Hi Chaps,

Does anyone here have a fullfacer they use for more technical, or at least when you’re riding more jumpy, gnarly, fast trails?

I’m thinking Laggan Black, Golspie Black etc…

After smashing my face up in admittedly a stupid accident, it’s got me thinking. My riding’s moving a lot faster, hitting bigger jumps, and riding a lot more loose and fast down technical descents – also the same on big mountain rides in Scotland.

I’m half contemplating a light’ish full facer for the times when I’m in more risk of having a big crash, as I really don’t want to look like I do at the moment, with a smashed up face. A Full facer would have totally saved my face, and I’d be in work today, instead of stuck at home.

I do worry that I’d look like a complete tool, but I suppose I’d rather still look pretty and ride how I’ve been riding recently, than either having to reign in, or risk a mashed face….

I was looking at the Urge-Enduro style full facer, or something similar….

Anyone?

What about the forums favourite…. A met parachute

Or an urge enduro

Lol. I doubt a Parachute would have saved my face on the fall I had, I did consider one – but they do look flimsey and no better than an XC helmet really.

I’ve seen a Youtube video stating how it saved someone’s face at 40Km/h, but it’s an OTB, on the flat, on leaves, at about 20Km/h 😉

EDIT: Looks like my misconceptions about the Parachute are wrong, and that they _were_ descent. Met stopped making them last year though….

Having just crashed wearing my first full-face (which I’d bought that day) I’d very much recommend wearing one for trails of DH tech or speed. Is there time to switch helmets before the big climbs?

Yep, there’s time 🙂 I’m not charging around anymore, just pootling up climbs, enjoying being out, and then pumping down the trails.

Trail riding in a full face is generally pretty crap. OK, if it’s all descent, and it’s not too warm, then it can be fine but most UK trails have a bit of pedal to them. So you end up taking it off and putting it on and taking it off… And overheating doesn’t help you ride- doing the ciaran path last month for the bluegrass enduro, the biggest risk to me wasn’t the trail, it was the inappropriate helmet killing my concentration and pouring sweat into my eyes!

Also, falls don’t happen where you want them to, for the likes of Golspie and Laggan where you’ve got technical climbing and the likes you’re never going to wear a full face to ride that, but it’s perfectly possible to screw up a section and have a wee tumble, into a heap of jaggy rocks. So you either end up doing the 2 helmets thing which is just plain annoying, or you end up riding with no helmet.

Some folks’ll say it looks silly, call you names etc, **** that- ride how you want. But the practicality is more of a thing.

Cheers NW, a very good point and angle. Just as a side note, looking at additional protection isn’t precluding me from actually dealing with properly handling falls.

I’m intending to practice exiting the bike to reduce the risk of a bad accident.

How do you practice exiting your bike?
Just ride some muddy off camber right hand corners with a crap front tyre and get a face full of floor?

How do you practice exiting your bike?

Post a nasty accident where I smashed my face up I was asking myself the same question the other day. I feel that if I had fallen & rolled I might have fared better from the accident. Sort of like a judo roll perhaps.

Is this the sort of thing that skills courses teach?

Edit: sorry for slight hijack but seemed pertinent to op’s last post.

skills course dont teach you how to crash well they teach you techniques to avoid crashing
IMHO martial arts training does not help – though I dont do Judo

whatever makes you comfortable riding the trails you want to ride, **** the haters 😉

I was looking at light full-facey type things recently, like the Archi-enduro, & found this (Warning: Contains Gore) Archi-enduro crash “review”. Which made me think that if I do ever decide to get a full-face, that the archi probably isn’t going to be the one.

I’m assuming that that was a freak accident, but even so…

edit: also, thank $deity for the NHS ($15k in medical bills for that!!!)

Like NW said any kind of pedalling effort/uphill is a real nightmare in a FF helmet – hard to breath unless you’re moving fast and hot and sweaty as hell. Never tried anything like the Met Parachute though.

i wear a full face for all my rides now after smashing my face in. Breathing isn’t a problem. just been out today in the heat up Eskdale and would say I am used to my urge helmet now. The met did not give my smashed cheekbone enough protection.

If I hadn’t decided to reign in my riding after a crappy year of stupid accidents I’d be happy wearing an Urge on the trails.

That review is generally considered user error. The helmet was too big, so it twisted, he got a stick stuck in it, and it was a very bizarre off. The chap blames the lid without giving an decent reason why.

I’m only going to push my boundaries harder over the next year or so, and will be sessioning the downhill tracks at the back of my house, so a full facer wont be a waste of money, even if I dont use it on the more technical trails, or big mountain days.

I wear a ff if I’m doing downhilly stuff or playing on silly stuff in the Alps etc – a normal xc lid the rest of the time. The edges do get blurred though and I have without doubt ridden stuff that I would really have preferred to wear the ff on, ie I always wear a ff and body armour to do the cwmcarn dh but xc lid and no body armour to rattle down snowdon… I think my logic is flawed.

And as for people taking the mickey on what other folk are wearing, I suspect they should be spending more time focussing on their own riding 😉

People do wear them at Stainburn, then ride round half the tech… 😕 I’m more worried about shoulder/arm/wrists than face, but then I’ve never really been fighting them off.

I was in Delamere the other week with the gf taking some photos wearing all the gear more for looking 8) than anything else lol

Battering down the skills area front wheel washed out and ended up going sideways and smashing my head into the roots on the ground. Lucky I had the FF on usually I don’t bother and just wear my normal lid in Delamere lesson learned.

If I could find a decent way of attaching my FF to the camel back I’d take it on every ride from now on, I’m just hoping as the Enduro stuff gets more popular due to PB videos etc.. They will start making camel backs with sutable nets, attachments etc.. to carry FF about to swap out on the trails 🙂

The way I see it…. It’s law to wear a motorbike lid when riding a moped at 20mph around town. Riding a mtb at 25 + mph on a downhill, hitting drops and avoiding trees it tonnes more dangerous then the moped (ignoring cars) you should you wear a full face….. Yep. Then again, road cycling is faster and more dangerous than a moped so perhaps they should wear them too!!! Nahhh

That’s way to sensible for me to say. Full face for uplift only for me.

i have only needed to be wearing a full face at herts 3 times in ten years but i always wear one. i’d have needed 3 face reconstructions if not!

Used to have a parachute, it was great while I made a lot of progression in my riding. In some ways I wish I had one in the shed to pull out for the 1:40 rides that would justify it. I had a Spec Deviant Carbon and unless it was arctic conditions it was too warm.

A full on full face is too much for going up and will lead to either the 2 lid or no nid problem on the ups.

If I’m uplifting or pushing up the proper FF comes out though.

badllama – Member

I’m just hoping as the Enduro stuff gets more popular due to PB videos etc.. They will start making camel backs with sutable nets, attachments etc.. to carry FF about to swap out on the trails

Plenty around already tbh- my Chaos has excellent webbing straps, I think the Evocs all have a helmet cradle, etc. But it’s still not ideal, always means extra weight and bulk on your back (if I fall flat onto my back with a camelbak on, I’d rather it didn’t have something the size of a helmet sticking out of it to make things worse)

danjthomas – Member

The way I see it…. It’s law to wear a motorbike lid when riding a moped at 20mph around town. Riding a mtb at 25 + mph on a downhill, hitting drops and avoiding trees it tonnes more dangerous then the moped (ignoring cars) you should you wear a full face…..

If I had to pedal my motorbike, I wouldn’t be wearing a full face helmet for that either 🙂

My deuter has net but will not take FF 🙁

@rickon – Ta, I was wondering, that makes some kind of sense.

It’s law to wear a motorbike lid when riding a moped at 20mph around town.

It doesn’t need to be a full-face though, open face helmets are perfectly legal.

I OTB a lot so I got Bell Sanction and as it’s light (950g claimed) and breathing enaugh I use it for all my rides. Even at places like Surrey. Maybe it looks odd or lame, but I don’t care as long as I don’t faceplant.
I have thought about the Archi-Enduro, saw the report too, but more importantly, when you take it in your hands you can twist the chin gards with very little pressure. Not much confidence inspiring… The Down-O-Matic is only a hundred grams heavier, but much more sturdy, even if a bit less open.

Yes, got a new Specialized Deviant for more technical rides (ie above my skill level).
I found my teeth don’t grow back.
Breaths well & gives good protection. Light & stylish IMO

I saw a full facer on Farringdon Road yesterday, it was blazing hot and not particularly gnarly.