I am able to see search engine terms that resulted in a visit to this journal, and one that pops up almost daily is “wearing glasses with a full face helmet,” or words to that effect. I wear a full-face helmet, and I wear glasses.
In fact, I have since full-face helmets became a part of my life during my SCCA Club Racing career. The biggest inconvenience is in putting the helmet on and/or taking it off. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Take your glasses off. I know of no eyeglasses you can leave on while trying to pull a helmet onto your head. Obviously, you’ll need to put your glasses somewhere they won’t fall to the ground and break.
Step 2: Put your helmet on. I see a lot of folks wearing ill-fitting helmets or not wearing them properly. A helmet should be snug, but should not crush your skull. The top of the eyeport should be just above your eyebrows. Most importantly, the chin strap should be tight. Not so tight it constricts your carotid artery, but tight. A helmet won’t protect you if it falls off your head, which it could do if your chin strap is loose.
Step 3: Put your glasses back on. This can be quite difficult if your eyeglass frames are of the spindly wire type. When I got my glasses at Eyes On Fremont in Seattle, I told them I ride a scooter and wear a helmet, so something easy to put on through the eyeport would be useful to me. Bringing your helmet with you and trying to put the glasses on at the shop would definitely save time and trouble. A pair of glasses specifically for riding can be a worthwhile investment.
Anyway, just stick the side things between the helmet padding and your face. They should slip over your ears and fit just as they would without a helmet. Do it a few times and it’ll become second nature.
Of course, this process can take a minute or so. For this reason, I have become more receptive to the idea of a modular helmet, i.e., the ones where the front opens up, like the Nolan N102. You can usually put one of those on without taking your glasses off.
Contact lenses or laser eye surgery are also possibilities… I suppose…
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January 7, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Orin,
Great suggestion on the modulars. Something to think about when shopping for my next helmet.
Putting on glasses with a full-face helmet is really easy with my featherlight ic! berlin glasses–a credit to its super-comfy, superthin temples. Plus it’s got screw-less hinges so you can’t break them (you just pop them right back if you do).
–Lorenzo
January 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Nice breakdown for the uninformed. I have the “spindly” type of glasses, and usually end up poking the inside of my ear before I get squared away. Next trip to the eye doc, I will be looking into a frame similar to yours. I’ve become quite attached to the full face helmet, and would rather wear different style glasses then a different type helmet.
Have fun,
Bill