Same here. If the trip is more than one night I pack my full face in case of bad weather. Riding an hour or two in hard rain without it is no fun.

 

3/4 when doing anything other than local. Usually leave face shield up but great to put down when raining.

 

Schuberth modular. If you're ever in Edmonton drop into Argyl Motorsports and try one on. Light, quiet and protect your face in all environments you'll ride thru...
After seeing all the riders my age (60+) in Sturgis who had obviously only gone open face all their riding years, I'm pretty happy to have my face protected from the elements.

 

I wear a half helmet and have a detachable face shield for inclement weather.


Bill

 

I use the Shark evo-one, 3/4 or FF in one.

 

Full Face on long trips! A serious rain storm, or better yet a hail storm (which, at some point, I have encountered almost every time I visit the eastern side of the Rochy Mountains) This will dfinitely convince one of the value of a FF Helmet! Also, I put about a 1 1/2 inch strip of tape accross the bottom of the shield. Unless I encounter some serious weather I ride with the shield up almost all the time. The value of the tape is that it turns the shield into a fully adustable sun visor. At 1 1/2 inches it doesn't block my view if I have to run with the sheild n the lowered position. I use Gaffer's Tape but regular electrical tape works OK as well.

 

I have been wearing the same 1/2 helmet for over 20 years, it is comfortable. I have a three snap face shield that I keep with the rain gear, bought for $10 at the stealership. If the the rain is bad, it takes about a minute to snap it on the helmet, takes much longer to put the rain gear on. It works great for those really extreme weather events, used it for most of the ride to NH this year.

 

Do you ride in rain, not just little intermittent squalls or sprinkles that you can just blow through, but serious all day rain and storms? If so the FF will be invaluable. If you have the luxury of waiting out weather the 1/2 is smaller and easier to pack for usage in communist states. I pack/wear a Shoei J-cruise 3/4 which has an attached visor with a pinlock visor insert on the face shield.

Overnights in CO above 9000 feet were in the upper 30's last week even at 6000 it was 50 degrees, daytime by 7am it was plenty warm for just a ball cap on my bald head. I have a marmot fleece cap for down to 35 degrees and a mountain hardware arctic shield hat that works well down to 20 degrees that does a better job of keeping my head warm than any helmet can ever do.

 

I take one for each outfit,
3/4 with flip down shield, works great in the rain & cold weather

 

Thanks for the advice people. I think I'll take both. The FF is too hot for me in good weather but I can appreciate it in the rain.