So you’re getting your kids into dirt bike riding? Brilliant! Too many kids live their lives today in front of the screen as opposed to staring down the single trail and getting back to nature.
As we’ve touched on with our guide to protecting your kids, there are many items out there to protect them when they succumb to crashing their dirt bike on the track. Yet there is nothing more important than a well-fitting helmet, so this guide will help you find the right option.
For those short on time, our #1 recommendation is the Troy Lee Designs Kids Dirt Bike Helmet.
It’s not cheap, but it’ll look after your child’s head until they outgrow it. We’ll also include some product reviews and a solid buyers guide below. For now at least, here are the best youth dirt bike helmets:
1. Troy Lee Designs Youth Dirt Bike Helmet
We find that spending up on a good helmet is going to do wonders for your child, and that’s certainly the case with the Troy Lee Designs Youth Dirt Bike Helmet. They’ll appreciate the “super cool” design, the great ventilation and the visor is excellent for keeping the sun out of their eyes.
2. Fox Racing Yorr Youth V1 Off-Road Motorcycle Helmet
The second on our list does appeal to girls as much as it does boys. The Fox Racing Yorr Youth Helmet is very light and features 9 intakes and 4 exhaust vents so your child stays cool on those hot summer days. Let’s not forget the cool retro design and multiple size options either.
3. Fly Racing Kinetic Straight Edge Helmet
The next on our list has a more tucked-in design where the mouthpiece doesn’t extend out too far. This means children don’t have much of a blindspot and also receive more ventilation. It comes in numerous colors, so you’ll find a good color-match whether your son or daughter rides a Yamaha, Honda, KTM or Kawasaki.
4. GLX Unisex-Child GX623 Kids Youth Helmet
When you’re buying a new helmet, chances are that you’ll need to buy other gear too like gloves and goggles. The problem often arises in finding some goggles that fit the helmet well, and GLX has solved this problem through supply perfectly fitting goggles in the same color as the helmet. Better yet – it comes with a pair of gloves and the total prices is often less than the more well-known brand names on this list!
5. Armor Youth Dirt Bike Helmet
Following on from our budget option above, the Armor Youth Dirt Bike Helmet is no-frills and very affordable, yet has receive many positive reviews. We found the helmet to be breathable while riding in summer and its quite light meaning your kids can ride for hours without a sore neck. After each ride, we simply threw the liner in the washing machine along with other messy riding gear.
Buyers Guide
Now that we’ve shown you the 5 best options for children starting their journey into dirt bike riding, we’ll show you some things to look for. This way you’re not confused when you’re in the store, whether that be offline or online.
Proper Head Fitment
One key reason why we don’t recommend buying dirt bike helmets online is the proper fitment that a child needs. This is going to not only keep them safe in the event of an accident but make them feel more comfortable and confident when riding, so they can keep shredding up those trails!
Face Opening and Blindspots
Something that children immediately notice when wearing their first dirt bike helmet is the obviously blindspots. The face opening will block some vision on their left and right, while the mouth guard also blocks their vision at the bottom.
Weight Of The Helmet
One specification we always recommend looking at is the weight of the helmet. Some of the cheapest helmets use inteferior materials while the more expensive helmets may have some carbon fibre. Children’s necks are still developing and a heavy helmet won’t give them any joy after the first few minutes of riding.
Ventilation
One of the biggest drawbacks to wearing a dirt bike helmet is the ventilation aspect. Because of rough nature of dirt bikes and many hazards you’ll encounter, such as trees, rocks and other riders, it’s imperative that helmets are made strong. That means thick padding and a strong outer shell which doesn’t allow much for airflow to enter.
We’ve recommended on this list helmets that have strong ventilation including those where you can close off the ventilation aspect for winter riding. Likewise, where there is good ventilation, it’s less likely that your goggles will fog up too!
Final Thoughts
While we may earn a commission from recommendations on this list, we would actually recommend that you head in store to try out a few helmets. This way your son or daughter will find not only a good fitment, but the style/color that they’d prefer to be wearing on the trails, and you’ll be keeping them happy and in the sport for a lot longer too!
