Although nothing beats a full-face helmet for safety, there is something about a 3/4-helmet that is truly elemental to the motorcycle riding experience. Peter Fonda’s Wyatt in Easy Rider wore a 3/4-helmet with the iconic Captain America paint job. That is pretty much the gold standard of motorcycle coolness. The current HJC IS-5 helmet carries the flag for those who don’t want a full-face helmet, yet find a beanie-style half-helmet to be not quite enough.
When I ride on the street, I wear a full-face helmet almost all the time. Most of the exceptions are photoshoots. Having said that, every time I wear a 3/4-helmet, I enjoy the feeling immensely. Certainly, I’m only going to wear a 3/4-helmet on casual city rides, where the speeds are well within the double-digit range and I feel I can manage my risk sensibly. Many full-face helmet adherents are aghast at open face helmets, and that’s probably for the best. Going bare-faced, and protecting just the skull, takes a willingness to trade safety for freedom. It’s a personal decision.
From a riding standpoint, the HJC IS-5 is a winner. The interior is impressively plush, with tuck and roll on the sides, and a quilted pad on the top. It covers the ears completely, and that keeps road noise down—something HJC has gotten quite good at. There’s no problem wearing this two-pound, nine-ounce helmet (in Medium) all day long. I don’t even feel the need to remove it when filling up the tank. As always, get a professional fit—your head may not agree with my head’s assessment. Still, there’s more to the helmet.
The HJC IS-5 is quite a nice helmet for $120, if you’re willing to wear a solid shade ranging from white to black—the price goes up to $200 for the Star Wars themed versions, though those are sold mostly to collectors. There are also 11 HJC-created graphics styles, all of which look good. In the photos, I’m wearing my favorite—Burn Out. The checkered-stripe pattern goes with everything.
The helmet has the basic DOT certification that is required for it to be on offer in the United States, so if you land on your head at some point, it will do the expected job. There are also a few extra features.
Inside the forehead, there’s an internal drop-down sunshield with a smoke finish. The deployment is nothing fancy—you simply push down or up directly on a tap extending from the left side of the shield. It couldn’t be more straightforward in design or use. It’s a quality piece of plastic, so there are no odd distortions, and it doesn’t washout when hit with direct sunlight.
The sunshield is just that—it’s not eye protection, and plenty of wind will get into your eyes at anything near highway speeds if you don’t have a windshield. It works well in conjunction with riding glasses, though sunglasses can make things pretty dark. HJC offers accessory shields in Dark Smoke and Amber, so you can tailor the IS-5 to the view you want. Speaking of riding glasses, there are slits in the padding to accommodate the temples of your glasses, and they work—wearing glasses along with the IS-5 is not uncomfortable.
Additionally, three snaps along the forehead give you the option of adding a peak/bill. HJC sells one, though universal bills will snap on just fine. Double D-rings and a strap keep the helmet on your head, and there’s a button to prevent the end of the strap from flapping around in the wind.
As I said at the start, what style helmet you wear is up to you. I’m a full-face guy, and I recommend to everyone that they wear a full-face helmet. However, if you’re good with a 3/4-helmet, I fully respect that, and I can say that I do enjoy every outing in the HJC IS-5.
Action photography by Kelly Callan