Helmets are the most important pieces of equipment for any sport, and it’s especially important to make sure that children wear a helmet whether they’re skiing or snowboarding. With kids helmets ranging from $30 to $300 how do you pick the right helmet? In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know to make a great choice.
What should parents look for when buying ski and snowboard Helmets for kids?
When shopping for ski helmets with your child you should always remember to bring your kids goggles and balaclava. Not all of this stuff fits together as it should, and making sure everything is compatible will save future headaches at the hill. Parents should look for:
- Proper Fit. You’re going to want to do something I like to call the shake test to see if it fits. That’s where you put the helmet on your kid and have them shake their head aggressively. If it rattles around it’s too big. If a helmet is too small it won’t fit all the way down on their head, and won’t cover their forehead.
- Rotation Protection. There are a ton of technologies that achieve this. We’ll talk about it more below, but a helmet with rotational protection is better than one without.
- A compatible fit with the goggles, some goggles won’t sit properly with some helmets. Either driving the helmet up off the forehead or driving the goggles down over the nose. Even if it fits their face, you really don’t want them messing with it.
- Fit with balaclavas. A Balaclava takes up room in the helmet and you’ll need to size the helmet with one on if that’s what your child wears.
- An adjustment knob. The helmets that have the best fit and will last the longest will be helmets with adjustable fit systems. They let your kid wear a helmet with some growing room without the danger of the helmet rattling around on your kid’s head.
- Helmet + google combos. Having your kid’s goggles attached to the helmet is just another way to simplify your experience as a parent. Some goggles come attached at the sides and some helmets use visors instead of goggles.
If you’re in a pinch and you are unable to try anything on before you buy it, it’s a good idea to buy a helmet from the same brand of goggles your child already has. Brands try to make sure their goggles work with their helmets. At the very least buy a helmet with a size adjuster
What you need to know about helmets
The impact foam in helmets is not as tough as you might think. As it ages it gets brittle and less able to absorb impact forces. After a good hard smack, the foam permanently compresses, so a second smack in the same spot will hurt a lot more than the first.
This is why all helmets have an expiration date and must be replaced after five years of use or ten years of shelf life. Even if a helmet has not been used for five years, it should be discarded after one hard impact.
Helmet technology is constantly advancing and recently has been outpacing government standards. Organizations like the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) test for basic impact protection. Many brands are not just striving to meet these safety standards but absolutely blow past them. These are the brands I’ll be talking about here.
What is rotational protection?
This is the tech that hasn’t been adopted by most government safety standards associations. Your standard CSA or CPSC rated helmets have been rated for impacts that don’t induce a twisting force on the neck. The science is out and everyone agrees that most times when you beat your head off the ground your neck gets a good twist, too. That sudden twist of the neck, it turns out, can really add to the forces responsible for concussions.
Rotational protection is an added feature in helmets designed to reduce the impact of rotational forces on the head and neck in the event of a crash. Helmets designed with rotational protection include an extra layer of 3D-printed plastic, silicone pads, or internal slip liners so that the helmet can actually spin a little bit while seated on your head. This means the helmet absorbs that sudden twist instead of your neck.
The Different Tech Out There
There are more and more companies coming out by the day with their own special helmet technologies. Let’s go over the most
popular ones:
- Koroyd and Wavecell take a similar approach and use a formed plastic layer that can actually twist and tilt as it compresses which is how it absorbs twisting forces. Often you will see them used alongside Mips.
- Mips uses an internal slip liner, so the bulk of the helmet can slide around a little bit while the liner is secured to your head.
- POC uses its own SPIN technology which uses little silicone pads instead of a plastic liner inside the helmets to allow twisting absorption.
- Atomic uses its own AMID technology which is a combination of a slippery plastic liner and pads that twist and tilt as they deform.
All this is to say there are a lot of brands using fancy names for fancy technology that are all trying to achieve the same thing: protection against rotational forces on your head. When it comes to your choice that’s a taste of flavor. In the end, what’s important is that you know a helmet with a rotational force protection system is safer than one without.If you’re curious how all these technologies stack up against each other, check out the Virginia Tech Helmet Rating Website. They’re a third party helmet tester and they have the most comprehensive list of helmet safety ratings.
What I use and suggest
I know I usually advocate buying used gear, but helmets are the one thing you don’t want to be used. You can never really know if the helmet has been bashed, compromising the impact foam. I also avoid Walmart/Canadian Tire-type helmets, despite the price they’re simply not as safe as the brand name helmets. That being said you haven’t got to break the bank spending $200 for your toddler ski helmet.
The route I went with my children is to use the cheaper low-tech helmets while they’re young and their falls are more minor. Once August joined the local freestyle team I got him a more expensive helmet with MIPS. Once Luca and Adia start sending it as hard as their older brother I’ll be getting them some safer helmets, too.
Here Are Some Great Helmets To Consider:
Kid’s Helmets Summary
Remember, helmets are the only piece of gear that I won’t suggest buying used. Better safe than sorry when it comes to noggins.
By finding a helmet that fits the best with their helmet and face mask and hopefully has some cool tech too, you can make sure your kid is that much safer on the hill.
We hope that this guide has helped you in your search for great ski gear for your kids. If you found this post helpful you might also like these other posts.