For parents (or grandparents) looking for an ADORABLE helmet for their little one, check out Melon helmets. Melon, a German brand, makes helmets that place equal parts emphasis on “art” and “safety.” While safety tends to be a given when it comes to helmets, the art piece of the equation makes Melon unique.
The company makes both adult and children’s helmets, including a fun “double orange and blue matte” Melon helmet that my son recently got to test. Since we received it, he’s worn it almost exclusively, proving that it’s not only cute, it’s comfortable enough for kids to happily wear as well.
Review in a Nutshell
Pros:
- Fun designs
- Magnetic buckle
- Easy-to-adjust
- Good ventilation
- Lightweight in-mold construction
Cons:
- Somewhat bulky design
- Not ASTM skateboard certified in the U.S.
Price & Where To Buy:
- $79.99 List
- Check price at Melon-Helmets.us
- Price not available at Amazon.com* (Last updated: 2023-03-11 at 12:13) – More info
Artistic designs
Melon views their helmets as artwork, and indeed they are. With a large variety of designs, whatever your child’s favorite color or personality, you will find a helmet to fit them.
The helmet we chose is bright and vibrant, showing up well in photographs and attracting comments wherever we go. Some of my other favorite designs from Melon include a helmet with lipstick smudges and one with the union jack flag.
Magnetic buckle
As soon as your child is old enough to want to do everything on their own, the helmet buckle becomes an issue. My 4-year-old constantly wants to buckle his own helmet, but needs to be able to see to do it. Therefore, he pulls on the straps, loosening them, and causing a safety issue. And of course, he’s pinched his neck skin in there a time or two as well.
This isn’t a problem on the Melon helmets with their ingenious magnetic buckle design. As soon as your child holds the two pieces of the “Fidlock” buckle close together, they automatically snap into place. With a little coaching, kids can easily get the hang of unbuckling the helmet on their own as well.
Good ventilation
I’m usually not a fan of the skate-style bike helmets, simply because they have awful ventilation. One of my son’s other skate-style helmets leaves his hair soaked with sweat.
So I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that this isn’t the case with the Melon helmet. The helmet’s 12 vent holes seem to do the trick because his hair comes out dry. In between the holes, there are air channels cut into the foam to further allow air flow.
Sizing and Fit
For my four year old we got the XXS-S helmet which fits kids with a head circumference of 46cm-52cm, which means it roughly appropriate for kids ages 1-5. In order to fit this wide range, the helmet is highly adjustable via easy-to-adjust side straps, a rear fit ring, and “Coolmax ®” pads.
All this adjustment was fairly easy to do, and we had it snug within 5 minutes or so. While the helmet fits him well, it has a much larger profile than most of his other helmets and looks somewhat large and bulky. This is merely an aesthetic issue however, as the Melon helmets are relatively lightweight for a skate-style helmet.
Optional visor
Melon offers an optional visor as an accessory to their helmets. While we didn’t get a chance to test the visor, I do like that they offer this.
Visors are awesome for provide sun protection for little one’s eyes and faces. If you do choose to get the visor, it comes in six colors so you can match it to your helmet design.
Safety
While Melon has the “skate style” look, it is important to note that it is NOT certified for skateboard use in the U.S., although it is in Europe. Think of that what you will.
As with all bike helmets sold in the U.S., the Melon is CPSC certified which means that it meets all required safety standards. It also meets all European standards for bike use, and in one Swiss study, ranked well on safety.
Comparison to Nutcase
When I first saw a Melon helmet, I actually confused it for the better-known Nutcase helmets. In fact, one of their designs (the watermelon) looks nearly identical to a Nutcase helmet. So how do the two compare?
The Melon has in-mold rather than hard-shell construction which makes it SIGNIFICANTLY lighter. Considering that weight is a big factor in how comfortable a helmet is, especially for a small child, I tend to prefer the Melon.
Beyond that, the two helmets are very similar. They both have fun designs, magnetic buckles, and retail for similar prices. The one thing that Nutcase has going for it over the Melon is that it is certified for skateboarding in the U.S. and it has MIPS technology.
Other Melon Helmet reviews
I was curious what other reviewers had to say about the Melon helmets. The comments were nearly universally positive. A sampling:
- “Melon helmets perform as good as they look.” – Two Wheeling Tots
- “High quality graphics.” – Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
- “A truly unique optional visor.” – Urban Velo
The only negative comments I could find were related to Melon “copying” the Nutcase design which is more of an industry/legal issue than it is a criticism of the helmet itself.
Bottom-Line
The Melon helmets are fun, visually-striking, and comfortable to wear. Their in-mold construction makes them lightweight, and good ventilation keeps little heads from getting sweaty. If you are looking for a skate-style BIKE helmet, the Melon helmet is a top pick.