Modular helmets are less safe than full-face helmets, period, full stop. That’s absolutely undeniable. Take a look at the SHARP ratings for the very best modular helmet they rated, the Shoei Neotec 3; “93% Percentage of impacts where the face guard remained fully locked”. That means that 7% of the time, in controlled tests, the face guard came unlocked. (BTW, A Shoei Neotec was my first helmet, before I got over my claustrophobia.) That is not something you want to worry about in a crash, especially since real world crashes are not carefully controlled.
There’s a reason that you’re not going to get away with wearing a modular helmet at a track day; they simply are not as safe as a proper full-face helmet.
Good to see that you agree that
Even with a chin bar, the face part tends to open up when you hit the ground.
isn’t true.
That’s your very best-case scenario, with a $600 helmet, in controlled impacts. Once you start looking at real-world crashes, those numbers start going up significantly, especially because you don’t hit the ground once. If you hit the ground at speed, you bounce, and you roll.
