With the last used Gopro I bought, the previous owner gave me a strap-on chin mount. I’ve been wanting to test one of these mounts for a while. The conclusion is that they may be suitable for off-road helmets, but certainly not for touring helmets.
For my test, I took my Shark Spartan helmet. The chin mount was easy to put on. But while placing it I already spotted several anoying facts.
For one, the straps block the opening of the wind deflector flap at the bottom of the helmet. I don’t use it often because I have a storm collar on my vest, so that’s ok.
But the same thing is happening to the helmet’s air deflector under the visor, and that is more of a problem because it is now bothering my nose. I don’t want to remove this deflector because it reduces the amount of breath that can get up on the visor, preventing fogging in the winter.
Speaking of fogging problems, the chin mount also covers the helmet bottom vent, preventing it from opening. This again will increase fogging risks. I do have a pinlock screen on the helmet, but I wear glasses which could also get fogged. So I don’t like the way this telesin-like mount is installed.
On the other hand, the straps prevent the visor from shutting tight. That may bring enough ventilation to avoid fog. But the aerodynamic of the Shark is a little special, and if the visor is not closed tight at highway speeds I noticed some bothering wind noise and excessive venting when the pilot head is not facing down enough.
So far the issues are mostly related to winter riding. Can I use at least this mount for summer videos?
The result is here. On a sport touring bike, with a full face helmet and with the gopro zoom set to ‘linear’, the camera is angled too much downward. Depending on the pilot’s head tilt, the horizon is sometimes not visible. The speedometer takes too much place. This image is fine to show the dashboard, but not for the surroundings. And there is no way to get a better framed image: the mount does not allow it.
Finally, the mount does not lay on the helmet concave surface. It can then float a little. This was not visible on the video. But my gopro stabilization surely compensated the movements of the mount.
