Kaos in purple and pink over black is the most unconventional colour decision in the range, and it is doing something genuinely useful on the road for reasons that have nothing to do with taste.

Everything that is usually an extra

🔵 One inclusion that is easy to overlook: the ventilation exhausts carry transparent elements, which is a styling detail rather than a functional one but a well-executed one on a helmet at this price.

The functional inclusions are the Pinlock, the sun visor, the magnetic deflector and the emergency release.

1600 grams — the heaviest in the range, and why

The full picture: 1600 g, the heaviest road helmet LS2 makes, carrying a sun visor, a supplied Pinlock, a magnetic deflector and an emergency release.

🔵 The weight is the price of the list. It is stated here rather than buried because it should be part of the decision.

KPA shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

Shell: KPA thermoplastic, three sizes, injection-moulded. Liner: EPS with moulded ventilation channels. Approval: ECE 22.06. Weight: about 1600 g.

🔵 That is the whole structural specification and there is nothing concealed in it.

No independent safety rating — and nothing borrowed from a sibling

🔵 If you are cross-shopping on safety data, note that a well-equipped helmet and a well-rated helmet are different things, and this is a case where they come apart.

The Storm III is the better-equipped LS2; the Stream II is the rated one, at 4 stars, for considerably less money.

About the Kaos black, purple and pink graphic

Both of these colours are effectively absent from the traffic environment. There is no purple in vehicle paint, no pink in signage or road furniture, nothing at the roadside in either. An eye scanning a junction is not measuring brightness — it is looking for whatever does not fit the pattern it expects to see, and two colours that appear nowhere else in the scene are precisely that. This is a different conspicuity mechanism from the fluorescent finishes, which work by returning more light, and it operates independently of how bright the day is. It is the argument for unusual colours generally, and it is stronger than most riders assume. There is a practical consequence too: you will never mistake another helmet for yours in a car park, which sounds trivial until you have looked for a black lid among six of them. 🔵 Two things to know. Purple and pink pigments are more UV-sensitive than the inorganic colours, so store it out of direct sunlight. And the black base is doing black's usual disservice in poor light, with the coloured elements carrying the visibility on their own.

Sun visor and the Pinlock in the box

Of everything on this helmet, the combination riders notice first is the sun visor and the fitted Pinlock together: glare handled with a slider, fog handled from the box, and no accessory order in between.

🔵 The outer visor is scratch-resistant and tool-free to change.

Crown and chin intakes, channelled EPS

Crown intake, chin intake, channels through the liner, exhausts at the rear with transparent covers. A complete and conventional ventilation path, executed thoroughly.

🔵 No independent test of its performance has been published for this helmet.

Emergency release, closure and comfort

🔵 The comfort assessment here is 4 of 5, and the reasoning is the equipment: magnetic chin deflector, emergency release, Bluetooth preparation, supplied Pinlock and a washable removable lining.

It is a construction judgement from the published specification, not a measurement.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 Buying for someone else? The three solid finishes are the safe choice and the cheapest, and they are equipped identically to the graphics.

Size matters far more than colour — measure rather than guessing.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 On a touring helmet the maintenance that actually matters is the lining and the visor — the two things that degrade fastest and affect comfort and vision most directly.

Both come out or off by hand here, and both are available as replacement parts.

In the box

• LS2 FF818 Storm III helmet — Kaos, Black, purple 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

🔵 On a 1600 g helmet, fit matters even more than usual: a correctly-sized shell puts the mass close to your head, which is felt as steadiness rather than as weight.

An oversized helmet makes a heavy helmet feel heavier still.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF818 Storm III
• Part number — 168180774
• Colour — Kaos — Black, purple 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