Half Shell Motorcycle Helmets

Half shell helmets are the smallest helmets you can buy that are legal for highway use. They’re the closest you can get to the open air feel and freedom of riding with no helmet at all. As such they have often been the helmet of choice among riders who would rather not wear one, and helmets that provided just the bare minimum to be legal were the norm – minimalist helmets like the “beanie” that is little more than a shell, liner, chin straps and that all important DOT label. But while we can supply you with a basic helmet, look over our half shell helmet selection and you’ll see we can also offer you much more. If you’re a rider who wants more than a no frills helmet, we have half helmets with internal drop-down sun visors, with ventilation systems, with Bluetooth compatibility, with and without peaks, and with other useful features.

In our half helmet collection, you’ll find many different shell shapes, from the beanie style that only covers the top of your head to helmets that extend over your ears and come close to the coverage of a ¾ helmet, helmets with peaks to keep the sun out of your eyes, German style helmets, helmets that are replicas of the classic European dome-shape road racing helmets of the 1950s, and even a helmet that comes with a removable mask. The latter has the look of a half helmet, the fit of a ¾ helmet, and when you want it, an intimidating appearance and facial protection against dust, bugs and debris rivaling a full face helmet courtesy of the mask. In addition to providing an imposing veneer, the mask functions as a kind of hard-shell bandanna, and features vents for summer riding and a removable breath box that covers the vents for comfort in cold weather.

Along with the ever-popular gloss and matte black, our half helmets come in a wide range of colors, camo patterns, distinctive multi-color and stripe designs, and unique graphic displays. All are DOT (Department of Transportation) certified and completely legal for use on U.S. highways, and some have ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) certification. A half shell helmet is constructed with a thermoplastic, fiberglass, or composite shell designed to spread an impact over a broad area, an energy absorbing EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) foam liner, and interior padding.

Most less expensive helmets are made of thermoplastics like ABS or polycarbonate. These helmets are strong and perfectly safe, but with this construction they must be made heavier with thicker EPS to achieve the proper level of safety. Fiberglass and fiberglass composite are stronger and very good at distributing force upon impact and therefore fiberglass helmets can be made lighter. Top of the line Kevlar and carbon fiber composite helmets are extremely strong and can be made even lighter in weight, but they’re generally the most expensive. Helmets constructed with any of these materials will provide protection in the unfortunate event of a crash, but a lighter helmet will put much less strain on your neck and be more comfortable to wear than a heavier one, especially on long rides.

When you want relief from sun glare, many of our half helmets have a lever-operated internal sun visor that can be lowered to cover your eyes and returned to its recess within the helmet when it’s not needed. The half shell design is naturally cooler in hot weather than other helmet types, but although you can feel fresh cooling air on your face the top of your head can still get uncomfortably warm in a basic half shell lid. That’s why we also offer half helmets with built-in vents to provide cooling flow-through ventilation.

The helmet’s comfort liner, the padded layer that contacts your head, is made of open cell foam covered with fabric. Some helmet liner fabrics are moisture wicking to increase your comfort level and some liners are antimicrobial to keep odors at bay. However, any fabric that’s continually exposed to perspiration and the oils from your hair and skin is going to get funky after a while, and we offer half helmets with removable, washable liners that make getting rid of dirt and odors easy. And while a half helmet may not have the space to provide a recess for a communications system controller, a large number of our half helmets have features like speaker pockets to facilitate communications system set-up.