Most riders pick their first open face helmet off a photo, then find out at 65 mph that a badly fitted 3/4 shell tries to lift off their head like a kite. The helmet is not the problem. The shell shape, the shoulder of the padding and the strap angle are. Get those right and a 3/4 helmet is the most comfortable lid a cruiser rider can own.
This is a straight buying guide to the best open face motorcycle helmet options worth your money in 2026. Every pick below is a DOT-certified open face helmet that is live and in stock, priced from $109.95 to $159.95. You also get the half vs 3/4 vs full face tradeoff in a table, how to size one so it stays put, what to do about eye protection, and the five mistakes that make riders return their first open face helmet.
What actually counts as an open face helmet
The terms get mixed up constantly. An open face helmet, also called a 3/4 helmet, covers the top, back and sides of your head and wraps down over your ears. Your face stays open. A half helmet, or skull cap, stops above the ears and covers noticeably less. A full face adds the chin bar and a sealed shield.
That middle category is where most cruiser riders land, and it is the one the Daytona Cruiser line is built around. You keep the airflow and the open sightlines, but unlike a skull cap you still have shell over your temples and the base of your skull.
| Helmet type | What it covers | Typical weight | Best for | The tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half / skull cap | Top of the skull only | 2 to 2.5 lbs | Short town rides, hot days | Least coverage, loudest in wind |
| Open face (3/4) | Top, back, sides and ears | About 3 lbs | Cruisers, warm-weather touring | No chin bar, needs separate eye protection |
| Full face | Everything including the chin | 3.5 to 4+ lbs | Highway miles, cold and wet | Hottest, most muffled, heaviest |
If you are still deciding between categories, our deeper breakdown of open face helmet styles and safety covers shell construction, and the half helmet guide is the one to read if you want the lightest possible lid.
The 9 best open face motorcycle helmets for 2026
These are all DOT-certified 3/4 shells from the Daytona Cruiser family. I have grouped them by what each finish is actually good for, because the shell and the safety rating are the same across the line. What changes is paint, visibility and price.
1. Daytona Cruiser Hi-Gloss Black: the default pick
If you want one open face helmet and no decisions, this is it. Gloss black at $119.95 sits at the bottom of the range, hides road grime better than matte, and matches every bike and every jacket you already own. Gloss clear coat also wipes clean with a wet cloth, which matters when you are scrubbing bug splatter off the brow every weekend.
Pick it if your riding is mixed: commuting, weekend runs, the occasional 200-mile day.
2. Daytona Cruiser Gun Metal Grey Metallic: best value
At $109.95 this is the cheapest DOT open face helmet in the lineup, and the metallic grey is the most forgiving finish of the lot. Light scratches and swirl marks disappear into the flake instead of standing out the way they do on flat colors.
This is the one I would hand a new rider who is not yet sure 3/4 is their style. You are risking $110, not $160, and the shell and certification are identical to the top of the range.
3. Daytona Cruiser States of America: the American flag open face helmet
The blue, white and red Stars and Stripes treatment at $139.95 is the one people search for by name. It is also the most visible helmet here by a wide margin, which is a genuine safety point and not just a style one. A high-contrast red and white graphic breaks up your head outline in a mirror far better than solid black.
Good choice for parades, veteran runs and group rides where you want to be seen.
4. Daytona Cruiser Dull Black: the matte option
Flat black at $124.95 is the blacked-out build choice. It kills reflections, which looks right on a murdered-out Softail or a bobber with no chrome left on it.
One honest warning. Matte clear coat is harder to clean than gloss, and fuel or bug spray can leave a shiny patch if you let it sit. Wipe it the same day and it stays even.
5. Daytona Cruiser Black Metal Flake: classic custom finish
$154.95 buys you the deep metal flake that old-school painters charged a few hundred for. In direct sun the flake throws a lot of sparkle, in shade it reads as near-black. It is the most period-correct finish in the range if your bike leans traditional.
6. Daytona Cruiser Blue Metal Flake: for blue and chrome builds
Same flake treatment in blue at $159.95, the top of the range. Worth the extra $5 over the black flake only if you are matching a blue tank or blue powder coat. Flake finishes are the hardest to colour-match after the fact, so buy it with your bike in front of you.
7. Daytona Cruiser Orange Pin Stripe: cafe racer energy
$144.95, and the hand-pulled pinstripe look is what people mean when they search for a cafe racer open face helmet. Orange on dark reads hot-rod rather than cruiser, and it pairs with brown or tan leather better than any other finish in this list.
8. Daytona Cruiser Graffiti: widest size range
The graffiti print at $144.95 is the unisex option that runs XS through 2XL, which is the broadest fit spread here. If you have a small head or a 2XL one, start with this shell, because the extreme sizes sell out first across the rest of the range.
9. Daytona Cruiser Pink Metal Flake: the pick for women riders
$159.95 for pink metal flake. It gets bought for the colour, but the useful part is the same 3/4 shell and DOT rating as every other helmet on this page, in a finish that is genuinely hard to find certified rather than novelty. High visibility is a bonus.
Open face vs full face: the honest safety tradeoff
An open face helmet protects your skull and leaves your jaw exposed. There is no way to argue around that. The Hannover study by Dietmar Otte, still the most quoted crash data set on helmet impact zones, found roughly 19% of helmet impacts landed in the chin bar area. On an open face helmet that area is your face.
What you get back is real too. Around a pound less weight on your neck, far better peripheral vision, no fogging, and the ability to hear traffic and your own engine properly. For low-speed town riding and warm-weather cruising, plenty of experienced riders take that trade knowingly. For 80 mph interstate miles in the rain, a full face is the better tool.
The wrong move is buying a 3/4 helmet and pretending the gap is not there. Ride it like your face is uncovered, because it is.
Are open face helmets DOT legal?
Yes. In the US the standard is FMVSS 218, which is what the DOT sticker on the back of the shell refers to. It sets impact, penetration and retention requirements, and an open face helmet can meet all three because none of them involve a chin bar. Every helmet on this page carries that certification.
State law is the part that varies. Some states mandate helmets for all riders, some only under a certain age, and a handful add a separate eye protection requirement that a 3/4 helmet does not satisfy on its own. Check your own state before you ride off with a bare face. The certification question and the legal question are not the same question.
How to size an open face helmet so it stays put
This is where the kite problem comes from. A 3/4 shell catches more air under the front edge than a full face does, so a half-size-too-big helmet will try to lift at speed.
- Measure, do not guess. Run a tape around your head about an inch above your eyebrows, at the widest point. Buy to that number, not to the hat size you remember.
- Size down if you are between sizes. Helmet liners break in and loosen by a few millimetres over the first month. They never tighten.
- Check the cheek pads. On a correct fit they press your cheeks enough that your mouth opens a little awkwardly on day one. That goes away.
- Do the roll-off test. Strapped tight, grab the back edge and push forward and up. If it rolls off the front of your head, it is too big.
- Tighten the strap properly. Two fingers under the chin strap is too loose. One finger is right.
Riding in real heat changes the math slightly. A light finish like the hi-gloss white Cruiser at $114.95 runs cooler in direct sun than any of the black options, and that is worth more than it sounds on an August afternoon.
You still need eye protection
An open face helmet has no shield, so your eyes are your own problem. At 60 mph a gravel chip or a wasp hits with enough force to end the ride. Three workable answers:
- Goggles. The most secure option, sealed against wind, and the classic look with a 3/4 shell.
- Wraparound riding glasses. Easiest to live with for short trips. Look for a foam gasket if you ride at speed.
- A bolt-on bubble shield. Attaches to the snaps on the shell, gives full face style coverage, and flips up at lights.
Whatever you choose, make it shatter-resistant and carry a clear pair as well as tinted. Sunglasses that were perfect at 5pm are dangerous at 9pm. Our guide to lenses and fit for riding eyewear covers which tints actually work at dusk.
5 mistakes riders make buying an open face helmet
- Buying a novelty shell with no DOT sticker. These sell for $40 on marketplaces and pass no impact test at all. The thin shell and half-inch of foam are there for looks. There is no reason to own one when a certified Cruiser starts at $109.95.
- Sizing up for comfort. The number one return reason. A loose 3/4 helmet lifts at speed, roars in the wind, and does not stay in place in a crash.
- Skipping eye protection and planning to squint. Works for one ride. Then you take a stone chip or your eyes water so hard you cannot read the road.
- Matching the helmet to the jacket instead of the bike. You change jackets with the season and keep the bike for years. Match the paint.
- Keeping a crashed helmet because it looks fine. The EPS foam crushes on impact and does not spring back. A helmet that took a real hit is finished even with no visible crack, and most makers recommend replacing any lid after about five years of use.
Where I would start
For most riders the honest answer is the gloss black Cruiser at $119.95 or the gun metal grey at $109.95. Same DOT certification and same shell as the $159.95 flake finishes, and you can spend the difference on goggles that actually seal. Step up to metal flake or the Stars and Stripes when you know 3/4 is your style and you want the helmet to match a specific build.
If you are shopping for one, the open face motorcycle helmet collection is where I would start. Every shell in it is DOT-certified, sizes run XS to 2XL across the range, and the extreme sizes go first. Measure your head before you order and buy to the tape.
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