Please note: sale to France is prohibited.

Matt Deep Grey is the compromise finish and an unusually well-judged one: dark enough to hide the dirt an adventure helmet collects, light enough to sit meaningfully above black in poor light. If you cannot decide between the two blacks, this is why it exists.

Peak and visor — what an adventure helmet is for

The useful question before buying is what proportion of your riding is unpaved. If the answer is „a few gravel tracks on the way to somewhere", this helmet is right. If it is „whole days off-road at pace", the VFX-WR 06 is lighter, cooler and better ventilated, and you will wear goggles.

🔵 If the answer is „almost none", the GT-Air3 is quieter and cheaper. There is no shame in buying the road helmet.

About the Matt Deep Grey finish

Value matters more than colour for both dirt and visibility, and deep grey sits at a genuinely useful point on that scale. Dry dust, mud spatter and dried water spots all read least against a mid-to-dark tone — they show as a film on black and as marks on white, and largely disappear here. At the same time a driver's eye resolves a mid-value object against dark tarmac appreciably faster than a dark one, which is worth something on a helmet ridden on unfamiliar roads. The flat surface behaves like any matt finish: forgiving of scuffs, less forgiving of dust, and washed rather than polished. 🔵 It is the finish we would recommend to a rider who wants one helmet for everything and does not want to think about it again.

AIM+, four shells, double-D and EQRS

EQRS is the system nobody thinks about until it matters. Two tabs, pulled by a first responder, release the cheek pads so the helmet lifts off without being forced past the jaw — far less movement of head and neck at the moment it counts.

The rest is six-layer AIM+ composite in four shell sizes, a multi-density EPS core and a double-D ring.

The CNS-2 visor and the Pinlock lens in the box

🔵 Order visors and lenses by designation rather than by helmet name. This helmet uses the CNS-2 visor and the DKS302 Pinlock lens; the GT-Air3 and Neotec 3 use CNS-1C and DKS301, and none of them interchange however similar the fittings look.

The clear CNS-2 is fitted from the factory with the Pinlock lens supplied alongside it.

Ventilation — and why we do not quote a vent count

The peak plays a part in the airflow that is easy to overlook. It is perforated, which lets air pass through rather than simply stack up against it — and on a helmet worn upright in clean air, what happens at the brow determines a great deal of what happens inside.

🔵 Beyond that, the published vent counts disagree with each other (four out, six out, depending who you read), so we leave the number out rather than repeat one.

Peak, spoiler and lift at road speed

If lift is your main concern, the simplest solution is also the most effective: take the peak off. It comes away in about a minute, and a peakless Hornet ADV 06 behaves far more like a road helmet on a long motorway section.

🔵 With the peak fitted, Shoei's stated countermeasures are perforation in the peak itself and an integrated rear spoiler. That is the manufacturer's account; no road test has verified it.

Four cheek pad thicknesses, removable ear pads, intercom prep

Four outer shell sizes across XS to XXL do the coarse fitting; four cheek pad thicknesses do the fine. That combination covers more heads than either approach alone, and it is why an adventure helmet from Shoei fits differently from one built on a single shell.

🔵 If you fall between sizes, take the smaller shell and adjust with thinner pads rather than the reverse.

What is documented and what is not

An adventure helmet is a heavy helmet by nature — the peak, the visor and the shell grade all add mass, and roughly 1.6 kg is normal for the type. Expect it to feel heavier than a road helmet and considerably heavier than the 1250 g VFX-WR 06.

🔵 Shoei does not publish a figure for this generation, and the number quoted elsewhere comes from sponsored press material rather than from a weighing.

Where it sits in Shoei's range

Where this sits: mid-range in price, alone in category. Shoei makes exactly one adventure helmet, and it is built on the off-road side of their engineering rather than as a road helmet with a peak bolted on — which is the meaningful distinction when comparing against other brands.

The evidence for that is the shell: AIM+, six fibre layers, the same grade as their competition motocross helmet.

When something wears out

🔵 Order by designation rather than by helmet name. This helmet takes the CNS-2 visor and the DKS302 Pinlock lens. The GT-Air3 and Neotec 3 use CNS-1C and DKS301, and the fittings look similar enough to catch people out.

Peaks, cheek pads in four thicknesses, centre pads, ear pads and chin strap covers are all stocked here.

In the box

• Shoei Hornet ADV 06 helmet — Matt Deep Grey
• Clear CNS-2 visor, pre-fitted
• Pinlock® EVO anti-fog lens with matching pins
• Peak, fitted
• Shoei helmet bag
• Instruction manual and the „Correct use of your helmet" booklet
• 🔵 No intercom — the helmet is prepared for one, the system is a separate purchase
• 🔵 No tinted visor — there is no drop-down sun shield, so a tinted CNS-2 is bought separately

Size guide

Specification

• Model — Shoei Hornet ADV 06
• Part number — 14.11.025.2
• Colour — Matt Deep Grey — Matt dark grey
• Homologation — ECE 22.06 — the „06" in the name is the standard, not a styling code
• Safety rating — 🔴 none — SHARP has tested neither this generation nor the previous Hornet ADV
• Independent test — 🔴 none published — on sale since June 2026; MCN, Visordown, Bennetts, RiDE, ABR, MOTORRAD, ADAC, 1000PS and Moto Magazine all checked
• Helmet type — Adventure — peak and visor; the peak is removable
• Shell — AIM+ (Advanced Integrated Matrix Plus) — six-layer composite of fibreglass, organic and high-performance fibres; four shell sizes
• Weight — 🔴 not published by Shoei. Press material quotes approx. 1600 g in size M with all accessories (±50 g); the previous generation was independently weighed at 1601 g. Expect roughly 1.6 kg
• Sizes — XS to XXL (six sizes)
• Visor — CNS-2, tool-free change
• Anti-fog — Pinlock® EVO lens supplied — replacements: DKS302 (not the DKS301 used on GT-Air and Neotec)
• Sun visor — none — the peak shades low sun; a tinted CNS-2 is available separately
• Impact liner — multi-density EPS assembled from elements of differing absorption
• Retention — double-D ring
• Emergency release — EQRS — cheek pads removable by first responders
• Ventilation — revised against the previous generation, with outlets at the rear and neck. 🔴 No fixed intake/exhaust count is stated here — published sources give four, six and „six outlets" respectively, and none has been verified
• Aerodynamics — integrated rear spoiler and perforated peak, intended to reduce lift. 🔴 Manufacturer's description — no independent road test exists
• Interior — cheek pads in 31 / 35 / 39 / 43 mm; removable ear pads; fully removable and washable
• Communication — prepared for intercom installation — remove the ear pads for speaker clearance; no system supplied
• Serviceability — visor, Pinlock lens, peak, all padding and ear pads available separately

• 1x helmet
• 1x Pinlock EVO DKS302 lens (fitted)
• 1x set of spare pins
• 1x breath guard
• 1x chin curtain
• Shoei helmet bag, logo stickers and silicone oil