A boxing kangaroo in red gloves, mid-punch, on a gloss black shell. The Stinger 2 Kids is MT's child-sized full-face — the same construction as the adult Stinger 2, in a shell built for a smaller head, in three youth sizes.

Buying a helmet for a child: fit before everything

A child's helmet is the one purchase where "room to grow into" is actively dangerous. A helmet that is too big rotates on the head in an impact, and in the worst case comes off. It must be snug on the cheeks when new and it must not move when you put a hand on the crown and turn.

Measure the head at its widest, about 1–2 cm above the eyebrows, and buy that size. If the measurement falls between two sizes, take the smaller one — new padding settles a few millimetres in the first hours of use, and a helmet that starts slightly firm ends up right. One that starts loose only gets looser.

Three youth sizes

These are genuine youth sizes on a youth shell, not adult sizes with thicker padding. That matters for weight on a young neck — the single biggest comfort factor on a child's helmet, and the reason a scaled-down adult helmet is the wrong answer.

About the Boxing B2 graphic

The shell is gloss black with a cartoon kangaroo across the side — grey fur, red boxing gloves, one arm mid-swing — set against a comic starburst in white and red. Red runs along the lower edge of the chin bar and into the rear.

Gloss is the right call on a children's helmet. It wipes clean, which on a helmet that gets dropped, carried by the strap and put down in gravel is worth more than a matt finish that shows every mark and cannot be polished.

ECE 22.06 — and why it matters more here

The Stinger 2 Kids clears ECE 22.06, the current European standard, mandatory since January 2024. Compared with the 22.05 it replaced: 18 impact points instead of five, several impact speeds, an oblique impact against an abrasive anvil measuring rotational loading, and a Brain Injury Criterion limit.

That rotational test is the part that matters most for a child. Rotational acceleration is what causes diffuse brain injury, and 22.05 never measured it — which is a good reason not to hand down an older helmet, however little it was worn.

HIRP shell

The shell is HIRP — High Impact Resistant Polymer — MT's high-strength thermoplastic, the same material as the adult Stinger 2. On a child's helmet the argument for a thermoplastic shell is straightforward: it is tough, it is consistent, and it keeps the price where a helmet that will be outgrown in two seasons belongs.

MT-QVSS visor change

The visor comes off and goes back on without tools, on MT-QVSS — MT's patented Quick Visor Swap System, the same mechanism as on their adult range.

On a child's helmet this is a parent feature. Visors on children's helmets get scratched faster than adults' because they are wiped with whatever is to hand — being able to change one in seconds without a screwdriver is the difference between replacing it and putting up with it.

MT-MDTC closure

Retention is the MT-MDTC micrometric double-teeth buckle — a ratchet that adjusts a tooth at a time, with a second set of teeth as a backup against the strap slipping.

A ratchet is the right choice on a helmet a child fastens themselves. A double-D ring is more secure in theory and, with small hands and gloves, reliably done up badly in practice.

Interior

The lining is hypoallergenic, removable and washable. On a child's helmet that is not a nicety — it is the difference between a helmet that stays usable for two seasons and one that nobody wants to put on by the second summer.

Wash it at the end of every season rather than when it starts to smell. A lining that has been left is much harder to recover, and a child who has decided a helmet is unpleasant is difficult to talk round.

Getting a child to actually wear it

Two things decide whether a helmet gets worn without an argument, and neither is on a spec sheet.

The first is weight on the neck. A child's neck muscles are proportionally weaker than an adult's, which is why a youth-specific shell matters more than any feature: an adult small with extra padding is heavier than it looks and gets tiring within half an hour.

The second is the graphic. A helmet a child chose is a helmet a child puts on. It is worth letting them pick between two you have already approved on fit, rather than choosing for them and negotiating afterwards.

Intercom preparation

The helmet is prepared for a UCS intercom, with space for speakers in the lining. No system is supplied. On a family bike or a pillion seat, being able to talk to a child while riding changes the trip completely — but check your local rules on communication devices for young pillions first.

What it does not have

• No sun visor. On low winter sun a child will squint; there is no drop-down shade on this model.
• No independent safety rating. SHARP does not test children's helmets, and no ADAC or Snell result exists for this model.
• No published weight. MT gives no figure for the Kids version. On a child's helmet that is the number we would most like to have, and we will not invent it.

When to replace it

Two triggers, and the first one comes fast: when it no longer fits. A child's head grows, and a helmet that has become loose is not a helmet. Check the fit at the start of every season with the hand-on-the-crown test.

The second is the usual one: after any impact, immediately, however intact it looks. The EPS liner crushes once and does not recover. Beyond that, around five years from first use.

In the box

• MT Stinger 2 Kids helmet — Boxing B2, gloss black
• Clear visor, fitted on the MT-QVSS mechanism
• Protective bag · user manual · MT Helmets stickers
• No tinted visor and no Pinlock insert are included.

Specification

• Model — MT-Helmets Stinger 2 Kids · Part number — 1366E36B21 (SY/MY/LY: …Y4, …Y5, …Y6)
• Colour / finish — Boxing B2 — gloss black with red
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• Safety rating — none. SHARP does not test children's helmets; no ADAC or Snell result
• Type — full-face, children and youth
• Shell — HIRP (High Impact Resistant Polymer), youth-specific shell
• Impact liner — EPS; crushes once and does not recover
• Sizes — SY, MY, LY (51–56 cm)
• Visor — MT-QVSS tool-free quick change
• Sun visor — none
• Retention — MT-MDTC micrometric double-teeth buckle
• Interior — hypoallergenic, removable, washable
• Communication — prepared for a UCS intercom; no system supplied
• Weight — not published by MT
• Manufacturer — MT Helmets, Spain
• Fitting — snug on the cheeks when new, no movement when the crown is turned by hand. Between two sizes, take the smaller
• Made for — pillion riding and youth machines at moderate speed
• Care — wash the lining by hand; never wipe the visor dry
• Replacement — as soon as it no longer fits, immediately after any impact, and after around five years

• 1x MT Stinger 2 Kids helmet — Boxing B2, gloss black
• 1x clear visor, fitted (MT-QVSS)
• 1x protective bag, user manual and MT Helmets stickers
• No tinted visor and no Pinlock insert included