Rawlings Mach vs Easton Z5 2.0: which youth batting helmet should you buy?

The verdict

Both of these are helmets you can reasonably buy. If you want the short version: a rec-league 9-year-old is fine in the Z5 2.0 and you should spend the difference elsewhere. A kid playing 40 games in July, or one who will need a jaw guard before the season is out, is the reason the Mach exists.

Certification: the only thing that is not optional

A batting helmet is one of two or three pieces of youth baseball equipment where the governing standard is the entire purchase. Leagues require a certified batting helmet, umpires can refuse a non-compliant one, and a helmet that is not certified is not a cheaper helmet — it is a hat.

Here is the difference between these two listings, and it is the most useful thing on this page:

• Easton Z5 2.0. The spec sheet states “NOCSAE ND022 Newly Manufactured Baseball/Softball Batter's Helmet” and names the certified item codes BZ5-04JR, BZ504SR and BZ504XL. You can match the code to the box.
• Rawlings Mach. The Mach listing does not print a NOCSAE statement. Rawlings states NOCSAE certification on other helmets in its line, such as the RX2, so the absence is a documentation gap rather than evidence of anything else — but it means you check the mark molded inside the shell when the box arrives, rather than reading it before you order.

One trap specific to guards: a helmet is certified as the thing that was tested. Bolting an aftermarket guard onto a certified shell can take you outside what the maker tested, which is why both of the guard versions in this comparison are sold as their own models rather than as accessories. More on that below, and the coverage question itself is on face guard vs jaw guard.

Sizes: which shell fits which head

This is where the comparison is decided for a lot of families, because the two makers cover different ends of the range. Every figure below is the hat-size range the maker publishes:

So the Mach starts an eighth of an inch smaller, which sounds trivial and is not: a lot of 6- and 7-year-olds measure between 6 3/8 and 6 1/2 in, and for those kids the Z5 2.0 Junior is simply too big no matter how much you like the price. If your kid is at the small end, the honest options are the Mach Junior or a dedicated tee-ball shell — see best tee ball batting helmets.

At the other end, the Z5 2.0 XL runs to 8 in, which the Mach does not cover at all. For a big 13- or 14-year-old with an adult head, that XL is the one of these two that actually fits.

Measure before you order either one, with a tape measure around the head about an inch above the eyebrows, and buy to the measurement rather than the age on the box. Method and every shell's published range are on batting helmet size chart.

Venting and padding

This is what the Mach premium actually buys, and it is the one area where the two are not close on paper.

Rawlings lists the Mach with IMPAX foam, Heat Exchange construction, Coolflo venting and a moisture-wicking liner. Easton lists the Z5 2.0 with a high-impact-resistant ABS thermoplastic shell, a dual-density foam liner, a BioDri inner liner and wrapped ear pads. Both descriptions are the maker's own.

In plain terms: both have a hard shell and foam inside, both will be hot in August, and the Mach is the one built to be less hot. Whether that is worth roughly double depends entirely on how many innings your kid spends in a helmet. A rec player who bats three times a week will not notice. A travel kid in a weekend tournament in Texas will.

The padding claim is harder to compare and worth being honest about: “IMPAX foam” and “dual-density foam liner” are marketing names for the interior, and neither maker publishes a measurement you can put next to the other. Both shells are certified to the same standard, which is the floor that matters. Treat the padding difference as comfort, not as a protection ranking.

Jaw guards: two different approaches

Most parents who buy a youth helmet end up wanting a guard on it within a season or two — usually after the kid takes one off the hands or gets a pitch up near his face. The two makers handle that completely differently.

• Rawlings: buy the shell, add the guard. The Mach listing states it is pre-drilled for the Mach Adjust and Mach EXT jaw guards and compatible with Mach facemasks. So the bare Mach is an upgrade path, and the Mach Adjust is that path sold assembled, with the flap set to any of nine positions from low to high.
• Easton: buy the pair. The bare Z5 2.0 listing does not state jaw-guard compatibility. Instead Easton sells the Z5 2.0 with the Universal jaw guard as its own model, and publishes the exact certified combinations — BZ5-04SR plus UJG-01OS, and BZ5-04JR plus UJG-01OS. That is the stricter and more transparent approach, and it is also the one that makes you decide up front.

One practical difference decides this for some families: the Rawlings Mach Adjust is sold handed, for a right- or left-handed batter, and the Easton Universal guard is fixed to one side by model. Neither is ideal for a switch hitter. If your kid bats both ways, the either-side mounting options are on best youth helmets with a jaw guard.

How long a helmet is actually good for

Here is a fact the Easton spec sheet publishes and the Rawlings listing does not: Easton states a certified life of five years from the date of manufacture, under normal play conditions. That is not a warranty on defects — it is the window in which the maker stands behind the certification.

Which has two consequences for a parent. First, the garage hand-me-down with no date and a cracked liner is not a bargain at any price. Second, if you are buying a helmet for a 9-year-old and expecting it to last until high school, it will not, regardless of which of these two you pick. A helmet is a three-to-five-season item that also gets outgrown, and the cheaper shell is a perfectly rational response to that.

Retire any helmet immediately if it has taken a real impact, if the shell is cracked or crazed, or if the interior padding has compressed and no longer holds the fit. None of that is visible from the outside on a glance, which is why the five-year statement on the Easton is a genuinely useful thing to have in writing.

Which kid each one suits

Buy the Easton Z5 2.0 if: your kid measures 6 1/2 in or more; you want the certification standard and model codes stated before you order; you want to spend the least money that still buys a certified helmet; or he needs an adult-sized XL shell, which the Mach does not offer.

Buy the Rawlings Mach if: he measures between 6 3/8 and 6 1/2 in and the Z5 Junior is too big; he plays a heavy summer schedule and the venting is worth it; or you expect to add a jaw guard and want the shell that is drilled for one. If you already know he needs the guard, buy the Mach Adjust and skip the two-step.

Buy neither if: he is 4 or 5 and measures under 6 3/8 in — go to a tee-ball shell — or if he plays fastpitch softball, where the helmet needs a mask and these do not come with one. That page is best softball helmets with a mask. For the whole field of youth helmets rather than these two, start at best youth batting helmets.

Side by side

Read that table as two different kinds of information. Easton fills in the certification row and the warranty row and leaves the venting claims thin. Rawlings fills in the cushioning and construction rows and leaves the certification row empty. Neither helmet is hiding anything; the makers simply document different things, and which gap you mind more is the decision.

A note on the order of the four cards above: they are grouped as bare shell against bare shell, then guard version against guard version, rather than strictly by score. Comparing a bare helmet's score against a helmet-plus-guard score is not a useful comparison — they are different purchases at different prices. Within each pair the scores are directly comparable, and the rubric weights are published on how we pick youth baseball gear.

On price: the Z5 2.0 is the cheapest certified shell either of these makers sells, the Mach sits near the top of the youth range, and the two guard versions land above their bare shells. The cards pull live numbers, so check them on the day you order rather than trusting a figure in prose.