The Helmet I Finally Stopped Putting Off Buying

I'll be honest with you. I put off buying a half helmet for years. I'd see other riders at the Saturday breakfast ride with their heads open to the sky, looking comfortable and free, and I'd think, that looks nice. Then I'd walk past the helmet rack at the shop, pick one up, and put it right back down. They all felt heavy, or they sat too high on my head, or the strap sat funny against my jaw. So I kept riding with my full-face, which was safe and hot and loud, and I kept telling myself the half helmet just wasn't for me.

Then a friend at the local riding club let me try hers for a block. Just around the parking lot. And the first thing I noticed was the wind. Not the noise, not the sun, the wind. On a full-face, you hear the wind and you feel it buffeting the shell. On a half helmet, it moves past your face and you just feel the air. It was like the difference between watching a ride on TV and being on the ride. I ordered a VCOROS half helmet that same week.

Now, a few months and a couple thousand miles later, I want to tell you what it's actually like to live with one. Not the spec sheet version. The version where you're sitting at a stoplight in July in Bakersfield, or you're on day three of a trip and your neck is tired, or you're trying to hear your husband Ray say something at a gas stop without taking the helmet off.

The VCOROS half helmet is a DOT approved open face helmet, and it's the one I finally stopped putting off buying. Here's the honest story of why.

The first thing I noticed was the wind. On a full-face, you hear it buffeting the shell. On a half helmet, you just feel the air.

The first thing you notice when you open the box is the weight. It's light. I don't have a scale in the garage, but I can tell you this: I can hold it in one hand while I'm unlocking the gate, and I don't think about it. My old full-face, I'd carry it under my arm like a bowling ball. This one, I forget I'm holding it.

The fit is the part I was most worried about, because my head is apparently not a standard shape. The VCOROS has a dial at the back that tightens the fit, which sounded gimmicky to me until I actually used it. You put the helmet on, turn the dial a few clicks, and it firms up around your head without any pressure points. I wore it around the house for an afternoon like a nervous new rider, and by dinner I'd forgotten it was on. That's the highest compliment I can give any helmet.

On the road, the difference is real. The open face means you feel the temperature, which in Bakersfield in July is a blessing. I used to arrive at the meetup spot with my face slick with sweat under the full-face. Now I get there with my sunglasses on and my skin actually dry. On the highway, there's more wind noise than a full-face, and I won't pretend otherwise. I ride with earplugs on long days, and I'd recommend that to anyone in an open face helmet. But the tradeoff is a kind of openness that I didn't expect to love as much as I do.

Ray has one too now, which tells you something. He's pickier than I am about gear, and he rode with my VCOROS on a short loop before he ordered his own. We've done two multi-day trips with these helmets, one up the coast and one through the desert, and neither of us has complained once. That's a low bar, but with Ray, it's actually a high one.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you're thinking about a half helmet, here's what I'd say over coffee. Try one on before you decide it's not for you, and give the fit dial a real chance. The VCOROS fits differently than the ones I tried in the shop, and that's exactly why I bought it. Expect more wind noise than a full-face, and plan for it with earplugs on the highway. Expect more sun on your face, and wear sunscreen, because I learned that one the hard way. And expect to feel more of the ride, which for me has been the whole point.

I'm not going to tell you a half helmet is safer than a full-face, because it isn't, and you deserve better than a lie from a stranger on the internet. What I will tell you is that the VCOROS is DOT approved, it fits my head better than helmets that cost more, and it's the helmet I reach for every single time I walk out to the garage. For a retired dental hygienist who rides a Heritage Softail and just wants to enjoy the miles, that's what matters.