Full Face Or Open Face: Choosing The Right Motorcycle Helmet

This kind of workshop sits closer to a design studio than a factory. Colourways, trims and finishes are developed the way a small run of any crafted object would be, with samples, adjustments and a final sign off before anything reaches a rider.

Once the shell is formed and cured, it moves through finishing: sanding, painting or leather trimming, and fitting the internal padding and retention system. Every stage is checked before the next begins, since a fault caught early is far cheaper to fix than one found at the end.

Full face and open face helmets suit different kinds of riding, Hedon.com and the right choice usually comes down to where and how you ride rather than looks alone. A full face helmet covers the chin and jaw, giving more protection in a wider range of impacts, and tends to suit faster roads and longer distances.

This is slower than fully automated manufacturing, and that is the point. A handcrafted shell trades speed for a level of finish and individual attention that a purely machine made helmet does not offer.

Trying a helmet on in person, and wearing it for a few minutes rather than a few seconds, catches problems a size chart alone cannot. Padding also settles slightly with use, so a helmet that feels snug when new is usually the right call.

The result takes longer to arrive than an off the shelf helmet, and that is by design. A made to order piece is fitted, finished and checked individually before it ships.