Gloss black flatters a helmet's shape more than any other finish and punishes careless cleaning more than any other. On a shell with this much geometry in it, the first of those matters more than usual.

Four stars from SHARP — and this is the helmet they tested

🔵 Why a SHARP rating is worth more than a homologation. ECE 22.06 is a pass or fail threshold that every legal helmet clears. SHARP buys helmets anonymously at retail, crashes them at several speeds and points, and publishes a comparative score.

🟢 The Advant X scores 4 of 5.

A flip-up with P/J dual homologation

The chin bar release is a single central catch, operable with one gloved hand, and the bar swings back and locks flat against the rear of the shell.

🟢 Both positions are inside the ECE 22.06 P/J approval, so neither is a compromise you are getting away with.

HPFC composite, multi-density EPS — and only two shell sizes

The EPS also carries moulded ventilation channels, which is what turns intakes and exhausts into actual airflow across your scalp rather than air passing over the shell.

🔵 Two shell sizes cover XS to 3XL — seven sizes, and no XXS in this range.

About the solid gloss black finish

A deep gloss black returns a hard specular highlight along every curve, and that highlight is what makes the eye read form: the line of the folded chin bar, the rear spoiler, the transition into the honeycomb exhaust. A matt black shows you an outline; a gloss black shows you a surface. On a helmet whose whole engineering story is a chin bar that rotates 180 degrees to the rear, being able to see the shape do it is a fair reason to choose gloss. 🔵 The cost is entirely in the care, and it is real. Gloss black is the most unforgiving finish there is for swirl marks, because a dark clear coat shows every fine scratch a dry cloth puts into it, and once they are there they stay. Never wipe it dry. Rinse the grit off before any cloth touches it. It also carries black's conspicuity limitation in poor light. Between the two blacks at the same price the split is straightforward. Gloss shows the shape of the mechanism and shows every swirl you put into it; matt shows the outline and forgives careless cleaning entirely. Both share the same disadvantage in poor light, so the choice is purely about how you want the helmet to look and how carefully you intend to wash it.

Twin Visor, Pinlock 120 and a tinted spare

🔵 With the shield down and the outer visor closed you are looking through two surfaces, so keep both clean. A mark on either shows against low sun, and the inner one is closer to your eyes.

Never wipe either dry — grit dragged across a coated screen leaves scratches that flare against headlights.

Chin and crown intakes, channelled EPS

The chin intake feeds the visor as well as your face, which is what keeps the screen clear in cold weather.

🟢 Combined with the supplied Pinlock 120 XLT and the fitted breath deflector, fogging is attacked from three directions at once rather than one.

Metal buckle and the Emergency Release System

🟢 Two mechanisms on this helmet exist for moments you hope never arrive: the Emergency Release and the chin-bar lock. SHARP measured the second at 63 % fully locked across its impact tests.

🔵 The P/J homologation is why that number is manageable rather than alarming — the helmet is approved with the bar open too.

Lining, comfort — and the X-Static this version does not have

Comfort over four hours is decided by pressure distribution rather than softness. A lining that feels plush in the first minute often lacks support and produces a hot spot later.

🔵 Cheek pads are available in other thicknesses, so a pressure point is usually fixable rather than fatal.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 What the Advant X is good at: being a complete touring modular with an independent rating. What it is not: light, or finely shell-sized — 1600 g on two shells.

Both are stated in full elsewhere on this page rather than left to be discovered.

Care and replacement parts

Look after both screens. Never wipe either dry — grit dragged across a coated surface leaves fine scratches, and scratches flare into a starburst against oncoming headlights.

🔵 Replacement clear and tinted visors and Pinlock 120 XLT inserts are all available.

In the box

• LS2 FF901 Advant X helmet — Solid, Gloss black (HPFC composite shell)
• Clear main visor, fitted, with tool-free quick release
• Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ XLT anti-fog insert
• A complete second visor in a tint — 🔵 daylight use only in most European jurisdictions
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• 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 FF901 Advant X (HPFC)
• Part number — 569011012
• Colour — Solid — Gloss black
• Homologation — ECE 22.06, P/J dual homologation — approved closed and open
• 🟢 Safety rating — SHARP 4 stars of 5, July 2024, ECE 22.06. Max in every zone at 6.0 and 7.5 m/s; at 8.5 m/s crown/front/rear 5, sides 3. 🔵 chin bar fully locked in 63 % of impacts
• 🔑 Which helmet the rating belongs to — SHARP recorded composite fibre, 1.6 kg = this HPFC version. Not the Advant X Carbon (6K, 1550 g), which we list unrated
• Helmet type — Flip-up touring — chin bar rotates 180° to the rear
• Shell — HPFC composite. 🔵 Two shell sizes only (XS–S–M–L / XL–2XL–3XL) — coarser than the three of LS2's FF808/FF817/FF820
• Impact liner — multi-density EPS with moulded ventilation channels
• Weight — approx. 1600 g (±50 g)
• Sizes — XS to 3XL (seven sizes), no XXS. Prepared for Bluetooth intercom; no system supplied
• Optics — Twin Visor System — main visor plus retracting sun visor
• 🟢 Included — Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ XLT AND a complete tinted second visor, plus a breath deflector
• 🔴 Tinted visor — daylight only — most European jurisdictions bar tinted visors at night
• Ventilation — chin and crown intakes, channelled multi-density EPS, rear exhaust port. 🔵 assessed from construction; no independent measurement exists
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no measurement published; SHARP measures impact, not acoustics
• Retention — micrometric metal buckle
• Emergency access — Emergency Release System — tabs let responders withdraw the cheek pads first
• Interior — removable, washable, breathable, hypoallergenic; laser-cut foam. 🔵 No X-Static® — LS2 lists it only for the Advant X Carbon
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet; no modular is FIM-eligible
• Serviceability — both visors, sun visor mechanism, cheek pads (several thicknesses), lining, vent covers, breath deflector
• 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® 120 MaxVision™ XLT anti-fog insert (DKS433)
• Reflective stickers