Nardo grey is a specific industrial grey borrowed from the car world, and on a touring helmet it is the most rational finish available. It will look better in five years than anything else here, with no effort at all.

An HPFC composite shell in three sizes

🔵 Carbon would be lighter and not necessarily better here. Fibreglass composite deforms slightly more on impact and sheds energy over a longer distance in doing so.

For a helmet covering day-long stages rather than chasing lap times, that is the more appropriate design — and the price difference lands where it does more good.

No independent safety rating — and nothing to borrow

🔵 Untested is not the same as poor. SHARP rates a limited number of helmets each year and most models on sale have never appeared on it in either direction.

It does mean the only evidence available for this helmet is that it meets ECE 22.06, the legal requirement every helmet on sale clears.

Airflow from the top down — and no chin intake

🔵 Omitting the chin vent is a touring compromise. Less draught in the face, less noise — and anti-fog runs through the Pinlock rather than through airflow.

On long stages that is the more comfortable arrangement. In stop-start traffic in the rain it is the less capable one, and it is worth knowing which of those describes your riding.

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 long motorway day deposits, dried rain spots, the dust that settles on anything left in a garage over winter — all of it is obvious against white, visible as a haze against black, and effectively invisible against Nardo. You discover how much was there when you look at the cloth. On a helmet designed for distance that compounds, because touring helmets get dirty faster and washed less often than any other kind. 🔵 The second dividend is one riders rarely credit: a mid-value object separates from dark tarmac considerably faster than a dark one, so this is genuinely more visible than matt black while looking almost as restrained. You are not paying for discretion with conspicuity here. It shares every specification with the slightly pricier graphics. Set against the matt navy at the same price, the difference is character rather than practicality — both hide dirt well and both sit above black for visibility. Nardo is the more anonymous of the two and navy the more deliberate. Neither will need any particular attention over five years.

Seeing out: visor, sun shield and the Pinlock in the box

🟢 MaxVision here means tall as well as wide. The upper edge of the treated area sits high enough that you are not looking over it when the bike is leaned over — anyone who has once found themselves looking at a visor frame mid-corner knows how much that matters.

🔵 Grade 120 is Pinlock's top specification, and it is in the box.

Holding on, and letting go

🔵 A micrometric ratchet is the practical closure for high-mileage riders: set the length once, then one click per ride. Unlike a double-D ring it can be operated in gloves without dismounting.

Its one weakness is that the preset length drifts as the padding beds in — re-check it after the first rides and each season after.

The part you actually touch

🔵 COOLMAX is a fibre construction rather than a marketing word. Four-channel hollow fibres move moisture outwards by capillary action, where it evaporates faster.

In practice that means the padding is damp rather than wet after a hard stage, and dry again by morning.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 The comparison worth making inside LS2's range is with the FF811 Vector II, which uses six shell sizes against this helmet's three — a finer fit — and whose composite version carries a SHARP rating.

The Challenger II answers with COOLMAX, a magnetic chin curtain and a lower price.

Care and replacement parts

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

Everything else on it is serviceable.

In the box

• LS2 FF817 Challenger II helmet — Solid, Nardo grey (HPFC composite shell)
• Wide hardcoated visor, fitted, with double-injection seal and button lock
• Pinlock® 120 XLT MaxVision™ anti-fog insert — included, not a separate purchase
• Integrated tinted sun visor, fitted and removable for cleaning without tools
• Magnetic chin curtain, fitted and removable
• 🔵 No second visor and no intercom — both are separate purchases

Size guide

🔵 Three shells across eight sizes means the shell is scaled to the head rather than the padding making up the difference — which matters most at the ends of the range.

Measure above the eyebrows and above the ears, tape level.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF817 Challenger II
• Part number — 168170006
• Colour — Solid — Nardo grey
• Homologation — ECE 22.06, recorded on a metal plaque fitted to the shell
• 🔴 Safety rating — none. SHARP has no Challenger or Challenger II entry and Certimoov has not tested it. Unlike the FF811 Vector II, where SHARP rates the composite version, there is nothing here that could be transferred — not even from a sibling shell
• Shell — HPFC high-performance fibreglass composite; three shell sizes (2XS–S / M–L / XL–3XL)
• Weight — approx. 1500 g (±50 g) — light for a touring full-face carrying a drop-down sun visor
• Sizes — 2XS to 3XL (eight sizes)
• Visor — wide and hardcoated, with a double-injection seal and a button lock
• Sun visor — integrated tinted shield on a slider, stowing fully inside the shell; removable for cleaning without tools
• 🟢 Anti-fog — Pinlock® 120 XLT MaxVision™ insert included — not a separate purchase
• 🔴 Ventilation — crown intake feeding channelled EPS, with rear exhausts. No chin intake — a deliberate touring compromise: less draught and less noise, with fog management running through the Pinlock rather than through airflow. 🔵 Assessed from construction; no independent measurement exists
• 🔴 Wind noise — left unrated — no independent measurement is published for this model
• Retention — reinforced chin strap with a micrometric metal buckle
• Emergency access — emergency cheek-pad release — tabs let responders withdraw the pads before the helmet is moved
• Interior — COOLMAX® — breathable, quick-drying, antibacterial and hypoallergenic; fully removable and washable
• Chin curtain — magnetic — refits with one gloved hand; fully removable
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — visor, internal sun visor, Pinlock insert, cheek pads (several thicknesses), lining, magnetic chin curtain and vent covers
• Replacement guidance — after about five years, and immediately after any impact — composite can look undamaged over crushed EPS

• 1× helmet
• Elastic carrying bag
• Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers