a casco viper. Much sturdier.

Depends how hard you crash 🙂 The thing to do is to not think of it as a full face helmet, it's an XC helmet with a bit of face protectiob. Some people slate them, you see "I saw someone crash and the chinpiece snapped right off" without ever wondering if a jawbone's any stronger…

I wouldn't wear one myself but a mate of mine is a huge fan, seeing the damage on his old one from a fence-plant at glentress it definately earned its keep.

I wouldn't bother myself, if I wanted a lightweight/vented full face I'd get a specialized deviant, for everything else I just wear my hex.

I have one use it for trail centres mainly, it is really confortable, unless its really warm. As said above its not like a proper full face job, but it would certainly help in a face plant situation. If I could only remember to not spit…..

IMO they look ridiculous, but personal opinions and aesthetics aside, just remember that they are no replacement for a full-face helmet: They are strictly xc lids with an attachment that covers a different area.

I have one. Offers a useful extra contact point if you plan to rub your face down some gravel. Probably not any better than an open-face for a full on face-in-tree moment. The former scenario is more likely than the latter (for me) so it's a winner.

You look less of a **** than you do in an open face helmet too. 🙂

Buy one, if you want to look like a twonk!

Seriously, almost no additional protection, from a flimsy bit of screw-on plastic, that makes you look like a reject. You'd get more protection by growing a big moustache and gurning at the dirt.

Either wear a full-face of or don't. I'm assuming that if you think that a Met Parachute will save your mug in the Alps, then you haven't been yet. Oh yes, I'll bash my face into a granite mountain, just as long as you put that wafer thin bit of wobbly plastic in between my face and the scenery.

Just like there isn't 'one bike that does it all', there isn't one helmet that does it all.

Unless you don't have to be worried about losing your looks of course 😉

Have ridden with a guy that wears one. Basically he had a massive stack and is trying hard to get his confidence back. He feels safer with one on and it gets him out on his bike. If you do XC style riding then one of these will give you more protection than a normal XC lid but as has been mentioned I wouldn't use it as a substitute for a full face where required. I have had gravel removed from open wounds on my face and it's not something I would ever want to repeat but I don't think I could bring myself to wear one.

Most people didn't wear full face helmets for the Kielder Avalanche thing – I didn't but probably would next time for some of the tight bits through the trees. Wouldn't bother with the Parachute meself and def not in the alps – have a look at the Specialized Deviant.

I gave mine to my eldest son aged 8…. makes a great learner Helmet!and he looks cool in it!

😉

Forget the looks and as already stated, don't think of it as a full face, more of an xc lid with a bit of chin guard protection. I took mine to the Pyrenees this summer in plus 30 degrees heat and wore it all day without complaint. It has loads of ventilation, to the point that you honestly do forget about the chin guard. I face planted going down some steep terracing and it just shrugged it off. Definitely would have been a broken nose / jaw / cheek bone without it. I don't tend to wear it for general xc rides over here but for somewhere like Innerleithen XC it's ideal.

Yes its not as good as a full face but something like the Casco where you can easilly remove the chin section is IMO really quite good. It means if your an XC rider you can still ride up stuff & breath decently and for when things become gravity inclined you can give yourself a bit of extra protection.

As already stated forget the looks of the thing – I mean honestly do you think you look cool with that plastic mushroom on yer head anyway? No, thought not 😉

As for Drillers words of wisdom he plainly has never worn one of these types of lids & is more worried about looking cool than hanging onto his teeth! Not all of us need DH lids but some of us do like a liitle bit more protection for our mugs. No offence Driller but your opinion is a little macho "either wear a full face or dont" or your just aiming for bragging rights.