How A Dirt Bike Helmet Should Fit – Includes Size Table


Buying the right dirt bike helmet for you or your child is a very important decision and I have just been out to buy helmets for my 2 young sons who are 6yrs and 9yrs so that what prompted me to write this post . Getting a helmet that fits correctly will mean the rider is going to feel comfy whilst being as protected as they can be.

Having the wrong sized helmet can leave the rider unprotected in a worse case scenario. This maybe that the helmet is too big and could actually come off in the event of an accident. Or if it’s to small it can cause great uncomfort, giving the rider head aches and pressure pains.

A dirt bike helmet should fit snug but not to tight. Cheeks should be squashed so it gives you a slight hamster look, you should not be able to get your hands in under the top and sides to be able to touch your temples or forehead, and round the back where the very top of your neck meets the base of your head the helmet should be snug, not showing a big gap. Finally, holding the back and front of the helmet give it a rock fowards and backwards to check there isnt excessive movement.

So you now know the type of fit you are looking for, now we shall talk about how to measrue your head to get the correct size helmet, you can also check out the helmet size chart to see what measurements correspond to which size.

How To Measure Your Head For A Dirt Bike Helmet

This isn’t as hard as you may first imagine. You only need to take one measurement and check that off against the helmet size chart.

Ideally you will use a soft tape measure which is the kind a taylor would use if you were being measured for a suit and likely found in the wifes sewing kit.

If you cant lay your hands on one of these then use a piece of string which you can then offer up to a standard builders type tape measure.

Simply take the tape and run it round the persons head approximatley 1.5cm above the eye brows and round the back so the tape runs just above the ears.

This line should be largest part of the persons head. Below you can see my son being measured for the sake of the photo.

Helmet Size Chart

Its important to say here that some different manuacturers do put sizes into slightly different categories but 9/10 times you will be good with this table.

If you are buying online then it maybe worth double checking with the manufactures own sizing chart which should be available on their website. If you are going into a store then you will be fine with this chart as you will be trying the helmet in anyway.

The chart starts with kids sizes and follows into adults. There is no difference apart from size so what I mean by this is if you have a kid with a large head then you can still put them into a smaller adult helmet. They dont need a ‘kid’ helmet it is just how they categorise them.

Kids (youth) Helmet SizesHead Measurement
Small 47cm – 48cm
Medium49cm – 50cm
Large51cm – 52cm
Adult Helmet Sizes
Extra Small 53cm – 54cm
Small 55cm – 56cm
Medium 57cm – 58cm
Large 59cm – 60cm
XL 61cm – 62cm
XXL 63cm – 64cm
My sons THH helmet – youth small 47cm – 48cm

Time To Choose Your Dirt Bike Helmet

Ideally you will be going into a store to at least try on some helmets, making sure to try different brands and styles in the size you need. This will give you an idea of what suits your head and gives you a comfy fit.

After that you may choose to buy in store or come back and buy online. I would always recommend trying helmets on especially if you or your child hasn’t had a helmet before. This is the only way getting a feel and making sure you are happy with the fit.

Best Helmet Buyers Guide Post Coming Soon

It is nice to support local business but equally you can save some decent cash by shopping online. The helmets I bought for my kids where a bargain and one came from a local bike shop and the other eBay.

We went to the local shop to have a browse and try some on. They had 10% and as the man in the shop was so helpful I wanted to buy. So for £45.00 I got one helmet. Unfortunatley he only had one left, however I thought I would search eBay to see if I could get another and a shop was listing exactly the same helmet, brandnew as an auction. I was the only bidder and got it to my door for an incredible £15 + £7 P+P

Now there is a couple of things I want to mention quickly. First is I wasn’t browsing eBay for used helmets. I would never buy a second hand helmet as life isn’t that cheap in my opinion, the cost of good quality helmets can be reasonable as you can see. You dont know the history of a second hand helmet.

That brings me to my second point. Here in the UK at least we have a sticker which denotes the standard of a helmet. Check it out below.

safety standard sticker

This little gold sticker found on the back of the helmet means the helmet meets certain criteria and is deemed good enough for track racing.

This is what I look for when buying a dirt bike helmet and most shops will sell this standard of helmet but do check.

Until next time….

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