Nardo grey is an industrial grey borrowed from the car world, and on a helmet it is the finish that asks the least of you across five years of ordinary use.

A four-star shell in six sizes

🔵 Six shell sizes is the headline specification here and the one Certimoov singled out. The cheap route is one shell padded out with thicker cheek pads, which adds weight and bulk exactly where you least want it.

The Vector II splits 2XS–XS, S, M, L, XL and 2XL–3XL–4XL — six mouldings for nine sizes.

Two independent results — including the criticisms

🟢 This helmet has two independent results, which is unusual. SHARP: 4 stars of 5. Certimoov (University of Strasbourg): 3.5 out of 5 overall.

🔵 Certimoov tested an FF811 Splitter in fibreglass — the same shell in a different decor.

Airflow that reaches your head

🔵 The distinction that matters: intakes and exhausts move air into and out of a shell, while channels moulded through the EPS move it across your scalp in between. Plenty of helmets have the first without the second.

The Vector II has both.

About the solid Nardo grey finish

How dirty a helmet looks is a question of contrast rather than cleanliness, and a mid grey sits precisely where contrast is lowest. The fine grey film a motorway day deposits, dried rain marks, the dust that settles on anything stored over winter — obvious against white, a haze against black, and effectively invisible against Nardo. You find out how much was there when you look at the cloth afterwards. 🔵 There is a second dividend that gets overlooked: a mid-value object separates from dark tarmac appreciably faster than a dark one, so this is genuinely more visible than matt black while looking almost as restrained. You are not trading conspicuity for discretion here in the way you would with black. It is also one of the four finishes at 220 €, sharing the same HPFC shell, the same six-shell construction and the same four-star SHARP result as the graphics costing 17 € more. Gloss care: wash wet, dry soft, never dry-wipe. Set against the Concrete Matt at the same 220 €, the two greys differ in temperature and finish rather than in how well they hide dirt — Nardo is cooler and glossy, Concrete warmer and flat. Either is the low-effort choice; pick on which you would rather look at.

Two visors in the box, a third inside the shell

🔵 Certimoov listed the sun visor mechanism as a point LS2 could improve, and we are repeating that here rather than omitting it.

🟢 What is not in doubt is the rest of the optical package: a hardcoated UV-stable visor, a Pinlock 120 in the box and a complete tinted spare visor alongside it.

Holding on, and letting go

🔵 A metal buckle rather than a moulded one is a small specification that shows over years. It is the component you operate several times a day for the life of the helmet, and metal does not fatigue the way plastic does.

It works in gloves, without looking.

The part you actually touch

🔵 Certimoov's first criticism was getting the helmet on, and it follows directly from the six-shell design everyone praises: a helmet built close to the head is a helmet that has to be pulled over your ears.

Try it on before buying. Once it is on, the same closeness is what makes it comfortable and stable.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🟢 The comparison that matters most is with the Vector II Carbon: same six shells, same equipment, carbon shell at 1400 g — 100 g lighter, about 100 € more, and no independent rating.

🔵 SHARP tested composite fibre at 1.5 kg. The stars belong to this helmet.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Composite hides damage. A thermoplastic shell often shows a mark; a composite one can appear perfect over crushed EPS. After a serious knock, replace the helmet — the outside tells you nothing about the liner.

Everything else on it is serviceable.

In the box

• LS2 FF811 Vector II helmet — Solid, Nardo grey (HPFC composite shell)
• Clear hardcoated visor, fitted, with tool-free change
• Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert
• A complete tinted visor — 🔵 daylight use only in most European jurisdictions
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• Carrying backpack
• Reflective stickers
• 🔵 No intercom — the lining has pre-moulded pockets for LS2's Bluetooth system; the system itself is a separate purchase

Size guide

🔵 Six shells is why this helmet fits so well. Most rivals use one to three and make up the rest in padding, which changes the proportions and adds weight where you least want it.

Here the split is 2XS–XS, S, M, L, XL and 2XL–3XL–4XL.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF811 Vector II
• Part number — 168111006
• Colour — Solid — Nardo grey
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• 🟢 Safety rating — SHARP 4 stars of 5, tested February 2025. SHARP records composite fibre, 1.5 kg — this HPFC version, not the Vector II Carbon at 1.4 kg, which carries no rating
• 🟢 Second opinion — Certimoov (University of Strasbourg): 3.5 of 5, on an FF811 Splitter in fibreglass. Praised: compactness („6 shell sizes!"), field of vision, equipment, road performance, price. 🔵 Criticised: getting the helmet on, and the sun visor mechanism
• Shell — HPFC high-performance fibreglass composite; six shell sizes (2XS–XS / S / M / L / XL / 2XL–3XL–4XL)
• Impact liner — multi-density EPS with ducted ventilation channels
• Weight — approx. 1500 g (±50 g)
• Sizes — XXS to 4XL (nine sizes)
• Visor — wide, hardcoated, UV-stable, tool-free change
• Sun visor — integrated drop-down shield, stowing fully inside the shell. 🔵 Certimoov named the mechanism as a point LS2 could improve
• 🟢 Included — Pinlock® 120 MaxVision™ insert, a complete tinted visor, a carrying backpack and reflective stickers
• 🔴 Tinted visor — daylight only — most European jurisdictions bar tinted visors at night
• 🔴 Ventilation — chin and top intakes, ducted EPS, rear exhaust. Left unrated — neither SHARP nor Certimoov measures airflow and no independent road test publishes figures
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — micrometric metal buckle on a reinforced strap, with emergency release
• Interior — washable, removable and hypoallergenic, with pre-moulded intercom pockets for LS2's Bluetooth system. 🔵 The fit is deliberately close — good for stability, awkward on the way on
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — both visors, sun visor, Pinlock insert, cheek pads (several thicknesses), lining and vent covers
• 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 120XLT MaxVision anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers