The foam just barely touches my lips when the shield is down. At first it kind of annoyed me but as I got used to it and it actually feels like the natural spot for it. You mind end up with more room, I had a large rf1000 before this and I couldn't even get a wired mic to fit, my lips were right against the front of the helmet. I have a lot more room in that area on the neotec and this one is a medium.