donch@teklabs.UUCP (Don Chitwood) (05/10/84)
The open face Bell Magnum was my choice for over ten years. A very sturdy and well made helmet, with the exception of the chin strap. After a year or so, the Naugahyde-type covering on the chin strap becomes hard and cracks. These eventually abrade my neck to the point of pain. Then when searching for a full coverage helmet, my head would only fit inside a Nava. With all the other helmets, and I mean ALL, the natural position of the helmet on my head placed the chin-guard part directly in my line of sight. Oversized helmets would even work into that position if I walked around the store with the helmet strapped on. The Nava fits fine, is very light, has the best peripheral vision available, and is now available in fiberglass or some other high-tech composite material as well as polycarbonate. Fogging is a perennial problem in cold/cool weather. The only solution for me is religious application of almost any anti-fog compound. They are usually only effective for one trip before fogging begins again. I know a man who broke his face when he impacted a tree with the exposed part of his face when wearing an open face helmet. The fracture was below his eye sockets but above his teeth. Calling it a fracture is inaccurate: the upper part of his mouth, not just the lower jaw was movable. He claims that a full coverage helmet would have spared him a lot of agony. Don Chitwood teklabs/donch Imaging Research Labs Tektronix, Or.