Burst puts pink across a black shell in a single sweeping gesture rather than a repeating pattern — the simplest graphic in this range and, on the road, one of the more effective.

Everything that is usually an extra

What separates the Storm III from the rest of LS2's thermoplastic range is not the shell, which is broadly comparable, but what is fitted to it: sun visor, supplied Pinlock, magnetic deflector, emergency release, channelled ventilation.

🔵 It is the fully equipped one, and it weighs and costs accordingly.

1600 grams — the heaviest in the range, and why

🔵 Weight is one of the very few helmet specifications that is genuinely comparable between brands, because everyone measures it the same way: mid-size shell, nothing fitted.

On that basis the Storm III's 1600 g sits at the heavy end of its class, and its equipment list sits at the generous end.

KPA shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

Three shells, eight sizes, one specification: every finish on this page uses the identical KPA shell and identical equipment, plain or graphic.

🔵 The difference between the two prices is paint, and nothing else.

No independent safety rating — and nothing borrowed from a sibling

🔵 The specific risk with a broad range like LS2's is that ratings blur across it. SHARP has tested several LS2 models and rated them well; that says nothing about the models it has not tested.

The FF818 Storm III is one it has not tested. So is Certimoov, and so is everyone else.

About the Burst black and pink graphic

There is a mechanism at work here that has nothing to do with brightness, and it is worth understanding because it is often dismissed. An eye scanning a busy junction is not measuring luminance; it is looking for the thing that does not fit the pattern it expects. A traffic scene contains grey, black, white, silver, red, blue and a certain amount of green — and no pink at all. Nothing on a vehicle, nothing on a road sign, nothing at the roadside. A pink mark at windscreen height is therefore an anomaly, and anomalies are what the visual system is built to catch. Motorcycle conspicuity research has repeatedly found that contrast against the surroundings does more work than raw brightness, and colours nobody else uses are the cheapest form of contrast available. The single-sweep execution helps too: one large mark reads at distance where a fine repeating pattern would dissolve into texture. 🔵 The black base does what black bases do in poor light, so the pink is carrying the visibility on its own. And printed artwork cannot be repaired after a deep scratch.

Sun visor and the Pinlock in the box

If you wear prescription glasses, an integrated shield is far more practical than prescription sunglasses or a tinted visor: it moves without removing anything, and it moves while you are riding.

🔵 Check it clears your frames when you try the helmet on. That is a fit question rather than a fault.

Crown and chin intakes, channelled EPS

🔵 The ventilation assessment on this page is a construction judgement, not a measurement. A large crown intake plus a chin intake, channelled EPS, rear exhausts and a breath deflector is a complete arrangement on paper.

How much air it actually moves has not been measured independently, and we will not invent a number.

Emergency release, closure and comfort

The magnetic chin wind deflector is the small feature riders end up appreciating most. Ordinary chin curtains push into a groove and are a nuisance to refit with cold hands; this one goes back with one gloved hand in the dark.

🔵 It removes entirely for summer.

Where it sits in LS2's range

Against LS2's FF820 Rapid III the gap is stark: the Rapid III is half the price, 250 g lighter, has no sun visor and no Pinlock in the box.

🔵 They are answers to genuinely different questions rather than better and worse versions of the same helmet.

Care and replacement parts

Store it somewhere dark, dry and cool. UV degrades lacquer and graphics, heat degrades EPS, and a helmet left on a rear parcel shelf through one summer ages several years.

🔵 A cloth bag is better than a sealed plastic one, which traps moisture against the lining.

In the box

• LS2 FF818 Storm III helmet — Burst, Black and pink (KPA shell)
• Clear outer visor, fitted
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert — supplied, not a separate purchase
• Magnetic chin wind deflector, fitted and removable
• Breath deflector, fitted
• 🔵 No intercom — the helmet is prepared for a Bluetooth system, which is a separate purchase

Size guide

Keep a new helmet on for ten minutes before deciding. Pressure barely noticeable in the first thirty seconds is the only thing you can think about after an hour — and on a touring helmet, hours are the point.

🔵 It should be firm everywhere and painful nowhere.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF818 Storm III
• Part number — 168180346
• Colour — Burst — Black and pink
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• 🔴 Safety rating — none. SHARP's LS2 brand list carries the Strobe2, FF325 Strobe, Stream 2 and FF320 Stream but no Storm or Storm III; Certimoov has no entry either. Nothing is transferred from a sibling model — a rating belongs to the helmet that was crashed
• Shell — KPA injection-moulded thermoplastic; three shell sizes (2XS–S / M–L / XL–3XL)
• 🔴 Weight — approx. 1600 g (±50 g) — the heaviest helmet in LS2's road range. The sun visor mechanism, the emergency release and the second screen are what it is spent on
• Sizes — 2XS to 3XL (eight sizes)
• Sun visor — integrated drop-down shield, retracting fully into the shell
• 🟢 Anti-fog — Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ insert SUPPLIED in the box — not a separate purchase, unlike LS2's FF820 Rapid III and FF808 Stream II
• Ventilation — large crown intake plus chin intake feeding channelled EPS, with rear exhausts (transparent elements in the covers) and a breath deflector. 🔵 Assessed from the published construction; no independent airflow measurement exists
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — ratchet buckle with emergency release — tabs allowing responders to withdraw the cheek pads before the helmet is moved
• Chin curtain — magnetic — refits with one gloved hand; fully removable
• Interior — fully removable and washable; cheek pads available in several thicknesses
• Communication — prepared for Bluetooth intercom — no system supplied
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — both visors, sun visor mechanism, cheek pads, complete lining, magnetic chin deflector, breath deflector and vent covers all available separately
• Replacement guidance — after about five years regardless of condition, and immediately after any impact

• 1× helmet
• Carrying bag
• Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers