Matt black is the most restrained Challenger II and one of the four at the lower price. Everything about it works except one thing, and that thing belongs at the top rather than buried at the end.

An HPFC composite shell in three sizes

Three shell sizes across eight helmet sizes is the specification that separates this from cheaper full-faces. A size S sits closer to the head than it would on a one-shell design, where every size shares the same outer dimensions.

🔵 The split is 2XS–S, M–L and XL–3XL.

No independent safety rating — and nothing to borrow

🔵 We say this plainly rather than leaving it out. Most retail pages simply do not mention testing, which reads as neutral rather than as a gap — and it is a gap.

The FF817 Challenger II: no SHARP entry, no Certimoov result, no ADAC test. It holds ECE 22.06 homologation.

Airflow from the top down — and no chin intake

Airflow only happens if the air has somewhere lower in pressure to go, which is why the rear exhausts matter as much as the crown intake.

🔵 The channels are moulded into the EPS itself rather than being gaps between pads — the more effective arrangement, and the more expensive one to tool.

About the solid matt black finish

🔵 Black is the hardest helmet colour for a driver to separate from dark tarmac in poor light, and poor light is exactly when the separation matters — overcast afternoons, dusk, rain on a grey road. On a touring helmet, a share of whose days will end in those conditions rather than in sunshine, that deserves weighing seriously. Plenty of riders weigh it and take black anyway; a helmet is one of several things making you visible, and a bright jacket does more work than most people credit. The point is that it should be a decision rather than a default. Everything else is well judged. A flat finish shows the shape of a helmet rather than the reflections on it, and it absorbs the handling marks that accumulate over a season of fuel stops and tank bags because there is no clear coat for them to catch in. 🔵 One absolute rule: matt is washed, never polished. Abrasive compound cuts a permanently shiny patch and nothing will blend it out. One consolation worth stating: because it hides marks so completely, matt black stays looking new longest with the least attention, which matters on a helmet you will own for years. If you want most of that benefit without the conspicuity penalty, the Matt Navy Blue at the same price hides dirt just as well and is meaningfully easier for a driver to see.

Seeing out: visor, sun shield and the Pinlock in the box

🟢 The anti-fog insert matters more on this helmet than on most, because there is no chin intake to clear the visor with airflow. Fog management runs through the Pinlock.

🔵 It is supplied rather than sold separately, which is the right decision given the ventilation layout.

Holding on, and letting go

Correct strap tension: snug under the jaw with room for one finger and no more. If you can roll the helmet forward off your head with the strap fastened, it is loose or the wrong size.

🔵 A loose strap is the most common way a correctly-sized helmet fails to do its job.

The part you actually touch

🟢 The magnetic chin curtain is the small feature riders end up appreciating most. Ordinary 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 FF818 Storm III: that one is thermoplastic, 100 g heavier, and adds a Pinlock in the box as this one does. Neither has an independent rating.

🔵 What the Challenger II adds is the composite shell and the COOLMAX lining.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Never clean a composite shell with solvent, petrol or alcohol. The lacquer is the UV barrier for the resin beneath, and once it is attacked the damage is invisible at first and structural later.

Warm water and a soft cloth is the whole procedure.

In the box

• LS2 FF817 Challenger II helmet — Solid, Matt black (HPFC composite shell)
• Wide hardcoated visor, fitted, with double-injection seal and button lock
• Pinlock® 120 XLT MaxVision™ anti-fog insert — included, not a separate purchase
• Integrated tinted sun visor, fitted and removable for cleaning without tools
• Magnetic chin curtain, fitted and removable
• 🔵 No second visor and no intercom — both are separate purchases

Size guide

A tape gets you to the right size; it cannot tell you about head shape. If a correctly-measured helmet presses at the temples while gapping at the forehead, that is shape rather than size.

🔵 No padding change fixes a shape mismatch — a different helmet does.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF817 Challenger II
• Part number — 168170011
• Colour — Solid — Matt black
• Homologation — ECE 22.06, recorded on a metal plaque fitted to the shell
• 🔴 Safety rating — none. SHARP has no Challenger or Challenger II entry and Certimoov has not tested it. Unlike the FF811 Vector II, where SHARP rates the composite version, there is nothing here that could be transferred — not even from a sibling shell
• Shell — HPFC high-performance fibreglass composite; three shell sizes (2XS–S / M–L / XL–3XL)
• Weight — approx. 1500 g (±50 g) — light for a touring full-face carrying a drop-down sun visor
• Sizes — 2XS to 3XL (eight sizes)
• Visor — wide and hardcoated, with a double-injection seal and a button lock
• Sun visor — integrated tinted shield on a slider, stowing fully inside the shell; removable for cleaning without tools
• 🟢 Anti-fog — Pinlock® 120 XLT MaxVision™ insert included — not a separate purchase
• 🔴 Ventilation — crown intake feeding channelled EPS, with rear exhausts. No chin intake — a deliberate touring compromise: less draught and less noise, with fog management running through the Pinlock rather than through airflow. 🔵 Assessed from construction; no independent measurement exists
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — reinforced chin strap with a micrometric metal buckle
• Emergency access — emergency cheek-pad release — tabs let responders withdraw the pads before the helmet is moved
• Interior — COOLMAX® — breathable, quick-drying, antibacterial and hypoallergenic; fully removable and washable
• Chin curtain — magnetic — refits with one gloved hand; fully removable
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — visor, internal sun visor, Pinlock insert, cheek pads (several thicknesses), lining, magnetic chin curtain and vent covers
• Replacement guidance — after about five years, and immediately after any impact — composite can look undamaged over crushed EPS

• 1× helmet
• Elastic carrying bag
• Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers