Kids downhill clothing

[Matt Carey]

My 8 year old son is a keen mountain biker and we hit the trail centres as often as we can. Until now he has been happy riding in his club cycling top and baggies, but is now nagging me for some downhill style gear.

He won't be racing yet, and for longer trail centre rides he will wear what he does now (will keep him cool). But he really wants some downhill pants and top for shorter rides, hitting the jumps etc.

Any tips on what to go for without braking the bank? Will some kids motorcross pants (can be got cheap of eBay) do the trick? He has his eye on some Troy Lee gear but his pocket money can't stretch that far!

[craigquik]

Gotta say I don't know too much about kids' sizes but at least with adult stuff the MX pants tend to be a bit shorter in the leg than mtb ones as they're designed to be used with a boot.