Fluorescent yellow worked into the Splitter geometry over titanium rather than over black — which gets the conspicuity benefit without the maintenance penalty of a pale shell.

A four-star shell in six sizes

🔵 The oblique impact test added in 22.06 is the most consequential change to European helmet approval in three decades. Rotation is behind a large share of serious head injuries, and 22.05 had no equivalent test at all.

The Vector II was SHARP-tested against the current standard, in February 2025.

Two independent results — including the criticisms

🔵 Read a star rating as a comparison rather than a promise. 4 of 5 means the Vector II performed well against other helmets crashed the same way — not that it will protect you in a particular crash, which depends on speed, angle and what you hit.

🟢 It is still far better evidence than any manufacturer's own description.

Airflow that reaches your head

🔵 If your riding is mostly urban, ventilation matters less than the brochures suggest — there is no airflow at a standstill regardless of design, and what helps then is a pale shell rather than a clever one.

Above about 40 km/h the two intake paths and ducted EPS do their work.

About the Splitter titanium and hi-vis yellow graphic

The two colours here solve different problems and neither undermines the other. Fluorescent pigment absorbs ultraviolet — invisible to you — and re-emits that energy at a visible wavelength, so the surface returns more visible light than falls on it. That is why it appears to glow in overcast, rain and dusk, when there is plenty of UV in the sky and almost no contrast on the road. Titanium, meanwhile, is the value at which dirt shows least, so the parts of the shell not doing conspicuity work are the parts that stay looking clean. A white base would have given slightly more brightness and a great deal more washing. 🔵 Two honest costs: fluorescent pigment fades under sustained UV over years, so store it in a garage rather than a window; and this is unmistakably a high-visibility helmet, which is not to every taste. If that is the point, it is the most effective finish in this range. Compared with the plain white at 220 €, the two work by different mechanisms: white wins on raw value in daylight, fluorescent yellow wins in overcast and dusk because it converts ultraviolet you cannot see into light you can. If most of your riding happens in good light, the cheaper solid does the job; if it does not, this is the finish to choose.

Two visors in the box, a third inside the shell

🔵 With the shield down and the outer visor closed you are looking through two surfaces, so keep both clean. Never wipe either dry — grit dragged across a coated screen leaves scratches that flare against oncoming headlights.

Replacement visors and Pinlock inserts are both available separately.

Holding on, and letting go

🔵 Composite hides damage. A thermoplastic shell often shows a mark; a composite one can appear untouched over crushed EPS. If the helmet has taken a serious knock, replace it rather than assessing it by eye.

The liner is the part that protects you, and it is the part you cannot inspect.

The part you actually touch

🟢 The close fit is a safety property rather than an oversight: the liner protects you where it is in contact with your head, and a helmet that moves before it starts working protects less.

🔵 It is also the reason the helmet is awkward to pull on, which Certimoov noted.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 The thirteen finishes divide usefully into three groups: four plain solids at the lower price, dark graphics, and pale or fluorescent graphics. Only the last group has a measurable road advantage.

Every one is the same helmet underneath.

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.

The supplied backpack is a better home for it than a sealed plastic bag, which traps moisture.

In the box

• LS2 FF811 Vector II helmet — Splitter, Matt titanium and hi-vis yellow (HPFC composite shell)
• Clear hardcoated visor, fitted, with tool-free change
• Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert
• A complete tinted visor — 🔵 daylight use only in most European jurisdictions
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• Carrying backpack
• Reflective stickers
• 🔵 No intercom — the lining has pre-moulded pockets for LS2's Bluetooth system; the system itself 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.

🔵 It should be firm everywhere and painful nowhere.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF811 Vector II
• Part number — 168112053
• Colour — Splitter — Matt titanium and hi-vis yellow
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• 🟢 Safety rating — SHARP 4 stars of 5, tested February 2025. SHARP records composite fibre, 1.5 kg — this HPFC version, not the Vector II Carbon at 1.4 kg, which carries no rating
• 🟢 Second opinion — Certimoov (University of Strasbourg): 3.5 of 5, on an FF811 Splitter in fibreglass. Praised: compactness („6 shell sizes!"), field of vision, equipment, road performance, price. 🔵 Criticised: getting the helmet on, and the sun visor mechanism
• Shell — HPFC high-performance fibreglass composite; six shell sizes (2XS–XS / S / M / L / XL / 2XL–3XL–4XL)
• Impact liner — multi-density EPS with ducted ventilation channels
• Weight — approx. 1500 g (±50 g)
• Sizes — XXS to 4XL (nine sizes)
• Visor — wide, hardcoated, UV-stable, tool-free change
• Sun visor — integrated drop-down shield, stowing fully inside the shell. 🔵 Certimoov named the mechanism as a point LS2 could improve
• 🟢 Included — Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ insert, a complete tinted visor, a carrying backpack and reflective stickers
• 🔴 Tinted visor — daylight only — most European jurisdictions bar tinted visors at night
• 🔴 Ventilation — chin and top intakes, ducted EPS, rear exhaust. Left unrated — neither SHARP nor Certimoov measures airflow and no independent road test publishes figures
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — micrometric metal buckle on a reinforced strap, with emergency release
• Interior — washable, removable and hypoallergenic, with pre-moulded intercom pockets for LS2's Bluetooth system. 🔵 The fit is deliberately close — good for stability, awkward on the way on
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — both visors, sun visor, Pinlock insert, cheek pads (several thicknesses), lining and vent covers
• Replacement guidance — after about five years, and immediately after any impact — composite can look undamaged over crushed EPS

• 1× helmet
• Carrying backpack
• Tinted visor
• Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers