As somebody who grew up racing karts, I have first-hand experience in the field of searching for helmets and knowing what to look for when buying one. So, I’m going to lay out some important things to remember when choosing which karting helmet to buy.
When buying a karting helmet, you should first of all be looking for a certified piece of headgear, possessing a sticker that directly states which qualification it meets. For karting, the best ones out will be stickered with ‘SA’ and ‘K’ as these are fully certified for racing series.
First and foremost, you need to remember that a helmet is designed for your safety as a driver. Visuals should never be the primary focus when you’re picking out something that can save your life in a crash. Below, we jump into more important tips for buying karting helmets!
Types Of Karting Helmet
When shopping for helmets, you’d assume that finding its IKF certification would mean the end of your search. After all, you can simply find out your helmet size, try some different ones on, and then make your choice at the end.
In spite of go-karting helmets being a different subsection in terms of helmets for motorsports, there are still a couple of types to be aware of so that you will be able to meet more requirements for kart clubs nationwide.
For example, even though the M in Snell helmets stands for ‘motorcycle,’ road helmets for motorcycles won’t be permitted for go-karting. For one, you won’t be able to find that all-important sticker on road motorcycle helmets, and secondly, these helmets are commonly heavier than their go-karting counterparts.
Can You Use A Motorcycle Helmet For Karting?
You can use a motorcycle helmet for karting provided it meets ISO standards and it is full face in design, but we recommend you get a kart-specific helmet. Bikes and karts require different helmet certifications, and they’re often designed differently, meaning they’re not always interchangeable.
Lightweight, Crash-Proof, & Fireproof Helmets
When you’re in a kart, there is a real focus on making sure that everything is as lightweight as can be. This also goes for helmets because, if you think about it, wearing a heavier helmet might seemingly protect you from more damage, but it will put a massive strain on your neck in a crash.
Go-karting helmets are specifically designed to be crash-proof without running the risk of whiplash, so really make sure to hone your search away from anything motorcycle-related.
Much of the extra weight in road motorcycle helmets comes from the fireproofing material, which is required, but in go-karting, a flame-retardant material in helmets isn’t mandatory, unlike in race suits.
Full-Face Helmets
Another vital thing to look for in kart helmets is one that will cover your whole face. Some go-kart tracks will permit open-faced varieties with special racing goggles, but it will be far safer to pick a helmet that is more widely accepted.
That and full-face covering helmets have been proven overall to be more competitive for racing and far safer, so it’s a no-brainer to look at these instead.
People often try to opt for open-faced helmets to avoid a full-face one from misting up, but there are a lot of ways to avoid that with better venting technology. Make sure to pick out a helmet with good vents in various places, not just at the mouth area, to avoid fogging up your visor. If you race in the wet a lot, it’s best to check out some karting rain visors to prevent this.
Kid Karting Helmets
If you’re searching for go-kart helmets for children, remember to search specifically for ‘kid karting helmets.’
They are specially designed to be smaller, lighter, and shorter than adult helmets so that they can wear neck protectors more easily for extra safety on their fragile necks. Even if an adult helmet fits your child, I’d advise picking one that is specifically designed for children, and these are usually readily available online or in stores.
KEY POINTS
• There are many different types of karting helmet
• You should buy a helmet specifically for karting (i.e. not a motorcycle helmet)
• If you’re buying for a child, buy a child-specific helmet
Choosing A Karting Helmet – Try Before You Buy!
Probably the most important piece of advice I can give in regard to picking go-kart helmets is this: make sure to find somewhere that sells helmets in person so that you can try them on. This is for a variety of reasons.
Even if you’ve owned helmets before and know the size you will be wearing, a lot of manufacturers use different head sizing measurements. For example, if you wear a medium size of Bell helmet, you’d be surprised to find that Vega sizes are much smaller than you expected.
You always want to make sure the helmet feels right on your head, and the best way to go about that is to try them on! Just bring along a balaclava (some stores will have one you can use) for hygiene purposes and to account for how it will feel with that on as well.
Trying Them On
When trying on helmets, spend some time walking around while wearing them in the store. You might feel a bit silly doing this, but it’ll help you get a feel for how the helmet feels over a period of time rather than rushing the decision.
You don’t want to pick out something that becomes tiresome to wear after only a minute or two. Also try moving the helmet around on your head with both hands to get a feel for the security of the helmet.
If you find that it feels loose when twisting it to either side, you should look at a helmet with a slightly tighter fit, for example.
A lot of helmets made by Bell actually offer removable cheek inserts, so if you love everything else about a helmet, but it feels a little too tight or loose around your face, see if you can make amendments with those removable cheek pads. This is a very important way to personalize the headwear to you specifically for the best possible fit!
Choosing A Karting Helmet – Field Of Vision
From a racing standpoint, you should spend some time trying out how the field of vision is with the helmet you choose.
When browsing for helmets, you will probably notice that there will be two distinct front types that affect how you will view the track. One is called a formula-car style, and these have a narrower aperture to see through (think of Formula 1 helmets), and the other is more of a motorcycle-styled one which has a much wider field of vision.
You will more commonly see the formula style in Master class go-kart races due to the higher speeds and competitive nature. Even if you are an experienced driver, the motorcycle-style helmet is far more forgiving in its peripheral vision, and I’d always recommend choosing this one over the narrower, more focused formula-style ones.
Final Thoughts
The type of karting helmet that you should buy varies based on a number of factors, including the degree to which you want your helmet to have an effect over your field of vision and how well it fits on your head. You should choose what feels most right for you as an individual.
I created and have been writing on this site since 2019, collaborating with drivers, coaches, engineers and manufacturers to provide you with the most reliable information about motorsport. Find out more about me here.