Review: Giro Scamp Bike Helmet
We bike a lot. We bike with kids a lot. And so we need a lot of helmets.
Helmets are a wonderful thing and my kids and I wear them every single time we hop on our bikes. It only takes one good fall for a concussion to happen. And helmets really lessen that chance.
One challenge we have found however, is finding good kids helmets for small heads. Our oldest three kids (ages 6,5,4) all ride their own bikes independently, and our 2 year old is learning on her balance bike. When you start looking around for bike helmets the choices can be overwhelming! A great website resource for comparing many different types of helmets for all kids ages and sizes is Two Wheeling Tots.com Check them out HERE!
Helmets that fit everyone is a must for safe biking!
Enjoying a ride in the with daddy at 11 months old.
Finding helmets for the oldest kids was not a problem. But when we started looking for a small helmet for our Sprout #4, we were stumped! We started biking with her (in a trailer) when she was 4 months old and we found that we could not find a helmet that would fit her small head at that age. Helmets are required by Canadian law, even in a trailer, so we eventually just put a 'bump helmet' on her (the type that babies can wear when they are learning to walk) and called it the best we could do. She was so well protected and buckled in that trailer, her head would have no chance of hitting anything anyways.
Then, when Sprout #4 was about 8 or 9 months old we started biking with her on the bike (in a backpack actually) and we were finally able to find a helmet that fit her. And let me tell you, I am super impressed with the helmet we got her. It is a Giro Scamp (size XS) and from day one she loved it. She couldn't talk or walk, but she would grab that helmet and would try to put it on herself!
Sprout #2 loving her Giro Scamp (size Small) helmet at 2 1/2 years old.
So now, some reasons why we love the Giro Scamp!
The Shell of the Helmet:
The Giro Scamp fits a baby's head very nicely. It has a flat back, making it ideal for riding in a trailer, or in a bike-mounted child seat with a high back.
Both the outside plastic shell and the inner foam core of the helmet has held up wonderfully, even when worn for many hours in the Florida sun (you can read about our cross-Florida bike trip HERE).
The outside plastic shell has not faded and it is fused to the foam core, just like many high-end helmets, proving to be very durable. On some of the cheaper helmets, the plastic outside is just taped onto the foam core and does chip, crack and can come off easily.
The Fit of the Helmet:
The Giro Scamp has a dial-adjust knob which tightens on the back of the head making it snug and secure. We have used other helmets with simply an elastic strap on the back of the helmet to keep the helmet snug.
Although the elastic type is easier for a kid to put on themselves, it is definitely not as secure as a dial-adjust style or some of the other tensioning systems in higher end helmets, and the elastic can stretch out.
The Giro Scamp size XS fits a head circumference of 45cm--49cm , though you could add some more padding around the helmet making it fit a couple of centimeters smaller. Size Small fits a head circumference of 49-53 cm. As far as I know, there are no helmets that fit smaller than 44 or 45 cm that are available in North America. I once found a helmet that fit around 40 cm available in Europe, but was prohibited from shipping to North America. The Giro Scamp size XS fit Sprout 4 till she was about 2 1/2 years old. Then we got her the next size up of Giro Scamp (size S) and she loves it!
We give 2 thumbs up for the Giro Scamp for being a durable, lightweight and well-priced kid's helmet!
Riding the trails with mommy brings lots of smiles!