How To Choose Your First Helmet

So we all know that your helmet is the piece of equipment that is going to protect the most valuable part of your body, which is your head, in case of a major accident with another driver, or maybe against the asphalt.

It’s going to protect your head to stay in one piece, which is, I guess, what everybody wants here, right?

So how do we choose the right one, not only in terms of safety, but also in terms of comfort and performance? In this guide, I believe I will provide you all of the answers. So let’s stick with it and get started.

What certifications should beginners look for when purchasing a karting helmet

You need to look for a homologation number. The helmet needs to be properly homologated, and the homologation needs to be not expired.

So you want to check that the expiry of the helmet is at least five years down the road. Because if you purchase a helmet that is just going to be expiring in two years, you know that you will have to purchase a new one if you want to race.

And of course, when you enter a competition, your helmet needs to be properly homologated, and the homologation number does not have to be expired. So make sure you check that homologation number and make sure that the homologation is not expired or it’s going to expire anytime soon.

The homologation should be from FIA, and you should find that inside of the skull of the helmet. You should take off the foams, and you should be able to see it. It’s a shiny silver number that you can easily find.

But don’t worry, most of the helmets already have a proper homologation number, and I don’t believe they’re going to try to scam you and sell you a helmet without homologation. So you can relax and just double check for extra certainty.

What’s the difference between karting and motorcycle helmets?

Well, there’s a major difference in terms of shape. The motorcycle helmets are more of a V shape if you look at them from the front, whereas karting helmets are a bit more round.

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure why it’s like that. I guess there has to be a lot to do with the aerodynamics and possibly the different types of safety standards that are required for motorbikes. I believe motorbike riders go at far higher speeds than karting drivers. Karting drivers reach up to 150 kilometers an hour, in case of shifter karts it’s under 50 kilometers an hour or so, but motorcycle riders get up to 300–350 kilometers an hour for a MotoGP. So I feel that their helmets are very safe too. But of course, the shape is a bit different.

You cannot drive with motorcycle helmets on a karting race because the karting helmet is not homologated.

Yes, if you ask me the question, will it still protect you in case of a big crash? Of course, it will. But can you run it during a race? No, you can’t, because it’s not homologated.

You can still maybe do it in some club races or local races at a low level, and they may not say anything to you and you may still get away with it. But again, if you aim to race at international races, they will check and if it’s not homologated, well, you are doing a disservice to yourself.

Because again, if you crash, there’s no insurance being covered. If anything’s wrong with a helmet and the helmet breaks and you have a fatal injury, the homologation is a good insurance, I would say.

And I mean, what everybody’s normally doing, and so I encourage you to do as well. So get a helmet that is specifically made for karting your first time on a go-kart. Yes, you can still drive with a motorcycle helmet just to see whether you like it or not.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, you will still get protected. But of course, for multiple testing days and for proper races, you need—I will repeat—you need to get a FIA homologated helmet from the likes of Schubert, RiMS, Bell, Steelo, etc.

How should a helmet properly fit?

A helmet should fit in a way that makes you squeeze your cheeks a little bit. I think that is my number one thing.

You should feel like the inside foam squeezes your cheeks a bit, but not too much—not so much that you actually feel like your face is exploding, but not so loose that you feel like your head is moving.

So you need to feel firm inside of the helmet without moving inside. And when you’re driving, you really need to feel that you’re not moving. You really need to feel like your helmet stays firm and that you’re not shaking up or down, you’re not shaking left to right.

You want to really make sure that your head stays firm and it’s not moving up or down or left to right. So yes, make sure that when you check it, it’s nice and firm. Your cheeks are nice and firm, and also feel that it’s not hurting you at the top.

Is an expensive helmet always better than a cheap one

I mean, of course, it depends whether you get an overly priced helmet simply because somebody’s trying to scam you at extremely high rates, but most of the time, as with most of the things in life, high quality helmets will require you to pay a premium.

Helmets such as Schubert, RiMS, and Bell are more protective, more performing, and higher quality overall compared to other brands. So yes, by buying, for example, a Schubert, you will pay the most compared to what you would do with other helmets. It’s going to be about 1,600–1,800, maybe about 2,000 euros or something—it depends, I guess, from where you buy it and discounts that you get.

But you will definitely spend the most. However, you have a carbon helmet that is very, very protective. You have probably the best aerodynamic shape, and you also have something which is very light. And the fact that makes it light is good for the performance. The lighter the helmet, the better performance.

I would definitely encourage you to consider getting a Schubert. I’m not here to promote them, but I’m just saying that that is the absolute number one helmet.

I believe that, together with obviously Bell and RiMS, those are my top three choices. I’ve been using RiMS all my life, but then recently, I also swapped to Schubert. And to be honest, I’m having a really good time, and I feel the helmet is comfortable, it’s high performing, it’s light and it’s very protective.

So I hope I will never have to test its safety measures in case of a big crash, maybe one day it will happen, I hope not, but if it will, I’m pretty sure and confident that it’s going to protect me very well.

Are used helmets safe?

Well, I think that they are—of course, it depends whether they are being used a lot and where they had big hits. Because the problem is that if they’ve had big impacts and big incidents in the past, you may have to instead choose to get a new one.

Because again, if you have big crashes, maybe something inside of the skull—the carbon fibers—they will probably break a bit. So I would not recommend buying a used helmet if it has had many, many big impacts. In that case, I would advise you to just buy a new one.

And normally, I think it’s something very personal. Like you would prefer to get a new helmet because you can then custom design it. I think for racing drivers, it’s a bit like their Christmas gift, isn’t it?

So you can get your helmet, choose your colors, choose your design, choose your style. You know, I think that’s one of the greatest arts that expresses a driver’s personality, and I feel that it’s a pity to buy a used helmet. To be honest, I think it’s way better to design your own.

And I feel that you should do that for most kids, and it’s a bit sad to buy used helmets. I understand that for many people strapped on cash, it will be a much better decision overall. But again, I would not sell your own helmet. I would keep it as a museum piece, keep it on your in your room, and even if, after you stop racing, if you ever do—which I hope you continue—but again, whenever you will get a new helmet, I will advise not to sell that one. I would just advise to keep it and use it as a creative piece of art to leave it in your house.

How important is helmet weight for karting?

Helmet weight is extremely important for karting drivers, because you want to keep the weight as little as possible for two major reasons.

First, to reduce the muscle strains of your neck. So the lighter the weight of the helmet, the less effort your muscles, your head and your neck will have to do. Therefore you will be able to stay more relaxed as well as less tired throughout the whole race, especially for long races.

And the second major aspect to keep in mind regarding karting helmets is the fact that the weight of your helmet affects quite a bit the center of gravity. Now it may sound a little, but a difference in 100, 200, 300, or even 500 grams in helmet weight will make a big difference in the center of gravity of your kart.

So if you have too much weight at the top, not only is that not so good for your muscles around your neck and head, as we already mentioned, but it’s also not so good for the chassis dynamics of your kart, and it will actually be less performing, especially during high grip situations where you actually want to reduce as much as possible the center of gravity—as in the case of Formula One, where they want to get the car sitting as close as possible to the ground.

So if you ask me, I would just spend a premium to get the absolute lightest weight helmet you can get on the market. I can see that right now as of 2024, the lightest weight version is from Schubert, the SK One. That is 1,090 grams, excluding paint, of course. So that’s very, very light, just above a kilo.

If you then go with the Bell KC7 helmet, between 52 to 56 sizes, you’re going to actually weigh 1,185 grams, which is about 100 grams more than a Schubert SK One. And then if you want to go for the RiMS SK6, you will find yourself at about 1.5 kilos—so about 1.55, 1.56—that’s about 500 grams more than the weight of the Schubert carbon fiber helmet SK One.

So again, you can see 500 grams. Yes, not only do they make a big difference in terms of weight overall for the kart, especially if you’re almost on the edge of being overweight, but also it makes a pretty big difference when it comes to center of gravity and overall neck muscle relaxation and soreness.

So for sure, you’re going to be less fatigued during the race, and yes, it’s just going to be better overall. And that’s why I chose the Schubert—to save up weight, to reduce center of gravity, and to overall have a better driving experience and faster lap times, which, at the end, is the only thing that I care about, right?

Does helmet ventilation matter in karting?

Yes, it does. It matters a lot. Ventilation is a big factor—maybe not as important as in Formula cars or GT cars. I know that for experience, you need to have a helmet that is properly ventilated.

That means you need to have a trade-off between too much ventilation and not enough. Because, of course, you want to have some air coming and flowing through your helmet so that your head stays nice and cool. But at the same time, you don’t want to have too much ventilation, because I noticed that when you have too much ventilation, you may occasionally pick up some dust and dirt in your helmet, and actually inside of your eyes, which is not very nice.

But equally, you may pick up a bit of extra fog, a bit of humidity and moisture. So that’s,