Can't find it right now but there was a member selling a half helmet that ended up being destroyed due to the lack of safety it serves and by the request of another member.
Pretty interesting thread. Hope someone can find it.
Actually I was the seller of that helmet. The video can be found in my SteveMac mods section. A slight correction. It was destroyed because of one former member here whose "perception" that it was unsafe. He and I went back and forth because he hijacked my for sale thread with his personal opinions about the safety. After a time, he paid me for the helmet and I took it out and filled it with 12 guage buckshot. The helmet held up and will be strapped on the back of my RT at SpyderFest. He made arrogant comments like $40 dollar helmet for a $40 head and insulted others about dorags and backwards caps.
I think an ATGATT approach is just fine if that is your conviction. But to demean or put down others because of their choice has always been baffling to me. Those of us who choose to wear a half helmet, or even no helmet when laws allow, are making our own choice. I for one understand that I am making a safety compromise in the case of a crash. But I feel more alert and in tune with my half helmet and more responsive and aware of vehicles around me.
So do I make that compromise? Yes.
But, I contend that a large percentage of ATGATT proponents also make a compromise.
Here is why I feel that way. If an ATGATT proponent wears full armored leathers and full face helmet along with boots including ankle armor and NEVER deviates from that, then I accept that they are ATGATT. However if that same person forgoes any of that protective gear for any reason and wears a mesh jacket or no jacket during 100 degree days or on a short trip to the corner store,, then in my opinion they are not ATGATT. At best they are ATGMOTT "all the gear MOST of the time" or ATGSOTT "all the gear SOME of the time. So that person has made a choice to compromise the UTMOST safety for a choice of convenience or comfort.
So in essence they make, albeit to a lesser degree, the same choice I do, to forgo safety and are no longer ATGATT by definition.
I definitely would not argue that "all the gear" is more safe. Likewise a full face would be more safe than a shorty in a crash. But if I am more alert to my surroundings when wearing my half helmet when changing lanes (for example) then I may very well avoid that accident altogether.
Here is my philosophy. If you are ATGATT ATGMOTT or ATGSOTT then I will never ridicule or demean you. Kudos to you for gearing up as you choose. But by the same token, if I make a choice on my personal gear I will expect others to respect that choice and keep the demeaning dorags or backwards caps comments to themselves.
To each his own. There are enough things that we all agree on like love of our rYdes and spending good times together that we can surely respect other's choices on their gear.
So, if you are comfortable with the choice to wear a half helmet, then by all means do so!!!
My two cents.
