Please note: sale to France is prohibited.

The same shell without the shine. Matt black is the most requested finish in motorcycling and the one that makes a modular helmet read as a single object — with no highlights running along the shell, the seam between chin bar and upper shell effectively disappears.

Five stars from SHARP — and the number behind them

Worth being precise about what SHARP actually does, because it is often confused with a certification. It is not one. SHARP buys helmets at retail, then strikes each one at 6, 7.5 and 8.5 m/s across five sites and publishes a comparative rating. Nothing is supplied by the manufacturer and nothing is optional.

The Neotec 3 came out of that process with five stars out of five, tested February 2024 under ECE 22.06.

About the matt black finish

Matt black absorbs light rather than reflecting it, and everything about living with it follows from that. Scratches effectively vanish, because there is no gloss layer for them to catch in — which makes it the most forgiving finish here on a helmet that spends its life on tank bags, café tables and pillion seats. Two honest counterpoints. It is the least conspicuous helmet on this page, and a driver at dusk will pick out the white version sooner; if you tour into the evening that is worth weighing rather than dismissing. And matt shows dust and dried water spots earlier than any other finish, so it looks dirty sooner even when it is not. Insects need soaking off rather than wiping, because there is no smooth clear coat for them to sit on.

P and J, and what ECE 22.06 actually tests

Two letters that decide what you may legally do with the chin bar. P covers the closed helmet including chin impacts. J covers it open. ECE 22.06 treats those as different helmets and tests them separately, and the Neotec 3 passed as both.

In practice the raised bar creates noticeable drag above roughly 30 km/h, so it is for traffic queues and stops rather than sustained riding. Closed is the intended configuration.

AIM, three shells, and the steel that holds the chin bar

The chin bar is locked by a stainless steel mechanism, and on a modular helmet that is the component everything else depends on. SHARP's testing found the bar remained fully locked through 93 % of impacts — a figure that speaks directly to this hardware rather than to the shell around it.

The shell itself is AIM over multi-density EPS, in three sizes covering XS to XXL.

CNS-3C and QSV-2 — and the Neotec II trap

Two screens, and the anti-fog lens is included. The CNS-3C outer visor is quick-change and centrally latched; behind it the QSV-2 sun visor drops steplessly. In the box is a Pinlock EVO DKS301 insert, already matched to the CNS-3C.

🔵 When buying replacements, the pairing matters: the DKS301 fits the CNS-3C. The Neotec II's CNS-3 and its lens are a different, incompatible generation.

Quiet by design, and what that costs in airflow

Independent testers keep reaching for the same phrase about this helmet — one of the quietest they have worn — and it is worth understanding what produces that rather than taking it on faith. Turbulence around the ears is the dominant noise source at motorway speed, and it is generated by every edge, step and gap on the shell's forward surfaces.

🔵 Removing those costs airflow. This is a quiet helmet before it is a cool one.

Noise Isolator, glasses, and talking to the helmet

Riders who wear glasses report that temple arms slide into place without pressure points, and that is a design decision rather than luck: the cheek pads are channelled for exactly that. It is worth testing with your own frames, because arm thickness varies enormously and no helmet accommodates all of them.

Pads and chin strap cover are fully removable and washable; the interior can be adjusted with different pad thicknesses.

Where it sits in Shoei's range

A hundred and twenty euros separates the J-Cruise 3 from the Neotec 3, and the difference is a chin bar. That is the honest way to describe it: the jet gives you the same sun visor concept and the same acoustic attention with nothing in front of your face, and the modular gives you the option of both.

Whether that option is worth the money depends entirely on whether you will use it.

1750 grams, and the rest of the honest list

Price deserves a place on the honest list too. This is an expensive helmet, and expense does not reliably track measured protection — SHARP's database contains five-star helmets at a fraction of this price. What the money buys here is the combination: five stars and a quiet shell and an integrated sun visor and three shell sizes and a full spare parts programme.

The costs are 1750 g and ventilation that is adequate rather than generous.

When something wears out

The Pinlock EVO DKS301 lens has a service life of its own, independent of the visor, and it catches people out. The silicone bead hardens over a couple of seasons and breath starts to creep in at the edges. If a screen that used to stay clear now mists around its perimeter, replace the lens rather than the visor.

It is stocked separately and matched to the CNS-3C screen.

In the box

• Shoei Neotec 3 helmet — Matt Black
• Pinlock® EVO DKS301 anti-fog lens
• Helmet bag
• Instruction manual and ECE approval documentation

Size guide

Specification

• Model — Shoei Neotec 3
• Part number — 12.07.011.2
• Colour — Matt Black — Matt black
• Homologation — ECE 22.06, dual P/J (protective and jet)
• Safety rating — SHARP 5 of 5 stars (tested February 2024, ECE 22.06); chin bar fully locked in 93 % of impacts
• Helmet type — Flip-up / modular
• Shell — AIM (Advanced Integrated Matrix) — fibreglass and organic fibres in resin; three shell sizes (XS–M / L / XL–XXL)
• Weight — 1750 g (size M)
• Sizes — XS to XXL (six sizes)
• Visor — CNS-3C, tool-free quick-change, central lock, gap-width detent, angled upper edge
• Anti-fog — Pinlock® EVO DKS301 supplied
• Sun visor — QSV-2, integrated, stepless, covers below the eyeline; optional yellow contrast version
• Impact liner — multi-density EPS assembled from elements of differing absorption
• Retention — micro-ratchet chin strap; stainless steel chin bar locking mechanism
• Ventilation — intakes into the airstream, branched internal network, removable insect filter in the lower front vent
• Interior — 3D centre pad, Noise Isolator cheek pads, removable ear pads, chin strap cover — removable and washable, several thicknesses
• Head shape — intermediate oval
• Communication — SHOEI COMLINK with pre-routed cabling and EPS recesses for the SENA SRL3 Mesh system
• Serviceability — visor, sun visor, all pads and the Pinlock lens available as separate parts

• 1x helmet
• 1x clear CNS-3C visor (pre-fitted)
• 1x Pinlock EVO anti-fog lens
• 1x set of spare pins
• 1x maintenance tool
• 1x breath guard