This is the cheapest way into a 100 per cent carbon race helmet in our range, and the only thing separating it from the versions above is paint. Gloss carbon, no graphic, no replica licence: the same 6K shell, the same 1,280 g, the same ECE 22.06 approval and the same Pinlock lens in the box as the helmets at 649 and 699 euros.

What the extra money buys further up the range

Every shop tells you what a helmet has. Almost none tells you what the one next to it has that this one does not, so here is our own FF805 Thunder shelf, in order.

Version	Shell	Shells	FIM	RRP
GP Aero Gloss Carbon — this helmet	Carbon 6K	1	no	€599
GP Aero Natural Carbon Matte	Carbon 6K	1	no	€599
GP Aero with a graphic — Ursus, Drift, Polar, Flash, Raute	Carbon 6K	1	no	€649
GP Aero rider replicas — Aldeguer, Baz, Gregg	Carbon 6K	1	no	€699
GP Aero with the IRID Dynamic photochromic visor	Carbon 6K	1	no	€799
Thunder GP PRO	Carbon 9K	3	yes	€799

Read down that table and the picture is blunt. Between 599 and 699 euros nothing changes but the artwork. At 799 you are buying either a photochromic visor or, on the GP PRO, a genuinely different helmet: a heavier carbon cloth, three outer shell sizes instead of one, an X-Static liner and the FIM homologation that a licensed race requires. If you were going to spend 699 on a replica, the honest question is whether the extra hundred to the PRO is better spent than the extra hundred on a paint scheme.

Gloss carbon with nothing on it

Clear coat straight over the weave. In daylight the twill pattern moves as you turn the helmet and the surface reads as dark charcoal with a green-brown cast; in shade it goes near-black.

An undecorated helmet dates slowly. It is also the version that sells on again most easily, because nobody has to like the graphic — and on a helmet you might replace after five years, that is worth something.

The shell, and the one size of it

100 per cent carbon fibre in a 6K weave, moulded as a single outer shell that covers XS to XXL. The step above, the GP PRO, uses three shells and a 9K cloth.

One shell is the specification we would most like you to check in person. Everything from 53 cm to 64 cm of head circumference goes inside the same outer volume, with padding making up the difference. In the middle of the range that is not a problem. At XS you carry more helmet than you need; at XXL there is less foam between you and the shell than a three-shell design would give you.

1,280 grams

LS2's declared weight, tolerance 50 g, unweighed by us. It puts this helmet among the lightest full-face helmets sold, and about 200 g under a typical composite sport helmet.

The benefit is not felt as lightness. It is felt as the absence of neck ache at the end of a long day, and as a shell that is less easily pushed around by a gust or the wake of a lorry.

Where the air goes

In at the chin, in at the brow above the visor, in at the crown; along channels moulded into the EPS; out through the exhaust beneath the rear spoiler. A breath deflector keeps exhaled air off the screen. Everything can be worked with gloves on.

Double D-ring and the emergency pads

A double D-ring, not a ratchet: two hands, a deliberate movement, and no way to fasten it almost right. That is why circuits require it.

The cheek pads carry LS2's Emergency Release System — red tabs that pull the pads out of the shell so a helmet can be lifted off a rider without rotating the neck. Race-shell equipment, on a helmet at the bottom of the range.

Visor and anti-fog

A wide Class A polycarbonate screen with scratch-resistant and UV coatings, a tool-free quick-release mechanism, a button lock at the closed position and posts drilled for tear-offs.

The Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision lens is included. Grade 120 is Pinlock's strongest anti-fog, XLT is the larger lens, MaxVision means it covers the aperture to the edges rather than sitting as a visible rectangle in front of you.

ECE 22.06, and why it is not the old sticker

The 22.06 standard became the EU requirement in January 2024. Against 22.05 it adds thirteen further impact points, tests at more than one speed, introduces an oblique impact against an abrasive anvil to measure rotational acceleration, and judges the Brain Injury Criterion rather than peak deceleration alone. Visor and vents are certified as fitted, not removed.

When to replace it, and what it is worth by then

Two rules, and only one of them is about time. A helmet that has taken an impact is finished, even one you walked away from and even if the shell looks perfect: the EPS liner crushes once and does not recover, and it cannot be replaced. The other rule is about the resin and the padding rather than the carbon, and the usual guidance is around five years of regular use.

The resale argument for a plain finish is real but modest. A used helmet is worth little to a careful buyer at any price, because they cannot know its history — which is the honest answer, and the reason we would rather you bought one that fits than one you hope to sell on.

Where this helmet is the wrong choice

If you commute in traffic and want a sun visor, this is not the helmet — there is no drop-down shade and no room for one. If you tour, the double D-ring will annoy you at every fuel stop and the ventilation is tuned for airflow rather than quiet. And if your championship demands FIM, only the GP PRO will pass scrutineering.

It is right if you ride quickly, spend days at circuits, and want the lightest carbon shell you can get without paying for a paint scheme.

What this helmet does not have

• No FIM homologation — that is the GP PRO's, not this one's.
• No drop-down sun visor.
• A single outer shell size for six helmet sizes.
• No SHARP, ADAC or Snell result for any FF805 Thunder.
• No published noise measurement, and we will not estimate one.
• No intercom, though the shell is cut for the LS2 unit.

In the box

• LS2 FF805 Thunder GP Aero helmet — Gloss Carbon
• Carrying backpack
• Tinted visor
• Pinlock Max Vision 120XLT anti-fog lens
• Tear-off films
• Reflective stickers

Size guide

Size	Head circumference
XS	53–54 cm
S	55–56 cm
M	57–58 cm
L	59–60 cm
XL	61–62 cm
XXL	63–64 cm

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF805 Thunder GP Aero
• Part number — 168058812
• Finish — Gloss Carbon, no graphic
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• Shell — Carbon 6K, one outer shell for the range
• Weight — 1,280 g ± 50 g, LS2 figure
• Visor — Class A polycarbonate with quick release and tear-off posts
• Included lens — Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision
• Retention — double D-ring, Emergency Release cheek pads
• Sizes — XS to XXL (53–64 cm)
• Ventilation — chin, brow, crown; channelled EPS; spoiler exhaust
• Interior — removable, washable, hypoallergenic laser-cut foam
• Intercom — LS2-ready, not included
• Position in range — entry point to the carbon FF805 Thunder GP Aero

• 1x LS2 FF805 Thunder GP Aero helmet — Gloss Carbon
• 1x carrying backpack
• 1x tinted visor
• 1x pinlock Max Vision 120XLT
• 1x tear-off films
• 1x reflective stickers

Size guide — all measurements