The same Flow pattern on a black base with light blue and pink running through it — a much louder helmet than its white sibling, and one of the more interesting colour decisions in the range.

1350 grams, and why that is the headline

🔵 The honest reason this helmet is light: it has no integrated sun visor. An internal shield costs both weight and shell volume, and leaving it out is how a thermoplastic full-face reaches 1350 g.

Whether that is a good trade depends entirely on how much you would have used one.

HPTT shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

🔵 Thermoplastic is the right material at this price and it is worth saying so plainly rather than apologising for it. It is consistent, tough, and cheap enough that the money goes into shell sizing and ventilation instead.

What it is not is light for its strength. That is what composite and carbon buy.

No independent safety rating — and the trap that goes with it

🔵 We could quietly leave this section out. Most retailers do, and a helmet page with nothing said about testing reads as neutral rather than as a gap.

The honest position: no SHARP, ADAC or Certimoov result exists for the FF820 Rapid III, and the 2-star FF353 Rapid entry is a different, earlier helmet.

About the Flow black multi graphic

The reason this works better on the road than it looks like it should is scarcity. There is nothing pink or pale-blue in an ordinary traffic scene — no vehicle paint, no signage, no roadside — and an eye scanning a busy junction is drawn to whatever does not belong in the pattern it is expecting. Research into motorcycle conspicuity has repeatedly found that contrast against the surroundings does more than raw brightness, and colours nobody else is using are the cheapest form of contrast there is. Against a dark base those two tones read as bright marks rather than as a colour scheme, which is the effect that carries. 🔵 Two practical notes. The black base does the usual black thing in poor light, so the coloured elements are doing the visibility work. And printed artwork cannot be touched in after a deep scratch the way a solid colour can. It is worth comparing directly with the white version of the same pattern. That one is conspicuous because it is pale; this one is conspicuous because two of its colours do not exist anywhere else in traffic. The white version wins overall in flat grey light, but this is much the more interesting helmet to look at, and it is genuinely easier to keep clean.

What this helmet does not have: an internal sun visor

🔵 The missing sun visor is the single largest specification gap on this helmet, and it is deliberate rather than an oversight — LS2 fits one to several other models in the same catalogue.

What you get in exchange is 200 g less weight than the equivalent helmet that has one.

Chin and top intakes, channelled EPS

The chin curtain does more for comfort than the vents do at low speed: it cuts the turbulent air coming up from underneath the chin bar, which is where a great deal of a full-face's draught and noise originate.

🔵 It is fitted as standard and can be removed in summer.

Anti-fog — prepared for, not supplied

🔵 If you ride through winter, treat the insert as part of the price rather than an optional extra. A fogged visor at a junction is a real hazard, and riding with the visor cracked open in freezing rain is not a solution.

The visor is prepared for a Pinlock 70 MaxVision, sold separately.

Lining, closure and everyday comfort

🔵 The absence of a branded wicking fabric is worth being straight about. Hypoallergenic and antibacterial treatments slow the smell every used helmet develops; a moisture-wicking weave like COOLMAX moves sweat away faster.

The Rapid III has the first and not the second, which is normal at this price.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 If an independent rating is what you are shopping on, buy the FF808 Stream II (4 SHARP stars) or the carbon FF807 Dragon (4 stars) instead. The Rapid III has never been tested.

That is a gap in the evidence rather than a verdict, but it is a real gap.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Cheek pads in other thicknesses are the most useful spare part available for this helmet. A fit that has loosened over two seasons is usually corrected with thicker pads rather than a new helmet.

Crown pad, cheek pads, neck roll, chin curtain and visors are all listed separately.

In the box

• LS2 FF820 Rapid III helmet — Flow, Black with light blue and pink (HPTT shell)
• Clear outer visor, fitted
• Chin curtain, fitted and removable
• Breath deflector, fitted and removable
• 🔵 No internal sun visor — this model does not have one
• 🔵 No Pinlock insert — the visor is prepared for a Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™, which is sold separately
• 🔵 No second visor and no intercom — both are separate purchases

Size guide

🔵 The check that settles it: with the strap fastened, try to rotate the helmet on your head, then try to roll it forward off you. Neither should be possible.

If either is, it is too large whatever the tape said.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF820 Rapid III
• Part number — 168200312
• Colour — Flow — Black with light blue and pink
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• 🔴 Safety rating — none. SHARP has no entry for the FF820, Rapid III or Rapid 3 (brand list checked directly). The 2-star result under „FF353 Rapid" belongs to the previous-generation helmet — different shell, different standard — and is deliberately not carried over. No ADAC or Certimoov result either
• Shell — HPTT injection-moulded thermoplastic; three shell sizes (2XS–S / M–L / XL–3XL)
• Weight — approx. 1350 g (±50 g), mid-size shell without accessories
• Sizes — 2XS to 3XL (eight sizes)
• 🔴 Sun visor — none. This helmet has no drop-down internal shield — unlike LS2's FF808 Stream II, FF811 Vector II and FF817 Challenger II. It is most of the reason it weighs 1350 g
• Visor — clear outer visor, scratch-resistant, tool-free change
• 🔴 Anti-fog — prepared for Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ — the insert is NOT included. The pins are fitted; the lens is a separate purchase
• Ventilation — chin and top intakes feeding channelled EPS, with rear exhausts — two intake paths, one more than the FF817. 🔵 Assessed from the published construction; no independent airflow measurement exists
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — ratchet buckle
• Interior — hypoallergenic, antibacterial, fully removable and washable. 🔵 No branded wicking fabric (no COOLMAX or X-Static) and no magnetic wind deflector — both appear further up LS2's range
• Included — chin curtain and breath deflector, both fitted and removable
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — visors, cheek pads in several thicknesses, complete lining, chin curtain, breath deflector and vent covers all available separately
• Replacement guidance — after about five years regardless of condition, and immediately after any impact

• 1× helmet
• Carrying bag
• Reflective stickers