Helmet and Protective Gear for a Freestyle Scooter: What’s Essential and What Makes Sense

⚡ In short: We strongly recommend wearing a helmet at all times, for children and adults alike, on the street and at the skatepark.

For freestyle scootering, choose a hard-shell skate helmet that also covers the back of your head and is certified to EN 1078. Determine the size based on head circumference in centimeters, not age. Replace the helmet after every hard fall.

Knee, elbow, and wrist pads are essential for beginners in their first few months. A mouthguard and gloves are sensible additions; sturdy shoes with flat soles are essential for everyone.

🪖 Why always wear a helmet?

A helmet is strongly recommended at all times, for children and adults alike, on the street and at the skatepark. Not because someone requires it, but because head injuries are the most common injury among beginners, in both places:

• Street and cycle path. The child is going faster than they can stop, the front wheel catches on a curb or stone, and they fall forward over the handlebars. Asphalt and concrete are just as hard as the ramp.
• Skatepark. That’s where people fall most often and hardest. A child is jumping, learning new tricks, landing on concrete from a height, while other people ride around them. When landing from a jump, forces of 2–3 times the rider’s body weight act on them; if something goes wrong, their head hits the concrete with the same force.
• Adults are no exception. They fall just like children, only from a greater height and with more weight. Advanced riders wear a helmet even during training.

The most common head injuries don't happen during big tricks, but because of simple mishaps: the front wheel slips on the edge of a ramp, the handlebars get stuck during a botched barspin, or a child fails to see another rider. They are all backward falls or falls to the side, onto the back of the head and temples. Precisely where a skate helmet protects you and a cycling helmet doesn't (see below).

🪖 Skate helmet or cycling helmet? What does EN 1078 mean?

Both can have the same certification, but they are designed for different types of falls: a cycling helmet for one forward fall while riding, and a skate helmet for repeated falls in all directions.

What does EN 1078 mean? European standard for helmets “for cyclists and users of skateboards and roller skates”. A helmet bearing this marking has passed tests for impact absorption (falling onto both a flat and an angular anvil, with head acceleration below 250 g), strap strength, and resistance to coming off the head during an impact. The marking is on the label inside the helmet, together with the CE mark. For young children, there is a derived standard, EN 1080, with a buckle that releases if it gets caught; EN 1078 is sufficient for a scooter.

A helmet without certification may look the same and have foam that does not absorb impacts. In the helmets category, we only offer certified helmets.

📏 How to measure your head and choose the right helmet size?

Helmet size is given as the circumference of the head in centimeters (for example, 48–52 or 54–58 cm), not according to age. Two eight-year-old children can have head circumferences of 50 and 55 cm.

1. Take a tape measure (or a piece of string and a ruler).
2. Wrap it around your head 1–2 cm above your eyebrows and across the widest part of the back of your head, horizontally, so that it fits snugly but does not press.
3. Compare the result with the range on the helmet. At the boundary between two sizes, choose the smaller one; a large helmet moves around on your head and can shift in a fall.

You can find the size ranges for individual brands in our size charts.

Tighten the adjustment wheel at the back only after adjusting the straps. The little wheel only adjusts the helmet; in a fall, the straps keep it on your head.

🔁 When should you replace your helmet?

• After every hard fall onto the head. The shock-absorbing foam is permanently compressed upon impact and will not absorb energy a second time, even if the helmet looks fine on the outside. Cracks, dents, or a separated shell mean it’s done.
• When the child grows and the helmet is worn with the adjustment at its maximum.
• When it can't be adjusted: torn straps, a faulty buckle, a cracked wheel.

Do not leave the helmet in a car behind the window in summer, and do not wash it in hot water; both can damage the foam.

🦵 What protective gear does a child need for a freestyle scooter?

A helmet protects against the worst injuries, while protective gear protects against the most common ones. A beginner falls onto their hands, knees, and elbows easily ten times in an afternoon. Without protective gear, it means scrapes and fear of trying again; with protective gear, the child gets back up and keeps going. For the first few months, they’re a necessity, not a choice.

How should protectors fit. Firmly, but it must not constrict. Try them in motion: squatting, arms raised, gripping the handlebars. A guard that slips down to your ankle after three jumps is useless. Choose the size based on the circumference of your knee, elbow, or wrist using the size charts; sets and individual items can be found in the protective gear category.

⚠️ Parents’ most common mistakes

• A helmet to grow into. A large helmet shifts on the head and, in a fall, moves out of place, leaving you unprotected. Buy it based on the current head circumference, not one size larger like a scooter.
• Helmet tilted back on the head with loose straps. Forehead exposed, buckle two fingers’ width; it will slip forward at the first fall.
• A cycling helmet “because we have one at home” for regular rides in the park. It doesn’t cover the back of the head, and after a single fall it’s ready to be thrown away, often without you even noticing.
• Old sneakers or sandals. Griptape is sandpaper; a soft shoe wears through in a month, and your foot slips off the board.
• Misadjusted protectors. A worn-out shin guard protects nothing and gets in the way.
• After a crash, the helmet “looks fine, so we keep going.” The dented foam is not visible from the outside. After a hard blow to the head, they change.
• Uninspected scooter. A loose headset or rattling handlebars cause more falls than a missing guard. The procedure is described in the article How to assemble a new freestyle scooter and what to check before your first ride.

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