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| Size | US | Chest | Waist | Hip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 2 | 32 | 24 - 25 | 33 - 34 |
| S | 4 | 34 - 35 | 26 - 27 | 35 - 26 |
| M | 6 | 36 - 37 | 28 - 29 | 38 - 40 |
| L | 8 | 38 - 29 | 30 - 31 | 42 - 44 |
| XL | 10 | 40 - 41 | 32 - 33 | 45 - 47 |
| XXL | 12 | 42 - 43 | 34 - 35 | 48 - 50 |
CIK Level 2 explained, junior and cadet fit, when shifter kart drivers need the upgrade, and how to measure a kid (or yourself) for a custom karting suit that lasts a full season.
What changes between a 9-year-old's cadet kart suit and an adult's shifter kart suit — and why karting suits are not just smaller racing suits.
Karting is its own world. Walk through a WKA Manufacturers Cup paddock, an SKUSA Pro Tour weekend, or a Rotax Max regional, and you'll see a hundred karting suits — all the same general shape, all SFI- or CIK-labeled, and all spec'd for a different job than what they look like. The 9-year-old in the cadet class is wearing a suit built for abrasion resistance and growth room. The 38-year-old shifter kart driver next to them is wearing a suit built for harness clearance, range of motion at the steering wheel, and surviving a full weekend of 100+ lap sessions in 90°F heat.
This guide breaks down the karting suit world by class — junior, cadet, senior, and shifter — what changes in the spec, what every sanctioning body actually requires, and how to measure correctly so the suit lasts a full season. If you're buying for a kid, special attention to the section on growth room. If you're buying for yourself, special attention to harness compatibility for shifter.
A common mistake — especially among parents buying their first cadet suit — is assuming a karting suit is just a small auto racing suit. It's not. The primary injury risk in karting is abrasion, not fire. Karts carry small fuel loads, run cooler than methanol-burning sprint cars, and the cockpit is open with no enclosed fire-pool risk. What hurts you in karting is the slide across asphalt or grass after going off, the contact with a tire barrier at speed, and the wear-and-tear of a long weekend.
That's why karting suits are built around a different testing standard — CIK (Commission Internationale de Karting) — that prioritizes abrasion resistance over thermal protection. CIK suits include fire-retardant fabrics meeting the SFI 3.2A/1 baseline, but the construction emphasizes:
An auto racing SFI 3.2A/5 multi-layer Nomex® suit will pass karting tech in any series. It's also overkill — too hot, too restrictive, and built for a fire risk karting doesn't have. The right tool is a CIK Level 2 karting suit.
CIK certifies karting suits in two levels:
If you're racing anything competitive — meaning your kart number gets called over the PA and you're going for a podium — buy a CIK Level 2 suit. Level 1 looks like a savings until you fail tech at your first regional event and have to buy the right suit anyway.
For the broader SFI rating discussion across racing disciplines, see our SFI rating-by-class guide.
Cadet classes (Kid Kart, Micro Swift, Mini Swift, Mini ROK) run drivers age 5–12. Junior classes (Junior Swift, Junior ROK, Rotax Junior) typically run ages 12–15. The suit spec for both:
Parent Tip — Growth Room
When sizing a junior karting suit, order the size that fits today's shoulders and chest correctly — not the size up. Length adjusts with stretch panels and cuff Velcro; shoulders and chest don't. A too-big suit binds wrong and creates safety problems. Most juniors get 1 to 1.5 seasons out of a properly-fit suit. Plan to replace, not over-order.
Senior categories — TaG Senior, Briggs LO206 Senior, KA100 Senior, IAME X30 Senior — all use the same CIK Level 2 standard as junior. What changes at senior level:
Shifter karting changes the suit conversation. Shifter karts (KZ, IAME X30 Shifter, Stock Honda Moto Shifter) are faster, hotter, and physically more demanding than non-shifter classes. The driver works a 6-speed gearbox with their right hand on the steering wheel paddle, manages a clutch on the left side, and runs lap times that approach Formula Ford on a road circuit.
Suit upgrades that matter for shifter:
Some series — usually SKUSA SuperNationals and international KZ — also require SFI 3.2A/1 with abrasion certification on top of CIK Level 2. Confirm with your specific series before ordering.
Off-the-rack karting suits are cut for a 50th-percentile driver. If you're not exactly that — and most kids aren't, given growth patterns — the suit binds and the wear pattern accelerates. Custom-measured karting suits cost roughly the same as mid-tier off-the-rack and last meaningfully longer. The seven measurements that matter:
For the full measurement walkthrough, see our custom fit tips post. The principles for karting fit follow auto racing closely with one exception: karting suits need more shoulder mobility because of the constant steering input.
Every major US karting sanctioning body specifies CIK Level 2 as the floor, but each has its own technical bulletin variations. Current as of 2026:
Five signs the suit is done:
Junior karting suits typically last 1 to 1.5 seasons before a growth spurt makes them unsafe. Plan for the cycle — don't try to stretch one suit across two seasons.
Six things we see in karting paddocks, in rough order of how often:
Keep going — more racing-suit guides from the HS Race Gear blog.
Which SFI rating each dirt oval body requires, by class. Street stock through winged sprint car, plus what tech actually checks.
SFI 3.2A is tiered and US-focused; FIA 8856-2018 is single pass/fail and international. Why one won't reliably substitute for the other.
The hidden number behind every SFI rating. Why two SFI 3.2A/5 suits can have different TPP scores, and how to find the actual number.
HS Race Gear builds custom CIK Level 2 karting suits with full-coverage sublimation, reinforced abrasion panels, and stretch panels for shoulder mobility at the wheel. Junior, cadet, senior, TaG, and shifter fits. Team batch pricing at 3+ suits.
