Helmet Types in Vietnam:  How to choose the right one

Just getting into motorbiking after spending too much time deciding your first motorbike to buy? Use this guide on the types of helmets for sale in Vietnam and decide which one is right for your riding style.

Full Face Helmets

To get the most protection for your head while riding a motorcycle, full-face helmets are the way to go. Full-faced helmets provide maximum protection for riders as the entire piece of equipment is forged into a single item and has no weak points like a hinge system on a modular helmet. It comes with a face shield for keeping away dust, harmful UV rays, or rainwater. For riders who are ready to hit the tracks, full-faced helmets are the obvious way to go, so you know you're fully protected at high speeds. Full-faced helmets also provide you with a piece of equipment that fits snug and comfortably to your head. Many full-faced helmets are lightweight and aerodynamic, so you don't feel the extra weight on the top of your body.

Choose a full-face helmet if: You don't do offroad, you like corners and high-speed drag racing. Therefore, you own a fast bike and you want a safer helmet than the bucket you wear every day to work. Also, you don't want to sacrifice safety for a modular helmet. 

Open Face

An open face gear only covers the top, sides, and back of the head. Unlike a full face mask, it neither protects your chin nor the eyes. However, its field of view is wide with more visibility. Open face helmets are easier to wear and generally more comfortable than dual sport, modular or full-face helmets. However, they offer less protection because there is no chin bar.

Open face helmets are very popular in Vietnam. People with a sensible mind would choose an open face over a skull cap. 

Choose an open face helmet if: you just want a helmet for daily commuting on a 110cc automatic bike, nothing special. For supermarkets, you can just throw the helmet into the trunk and not having to carry it around. 

 

Dual Sport

These helmets are great for adventure, doubling as an on and off-road gear. Most dual sport helmets have a double shield system, a transparent windshield, and a drop-down shade inside. Dual sport helmets usually have a better ventilation system than full-face helmets, as riders will need more air when struggling with the bike in difficult terrain. That also means they will have worse noise isolation and tend to be very loud on the highway. The peak is good for riding offroad in gnarly terrain, however will block the air on the highway. 

Choose a dual sport helmet if: You ride an adventure bike or a dirt bike, you do both on-road and offroad rides and need a helmet that works on both. 

 

Offroad Helmet

An off-road helmet is specifically designed to maximize the safety and comfort for off-road use, not on the road. the protruded chin bar gives the pilot a wider space to breathe. The wider inner space of an enduro helmet lets the user wear a visor with the highest comfort. The field of vision is significantly wider than that of a road helmet, giving a larger peripheral vision and a greater control also in the frontal part, where it’s necessary to look at the uneven ground before riding it with the wheels. The chin bars are created to break in a way that absorbs the impact. The peak protects the forehead, absorbing the frontal hits.

Choose an offroad helmet if: you love dirt and often spend time struggling with your bike in the middle of nowhere

Modular Helmet

First off, a modular helmet is designed specifically for added comfort as it incorporates a hinge to open into an open-faced helmet. Modular helmets are a hybrid of open faced and full-faced helmets, and a common misconception is that modular helmets were built for smokers. While a modular helmet can easy flip up to be open faced, it's actually not designed for smokers, but simply for those who want some fresh air at a stoplight or while parked.

Choose a modular helmet if: You're a smoker who has to stop once every hour for a smoke. Or you just can't stand the suffocation of full face helmets. 

 

Skull Caps

These barely protect the head, as they only cover the top part while exposing the rest. This makes it the worst helmet ever, in terms of protection providing. However, this is the most popular in Southeast Asia. Mainly because it is very cheap to buy ($2-$5), easy to buy (sold at every street corners), looks fashionable (subjective) and convenient (even thieves don't want them, so can just leave it anywhere it will stay there forever)