kpmartin@watmath.UUCP (Kevin Martin) (07/08/84)
Goggles give better visibility than face shields? I suppose this is true if you are looking straight ahead. The goggle surface is closer to your eye, so any crud will be more out of focus. And you might be more likely to keep them clean. But what about peripheral vision? Most goggles I have seen used (I have never used them myself) don't have lenses that wrap around to the side. A cheapie 3/4 helmet (for when you're learning to ride...) seems to give full visibility, with or without a bubble sheild. Expensive full-face helmets severely restrict up-down peripheral vision (you have to move your head down to see the instruments), and (depending *a lot* on the model and the fit, especially the height of the opening) restrict lateral peripheral vision somewhat too. A 3/4 helmet with goggles... I don't know. I suspect that peripheral vision varies as much from model to model as it does with full-face helmets. Given a trade-off between breaking my neck to look in my blind spot, or having a slightly distorted forward view (cuz I didn't clean the dead bugs from the day before :-), I'm happier with the face shield. Besides, I don't like picking critters out of my beard.