Children's Cycling Helmets

TonyStark

My little nephew turns 5 this October and he seems to have taken a shine to my own helmet (massively) oversized for his head when I am at home.

So for a birthday present I was thinking of getting him his own helmet. I know nothing about children and even less about childrens helmet sadly.

Would like to get him something that could possibly last him about 2 years ideally. Are there considerations with sizing/styles etc? What would people recommend from experience.

Other factors to include are that he seems mad about: Spiderman, The Transformers & Batman :-)

Mugser

Sounds like a visit to a Smiths or other toy shop is in order: http://www.toys.ie/SpiderMan-Helmet-!124203-prd.aspx?qwSessionID=abc967ab-67c5-4b07-bdd3-61a2e74469c6

check_six

Got a nice Abus kids helmet there recently. They do a good range in junior sizes. Eurocycles and MacDonald cycles in Dublin both stock them. No batman stickers, but the helmets do look really good.

Lidl & Aldi do budget ones from time to time which are grand too, but maybe not as pretty as the Abus ones.

doozerie

Some bike shops will have kid's helmets too. If you are in Dublin then I know that Fitz Cycles in Stillorgan sell them (or used to anyway).

veetwin

How about the Aldi ones? My six year old just got one and he loves it. He says it's much more comfortable that the previous one bought in Smyths. Also if the young fellow likes your helmet the Aldi ones are pretty much the same as the adult helmets which might be an added bonus. Also the Aldi ones cost around €10 half the cost of a Smyths one.

slideshow bob

TonyStark wrote: »

Would like to get him something that could possibly last him about 2 years ideally. Are there considerations with sizing/styles etc?

So long as the helmet is CE marked it wont matter where you get it. Recently went through Halfords, Argos and Smyths Toys and got a suitable one in Smyths. Would have gone to LBS, but it was a Sunday and a fretful mother was involved (far worse than a fretful child).

No point in buying one with growth in mind, just get one that fits now so be sure to bring the child with you. Make sure the straps are set up properly and he wears it the correct way around.

Refer his parents to this thread if they want to know if their child wearing a helmet is going to be cool/ safe/ foolish/ save him from death/ worth wearing in a car...

TonyStark

Really good advice thanks so much to all!

rflynnr

Worth remembering that helmets will be cheaper if bought in an online (UK-based) store as - on top of the usual online savings - VAT is not charged on helmets in the UK (since they're considered safety equipment). I know it sounds risky buying a helmet without trying it on but it is possible to measure head size reasonably easily. Use a piece of string to measure the widest part of the child's head (starting about 2 inches above the eyes or roughly the point where the helmet band will rest). Any online store worth their salt will offer brand-specific size guides explaining what "smalll", "medium" etc. mean and select accordingly. Leastways, that's how I purchased the last two sets of helmets for my kids and it seemed to work.

ThisRegard

I was only looking at a few in Cyclesuper store on Sunday, I wanted this one for myself
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=60096

I don't think they had all that range on display but I bought my daughters one there last year.