Full-face, modular or open-face helmet: the comparison that settles it (protection, weight, use)

Full-face, modular or open-face: the question comes up with every purchase, and the answer depends less on style than on three measurable things. Where impacts land on a helmet, what a modular's chin bar really does when it's struck, and how many grams you're willing to carry for three hours.

This comparison doesn't repeat the basic guide (types, sizing, labels): that's in our article on choosing a motorcycle helmet. Here, we put the three formats head to head, with numbers.

Three formats, three compromises

The weight ranges come from the manufacturer spec sheets of the models below: AGV K6 S at 1,255 g at one end, HJC i80 at 1,750 g at the other, Shoei J-Cruise 3 at 1,400 g and HJC i40N at around 1,100-1,250 g for the open-faces.

What crash data says: the chin takes a third of the hits

The reference study is still Dietmar Otte's (Hannover Medical School, MHH), which analysed 598 crashed helmets in the early 1980s. His results, since repeated by most road-safety bodies including the Dutch SWOV:

• 34.6% of impacts hit the chin-bar area (19.4% on the right, 15.2% on the left);
• around 45% of impacts land in areas an open-face helmet doesn't cover;
• the most frequent point is 4-6 cm from the centre of the chin bar, on the side.

The figures are old and helmets have changed, but the geometry of a crash hasn't: when you slide or hit an obstacle head-on, the lower face is in the front line. That's what puts the full-face first and the open-face last, before we even talk about models.

The label: P, NP, J, P/J

On an ECE 22.06 helmet, the label sewn onto the chin strap carries a letter that says what the chin guard has passed:

• P (protective): the lower face is protected and the chin guard has passed impact tests. That's the full-face, and a modular approved only when closed.
• J (jet): no lower-face protection.
• NP (non-protective): a chin guard is fitted but hasn't been approved as protective (some crossover helmets, or open-faces with a removable chin guard).
• P/J: modular approved in both positions. You can legally ride with the chin bar up.

A modular marked P only must be ridden closed. Flipping it up to finish a journey without P/J approval means riding in a configuration that isn't approved. The 22.06 standard itself is covered in our article on the standard. In the UK, ECE 22.05 and 22.06 helmets are both road-legal (as is BS 6658 with the Kitemark), but any new helmet you buy will be 22.06.

The full-face: the default choice

If you have no specific reason to choose otherwise, buy a full-face. It's the lightest format for equal protection, the quietest, and the one with the widest and cheapest choice of 5-star SHARP helmets. Of the 62 helmets listed as 22.06 versions in the SHARP database on 16 October 2026, 14 full-faces have 5 stars, several of them with an RRP under £150.

Its two real drawbacks: it's harder to put on with glasses, and you have to take it off to talk or drink when you stop. For a selection by price, see our motorcycle helmet comparison by budget.

The modular: check the latch before the stars

A modular is a full-face whose chin bar is held by a mechanism. So the question isn't just "what impact score?" but "does the chin bar stay shut when it's hit?". SHARP measures this: the percentage shows how often the chin bar remained fully latched after each linear impact. The percentage is published next to the stars and isn't part of their calculation.

Some ECE 22.06 modulars, ratings read on sharp.dft.gov.uk:

The reading is unambiguous: at the same rating (4 stars), the latch figure ranges from 33% to 100%. A modular whose chin bar opens in two impacts out of three becomes, at the critical moment, an open-face. The Schuberth C5, another touring benchmark (1,640 to 1,790 g depending on size, €699 in France), is rated 4 stars with 100% latching (SHARP shows no regulation version for this test).

The other price you pay is weight: 150 to 400 g more than an equivalent full-face, often carried at the front. On an adventure bike or a tourer with a good screen, it's fine. On a naked at 80 mph, your neck feels it. For touring modulars, intercoms and noise included, see our dedicated feature.

The open-face: freedom, with your eyes open

The open-face is the lightest, the airiest, the most pleasant in town in summer. It's also the only format SHARP doesn't rate, since there's no chin guard to test, and the one that leaves uncovered the areas where nearly half of impacts land.

Two examples to place the 2026 offer:

A long visor that comes down below the chin changes nothing: it protects from wind and debris, not from an impact. The open-face makes sense on a scooter in town, a 125 on short trips, a classic bike at touring pace. On dual carriageways, much less so.

Which format for which use

The most common mistakes

Riding open with a P-only modular. Check the label: without "P/J", the open position isn't approved.

Choosing a modular on stars alone. Look at the latch percentage. Below 70%, the chin bar isn't reliable in an impact.

Choosing an open-face "because I only ride in town". Urban crashes at 30 mph, into a kerb or a bumper, are precisely the ones where the chin makes contact. If in doubt, a light full-face will cost you 200 g, not your jaw.

Forgetting weight in daily use. A helmet you find heavy ends up staying in the cupboard on tired days. The best helmet is the one you wear on every ride.

For entry-level brands and what cheap helmets are really worth, read on with our investigation into cheap helmets.

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Want to know whether your intercom will fit a modular, or how to adjust a chin-bar latch that's developing play? Ask the assistant.