OK this is kind of gross.  Has anyone been riding with a full face helmet and had a sneeze attack?  I was riding yesterday with a bad head cold and had about 4 in a row.  I had to pull off the road for a few minutes and clean up the helmet.   Putting up the face shield doesn't help much.  I'm thinking of getting a half face helmet, but i know they don't   provide any protection for the chin.  Also when i'm riding in the fog the face shield fogs up on the inside.  Then i have to put the shield up and wipe my glasses every couple hundred feet.  whatchathink?

Started riding in '64.  No other vehicle has ever contacted one of my bikes.  I have never had an occasion to "use" a helmet.  They do interfer with my safe riding.  Since I am in a Nanny State I wear the lightest helmet I can find, just to be legally allowed to ride.  IMHO, the purpose of a DOT Beanie is to meet the Letter of the Law -- they are basically useless as far as any real world protection goes.  If you are not legally required to wear a helmet the choice would be, as fasr as I figure, full face for the highway and nothing in the city.   I do not need protection -- I need to be able to avoid the collision.  Which means I will not ride with a head cold -- if I'm impaired I want a steel cage around me.

Fog on the other hand, is COOL!  I love riding in the fog.  Speeds are below 35, which means I do not need eye protection from the wind.  Ride bare faced, grinning.  Nothing between me and the world to block vision -- I can see better than anyone else, hear better.  (If you need glasses for distant vision the above might not apply.)

I wear what I've always heard called a 3/4 helmet.  Has a full face shield, its just minus the part that covers your chin and mouth.  Opposite of LostArtist, I feel smothered in a full-face helmet.  I CAN'T breathe in one.  I love my helmet.  I figure it isn't quite as safe, but to me, its a trade-off that I'm willing to accept.  The only problem I've had with it is when I first installed my windshield, the face shield had a tendency to fly up when I passed a big truck (traveling in the opposite direction, not going around one) but once I adjusted the windshield, I haven't had the problem.  My husband has a half helmet, full-face, and 3/4 and he prefers the 3/4 also.  Just our 4 cents.  

I wear a full face helmet. If you wear the cheapest, just legal brain bucket, you must sign a waver so I do not have to pay for you to be on life suport when your brain dead. Thats what freedom has to offer, pay now or we pay latter!  

I've always used a 3/4 helmet with sunglasses and full size windshield for almost 40 years.To me the full helmet restricts vision.

I grew up riding snowmobiles with a 3/4 helmet until I was about 12, then switched to a full face helmet and I've never looked back.

I've become so accustomed to the full face that when I got this bike and needed a new road helmet, I thought I would try a 1/2 helmet, but I felt so exposed.  If something were to happen, I want to be here for my wife and kids, so I chose another full face and feel much more comfortable about it.

Just my $.02  

I use a full face Arai and an open face helmet.

The open face is for local riding and fly catching on a nice day.

The full face gives more protection imho.

Depends on my mood really  

I think my next helmet will be one of those modular helmets that goes from full face to 3/4 helmet, biggest reason is I wear glasses and I hate taking them off to put my full face helmet on, they've already slid off my seat once and I stepped on them, luckily only a screw popped out and had to be replaced, also hearing all these comments about visibility is making me think of trying a 3/4 face helmet.  but I ride mostly at 60mph so not sure how I'd feel about using one of them the whole time