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Item #2 in the top 100 in: Sports & Outdoors- Cycling & Wheel Sports- Protective Gear

Bell Boomerang Infant/Toddler Bike Helmet

Bell Boomerang Infant/Toddler Bike Helmet

Made by Bell

Sales Rank on Amazon.com: 730

Average Review: 4 stars

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Amazon.com Reviews

Average Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Stars

The following review received 35 helpful votes out of 35 total votes:
Review Date: 2006-09-14
"A great helmet for our 21 month old!!"

I don't agree with the other 2 reviews on Amazon about this helmet. It has worked out great for our 21 month old son. And it was the top rated toddler helmet of one consumer magazine.

It is sized to fit toddlers sizes 47 to 50 cm head diameter. (This is equivalent to about 18.5 to 19.7 inches.) So I would suggest that people measure your child's head prior to purchase. Also, the owner's manual is available on the Bell website if you want to read about fit prior to purchase.

I can see why some may think the helmet does not fit. The first time you put a helmet on a child who has never worn a helmet before is tough. He is scared and you are nervous, so it is stressful. There are 2 different comfort pad thicknesses that come with the helmet. We found that taking all of these out allowed us to quickly get it on and off the child's head to adjust the chin straps. Once the chin straps were adjusted, then we put the thinnest set of pads back in tested the fit on the child's head. Then you can move to the thicker pads if needed.

Once our son figured out that putting on helmet = fun bike ride, we haven't had a problem getting it on him.

Yes, we have pinched his chin once with the chin strap buckle, but I don't think you will find a helmet that doesn't have this possibility.

The only negative we can see with this helmet is that it does protrude slightly in the back. If you had a very straight backed child carrier, this may pose a problem. We have a Topeak babysitter child carrier and it works just fine. If you do have a very straight carrier, then another helmet to consider is the Giro Me2 helmet which does not protrude in the back and also received good ratings. 5 stars
The following review received 25 helpful votes out of 28 total votes:
Review Date: 2006-07-09
"Not great for infants"

Despite the fact that it claims to be designed for infants, I would encourage parents out there to consider other helmets before this one. First of all, if you're planning on taking your little one in a trailer, the slight protrusion in the rear of the helmet will affect your child's ability to comfortably turn his/her head. Our one-year old gets especially perturbed that it's hard for her to tilt her head back to take a drink of water.

Second, the "Pinchguard" buckle which seems to be standard on all helmets nowadays, is not all it's cracked up to be. Our baby has a slight double chin (yes, she's adorable) and let's just say that it's not the easiest thing in the world to safely and quickly strap the helmet on. I *have* in fact accidentally pinched her with it once before, which upset us both, and made for a much less pleasant outing. You would think that helmet manufacturers would have figured out that babies are chubby and not happy to be manhandled and thus it would make the entire helmet-donning procedure simpler to put the buckle on the side of the infant's face where it could be accessed more easily.

Anyway, the Boomerang seems very safe, but has caused us a bit of annoyance and we'll probably look into replacing it soon after just a couple months of use. There's another $30 down the drain. 2 stars
The following review received 5 helpful votes out of 11 total votes:
Review Date: 2006-08-18
"Not a Kids Helmet. A Helmet for INFANTS"

Ordered this for my toddler, and it was way too small. The box read infants. I cannot provide any further information on the quality of the item, since I returned it. However, it was on the list of recommended helmets by a couple of agencies that test consumer products. 3 stars
The following review received 4 helpful votes out of 8 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-02-10
"A good helmet, I suppose, but it didn't fit my kid's big head. :("

He was only 9 months old when I bought this, but it was too small for him! 4 stars
The following review received 2 helpful votes out of 3 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-08-13
"Great product"

The helmet fits fantastic on my 10 month baby's head. I love how it comes with extra foam padding, just in case the helmet is too big. The only problem is that my toddler absolutely hates this helmet! I have tried to get him to wear it, but no luck. I'm still not going to give it. He just doesn't like anything on his head. 4 stars