Jeans imitates a material rather than a colour: a fine woven texture over titanium grey, so the shell reads as fabric at conversational distance and as paint when you look closely.

Everything that is usually an extra

🔵 The equipment is also why this is the heaviest helmet in LS2's road range at 1600 g. A sun visor mechanism, a second screen and an emergency-release system all weigh something.

That trade is covered honestly in the next section. It is a real cost, not a rounding error.

1600 grams — the heaviest in the range, and why

The honest framing: 1600 g is a lot for a thermoplastic full-face, and the whole of the difference is equipment. Strip the sun visor and the emergency release out and you would have something close to the Rapid III.

🔵 Whether that is a good trade depends entirely on how much you would use them.

KPA shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

🔵 The shell and the liner do different jobs and it is worth keeping them separate. The KPA outer resists penetration and spreads impact load across a wide area; the EPS beneath absorbs the energy by crushing.

Only the shell survives. The liner crushes once and does not recover.

No independent safety rating — and nothing borrowed from a sibling

🔵 If an independent rating is what you are shopping on, buy the helmet that has one. In LS2's range the FF808 Stream II and the FF908 Strobe II both hold 4 SHARP stars, and the carbon FF807 Dragon holds 4 as well.

The Storm III is unrated. That is a gap in the evidence, not a verdict.

About the Jeans titanium finish

Textile-effect finishes are a relatively recent idea on helmets, and the difficulty with them is scale — a weave printed too coarsely becomes a pattern and stops being a texture, at which point the illusion collapses and you are left with a novelty. This one is fine enough to stay on the right side of that, and the titanium ground keeps the whole thing sober. What it buys you is a shell with an apparent surface: interesting up close, unremarkable from across a car park, which on a helmet worn with ordinary clothes for long days is usually the right level of statement. The grey base brings its own practical dividend along for free. Titanium is a value at which road film, dried rain and garage dust essentially do not register between washes, so this is among the lowest-maintenance finishes here despite being one of the more decorative. It also sits high enough on the value scale to be resolved against tarmac more readily than any dark finish. 🔵 One limitation specific to printed texture: it cannot be touched in after a deep scuff the way a solid colour can, so significant damage is permanent. Wash it wet rather than dry-wiping it.

Sun visor and the Pinlock in the box

🔵 With the shield down and the outer visor closed you are looking through two surfaces, so keep both clean. A mark on either shows against low sun, and the inner one is closer to your eyes.

Never wipe either dry — grit dragged across a coated screen leaves scratches that flare against headlights.

Crown and chin intakes, channelled EPS

🔵 Airflow only happens if the air has somewhere lower in pressure to go, which is why the rear exhausts matter as much as the intakes. A helmet with vents at the front and nothing at the back moves very little.

The Storm III has the full path: crown and chin in, channels across, exhausts out.

Emergency release, closure and comfort

🔵 A loose strap is the most common way a correctly-sized helmet fails to do its job, and it is entirely within your control. The ratchet here adjusts in fine steps rather than between fixed holes.

Set the length bare-handed once, and the rest is one-handed for the life of the helmet.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 What the Storm III is good at: arriving complete. What it does not have: a low weight, or any independent safety rating.

Both of those are stated in full elsewhere on this page rather than left to be discovered after the order.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Helmets are consumables with a long life. LS2, like every manufacturer, advises replacement after roughly five years of use regardless of appearance — adhesives, foam and shell material all change with time and ultraviolet.

Keep the purchase date somewhere you will find it.

In the box

• LS2 FF818 Storm III helmet — Jeans, Titanium, textile-look finish (KPA shell)
• Clear outer visor, fitted
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert — supplied, not a separate purchase
• Magnetic chin wind deflector, fitted and removable
• Breath deflector, fitted
• 🔵 No intercom — the helmet is prepared for a Bluetooth system, which is a separate purchase

Size guide

🔵 Buy tight. Every helmet loosens as the padding compresses, noticeably over the first few hours and again across the first season, so the correct size at purchase feels slightly too snug.

Thicker cheek pads are available if it loosens further.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF818 Storm III
• Part number — 168180008
• Colour — Jeans — Titanium, textile-look finish
• Homologation — ECE 22.06
• 🔴 Safety rating — none. SHARP's LS2 brand list carries the Strobe2, FF325 Strobe, Stream 2 and FF320 Stream but no Storm or Storm III; Certimoov has no entry either. Nothing is transferred from a sibling model — a rating belongs to the helmet that was crashed
• Shell — KPA injection-moulded thermoplastic; three shell sizes (2XS–S / M–L / XL–3XL)
• 🔴 Weight — approx. 1600 g (±50 g) — the heaviest helmet in LS2's road range. The sun visor mechanism, the emergency release and the second screen are what it is spent on
• Sizes — 2XS to 3XL (eight sizes)
• Sun visor — integrated drop-down shield, retracting fully into the shell
• 🟢 Anti-fog — Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ insert SUPPLIED in the box — not a separate purchase, unlike LS2's FF820 Rapid III and FF808 Stream II
• Ventilation — large crown intake plus chin intake feeding channelled EPS, with rear exhausts (transparent elements in the covers) and a breath deflector. 🔵 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 with emergency release — tabs allowing responders to withdraw the cheek pads before the helmet is moved
• Chin curtain — magnetic — refits with one gloved hand; fully removable
• Interior — fully removable and washable; cheek pads available in several thicknesses
• Communication — prepared for Bluetooth intercom — no system supplied
• 🔴 FIM homologation — none — a road helmet, not eligible for FIM-sanctioned competition
• Serviceability — both visors, sun visor mechanism, cheek pads, complete lining, magnetic chin deflector, 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
• Pinlock® 70 MaxVision™ anti-fog insert
• Reflective stickers