What’s the Right Protection & Helmet for Riding in Vietnam

When you first arrive in Vietnam it is easy to be shocked by the traffic. The number of bikes, the lack of any protection or often helmets, and the overall casual nature of the riding. This often scares people while at the same time makes people feel like they don’t need any protection. 

In the cities, the traffic is much busier, but also very slow. This is not how you will be riding when you leave the city, so this is not the comparison you should be making. 

Out of the city there will be less traffic and more importantly the speed will be higher. This is where the right protection will become more important, and why we have a large range available. 

Helmet

The most obvious and important item is the right helmet. We have imported European helmets available for customers in a large range of sizes and types. 

This includes open face, full face, and modular helmets. There is something suitable for everyone and also suitable for every time of year. 

With our largest bikes, there are included as standard, while with most rentals we have a non-European helmet included for free with the option to rent the European helmets. 

Gloves

Everyone should be riding in gloves, they are the easiest additional piece of protection you can wear. In the summer a half finger glove should still be comfortable while in the winter gloves offer warmth as well as protection. 

Even falling at slow speeds can be painful if you try to use your hand to break your fall without gloves on. With protection on the knuckles and palm you can easily protect the most important part of your hands. 

Jackets

A good jacket can make a big difference in both your confidence and your level of protection. While riding at home with a jacket is a no brainer, many people come to Vietnam and since the locals aren’t wearing them don’t feel like they need to. But while they might be doing 10km slowly in the city a day, you might be doing thousands of kms over a month. 

We have 2 styles of jackets, a mesh jacket with hardened plastic protectors built in, and the more typical motorbike jacket with visco-elastic foam inserts. Both of these are designed for air flow and to minimise how hot you will get in them. 

That being said in the summer you will feel hot wearing these but that is the price for riding safely. 

The jackets have shoulder, elbow and back protection inserts, while some even have additional chest protection. While the typical jackets also have more protection from the tougher material itself .

Trousers

Trousers are a much harder item to wear comfortably in Vietnam except for during winter in the north. The summer in the north gets very hot and the south stays hot all year round. With a jacket you can take this off quickly when you stop and they are designed for air flow but with trousers it is harder to start taking this off every coffee stop. 

The thicker material used for the trousers offer good protection but make you hotter, while inserts in the knees and more padding in the hips are the key safety points on offer. 

Protectors

Knee protectors are a great alternative to trousers where you can have protection on just the knee or the knee and shin while not making you too hot. Combined with thin breathable trousers you can wear these even on the hottest day without issue. 

If the jacket option is also too hot or comfortable then having arm protectors is a good option although not as protective as a jacket it is better than no protection. While this will protect your forearms and elbows this means no back protection. 

Shoes / Boots

The right shoes are important. Never ride in flipflops. They are an acceptable option when it is a short ride in the city. However, when going faster or on a long trip it goes without saying that this is a bad idea. 

The most ideal footwear would be a motorbike boot. These are expensive to buy for just the trip, and often too bulky to bring with you. 

Having a selection of boots for rent is hard due to the large range in sizes that would be needed. While helmet sizes don’t change that much and jackets can be a little bit too big, footwear needs to be the right size. 

Hiking boots, work boots, or at least closed shoes are the best alternative that are easy to bring with you on your trip. 

Rental Combos

We offer a full combo of protective gear for rent including a European helmet, jacket, protectors and gloves or with just the arm protectors instead of the jacket.

We also just rent helmets, as well as selling gloves, jackets and protectors if you want to take these home with you after your trip. 

Summary

It is easy to think that because no one else is wearing protection here that you don’t need to as well. You will still be riding fast enough in Vietnam that the right protection is as important as riding anywhere else in the world.