Xnito Kid Helmet review: A well-built option ideal for young urban bike passengers

If you’re entering the world of bicycle kit for the first time, you’re probably wondering where to start. There are countless brands offering endless features that are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel; sometimes quite literally. In this world of perpetual new releases, it’s refreshing when you encounter a brand that doesn’t mess about.

Being a parent to two young kids means I am perennially time poor. So imagine my delight when, having blocked out time in my busy day to familiarise myself with the full Xnito range, I realised it only does two products. In fact, arguably only one.

The Xnito and Xnito Kid are the brainchildren of founder, Ben Dai, who began work on the concept in post-lockdown San Francisco during the summer of 2020. It had dawned on Ben that a lot of the local e-bike riders, himself included, were riding at speeds of up to 25mph wearing dangerously insufficient traditional bike helmets.

The helmets he and his peers wore were only crash-tested to meet standards suitable for traditional pedal bikes ridden at much slower speeds. So Ben set about designing the adult Xnito which hit shelves in 2022 and carried the Dutch NTA 8776 certificate. A standard which means the helmet is tested to provide crash protection up to 28mph.

The Xnito is not alone in meeting these standards; many of the best e-bike helmets do as well – we’ll come to some of those later. But, having reviewed the adult Xnito Helmet after its release, it made sense to check out its little brother.

Needless to say, I don’t have any first-hand experience of actually wearing the Xnito Kid. What I do have is one cycle-obsessed five-year-old who will put even the most robust bit of bike kit through its paces. He’s been wearing his Xnito Kid both on the back of my Tern Long Haul and riding his own Prevelo Alpha Two.

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Design and aesthetics 

The first thing that strikes you about the Xnito Kid is that this helmet doesn’t feel particularly like it’s a kid's helmet. And I mean that as a compliment. The Xnito Kid isn’t a more basic design of the adult version, it’s almost identical. They even come in some of the same colours; perfect if you’re in the market for some intergenerational twinning.

The matte finish and neat recesses also add to the general feel that this is a lid for young riders who want to start taking their cycling seriously.

But don’t worry, if your little one is still after something a little more playful, the Xnito includes a sheet of foam stickers that can be used to customise

The Xnito Kid only comes in one size, designed to fit heads from 51-54cm. That’s on the larger end of the kids spectrum (or smaller end of the adult’s, in fact), so if you’re shopping for a child under four then you’re better off with looking at something like an Ozmo Sidekick which goes right down to 45cm.

Designed to meet the requirements of the NTA 8776 certificate, the Xnito provides more coverage than your standard cycle helmet. This is why the sides and the rear of the helmet come down much lower behind the ears. The extra protection brings it closer to something you’d expect to see hanging off the handlebars of a moped, rather than a traditional road-style helmet, but the smooth dome and matte finish give the Xnito the look of something more skate-park-esque.

More coverage means more heat retention, but the Xnito offsets the larger surface area with some vents. For warmer days there is also a fabric visor that can be easily attached to the padding just inside the brim.

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Components and build

Like the majority of helmets, the Xnito Kid is made “in-mould”, which means the outer polycarbonate shell and the inner EPS liner are fused together during construction. This makes for a helmet that feels solid as the two elements don’t shift or creak, which can sometimes be the case with hardshell helmets where the shell and liner are fastened together.

The inner cradle runs around just over half of the liner, anchoring to the liner at the same point as the front of the strap. This is typically a system you would expect to find in lower-priced helmets, with high-end models often opting for a full 360-degree-fit. Having a cradle that goes all the way round the head means that when you adjust the dial, the cradle tightens all the way round, in theory reducing the chance of particular pressure points.

When the cradle only goes halfway, any tightening pulls the helmet back toward the dial, meaning there’s more chance of pressure being applied at the forehead and rear. Perhaps to help offset this, the Xnito comes with really good padding that not only covers the majority of the rim, but also the upper dome as well.

The straps are independent and firmly attached to the rim of the helmet. The brand’s own magnetic buckle completes the below-the-ear setup, with a simple pull cord allowing for easy, one-handed unbuckling.

There's a white LED up front and a red one at the back, both integrated and running off a single rechargeable battery. The charge port is USB-C, which is good to see, as plenty of helmets are still clinging to Micro USB. There are three rear modes (flashing, solid and a "wavy" pattern) and Xnito quotes up to 10 hours of run-time. The lights are rated IPX4, so they'll cope with a downpour but not a dunk in a puddle.

One of the big selling points of the Xnito is its NTA 8776 certification, which trumps the European EN 1078 or US CPSC. While the Kid meets both of those standards, it claims to offer a whopping 87 per cent more protection than CPSC. The Xnito doesn’t, however, use Mips technology or offer its own rotational impact protection. Mips (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) is an inner layer within a helmet that allows for a degree of sliding motion during an angled collision, which is designed to greatly reduce the risk of concussion.

When we reviewed the adult Xnito in 2023, the brand pointed us towards Snell Foundation research questioning how much systems like Mips actually add. It's a defensible position, and Kask has taken a similar line, but it puts the Kid on the back foot against rivals offering NTA 8776 and Mips together. There's no Virginia Tech rating either.

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Performance

Firstly, as mentioned, I have not tested this helmet myself. Well, not in the traditional sense of actually wearing it on a ride. Secondly, anyone who has ever asked a five-year-old their opinion will know that detail is rarely a strong suit. So with that in mind, I have endeavoured to extract as much as possible from the grins, uptake and general vibes of my mini tester, plus my own parental intuition.

Finally, the Xnito is pitched as an e-bike helmet, so if your child is only ever going to be wearing the Kid while being taxi’d across town, then you can discount much of what’s covered said in relation to my son’s own pedalling escapades.

On the initial “unboxing”, my son wasn’t completely won over. Having got used to seeing his parents in road helmets most of the time, the bulkier look didn’t sit particularly well. However, that was before we discovered the stickers. Being able to apply a range of colourful dinosaurs and spacemen to his new (and admittedly quite plain) bit of kit was an instant selling point and quite a fun activity in itself. The stickers can easily be peeled off and moved if your little one changes their mind or grows out of the look. That said, the stickiness did dwindle a little bit after some considerable reshuffling.

My son usually wears an Abus Smiley 3.0 in size M, which covers a range from 50-55cm, and the Xnito fitted him well. The range of the Xnito is just 51-54, so it doesn’t have the same shelf life as something like the Abus. That is also the only size currently available at the time of writing, although a size M in the adult version covers 54-58cm.

I was worried the cradle not being a full 360-degree fit might make it uncomfortable on longer rides or leave a mark, but it was fine.

The fabric visor worked pretty well. It can be attached by removing the front section of padding and comes with some additional adhesive hook-and-loop pads, just in case it needs a bit of extra grip. It’s not something you want to be attaching or removing in a rush, but once in place it’s quite effective and was an appealing addition from my son’s point of view.

The magnetic buckle was a huge hit with everyone who used it. If you’ve ever caught a child’s skin in the old-style pinch-release then you will know why this is a genuine game changer. I have added 20 minutes of tears to my nursery run with some overzealous fastening. The magnetic system also allows your child to unbuckle themselves, which is a bonus for 95 per cent of the time (it's less of a parental bonus for the 5 per cent when they decide today is not a helmet-wearing day).

The ventilation isn’t brilliant. The intakes don’t look huge when looking at them from the shell, but most become even smaller at the exit inside the liner, meaning there isn’t a huge amount of airflow.

This was fine when being worn on the back of our Tern. Even on hot days, my son wasn’t noticeably more sweaty wearing the Xnito compared to his regular Abus. We did notice a difference when he was on longer, pedal-powered rides. Where usually he’d finish his ride without breaking a sweat, in the Xnito he was noticeably more clammy. As I mentioned at the outset, this is an e-bike helmet, and all that extra protection does come at a pedalling performance cost.

At 338g, it’s noticeably heavier than a standard kids helmet, but noticeably lighter than its nearest rival, the Ozmo Sidekick. The Sidekick weighs in at 410g in an XS.

The integrated lights are a plus point, and they also went down really well with my son. Whilst they’re not comparable to decent standalone bike lights, and I wouldn't recommend using them in isolation if your child is cycling on the road, the visibility is good enough to help them stand out. The button is easy to use but might be a bit fiddly for whoever is wearing the helmet (which is possibly a good thing).

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Value

At £115, this is about as expensive as it gets when it comes to kids' bike helmets (discounting the full-face and teardrop varieties). While you clearly get plenty of return on your investment, there are also some limitations that might prompt you to look elsewhere.

If you’re specifically in the market for a kids helmet with NTA 8776, then the nearest rival is probably the aforementioned Ozmo Sidekick. The Sidekick comes in around £40 cheaper and has the benefit of using Mips technology, although it lacks integrated lights.

Given the sizing on the Kid, there are a number of competitors that class themselves as adult helmets. Obviously, they won’t come with unicorn stickers, however it does allow you a bit more choice. The Abus Pedelec is an adult helmet but fits heads 51-55cm in a size S and also comes with NTA certification. There’s no Mips but it does have an integrated rear light.

If you’re looking to kit the whole family out, Xnito do offer a 25 per cent discount when buying three or more helmets. On purchase of the Kid, you’ll also receive a 40 per cent discount code on the next size up (which, given the fact that there is only one size in the Xnito Kid, presumably means the adult size M).

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Verdict

The Xnito Kid is as solid as it is stylish. If you’re looking for an e-bike-specific helmet that passes some rigorous safety tests but also catches the eye, you can’t go far wrong.

The Kid gives your little rider high levels of protection in a higher-speed collision, with NTA 8776 approval and the additional head coverage provided by the Xnito Kid. It also provides decent visibility with integrated, USB-C-charged front and rear lighting. With a range of eye-catching matte colourways, as well as a pack of foam stickers, your little one will be able to customise what is already a pretty chic bit of kit.

Despite the dial adjust only coming with a partial cradle, rather than offering a 360-degree fit, the extra padding makes for a fairly nice fit. The independent straps and magnetic buckle also add to what is generally a comfy helmet.

While the size range is quite narrow at just 51-54cm, Xnito offer a 40% discount on the next size when your child has outgrown their current helmet.

If you’re looking for something that can be used when your child takes to the trail, the Kid lacks the airflow that you’ll find on traditional road or mountain bike helmets, so it might be a bit hot or heavy.