The Sporty geometry in black and grey alone. No second colour anywhere, which makes it the most restrained graphic in the range and the one that looks least like a graphic at all.

Everything that is usually an extra

🔵 „Prepared for" and „supplied with" are the two phrases to separate when comparing helmets, and they are frequently blurred. LS2's Rapid III and Stream II are prepared for a Pinlock; the Storm III is supplied with one.

That is a genuine saving and one cold morning.

1600 grams — the heaviest in the range, and why

250 grams sounds like nothing written down. Held at the end of your arm it is obvious; carried on your neck across five hours it is the difference between arriving tired and arriving stiff.

🔵 That is the gap between this helmet at 1600 g and LS2's Rapid III at 1350 g.

KPA shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

The construction is conventional and thoroughly executed: a KPA shell in three sizes, an EPS liner with moulded ventilation channels, ECE 22.06 approval and a ratchet closure with emergency release.

🔵 Nothing exotic in the materials. The interest here is in what is fitted to them.

No independent safety rating — and nothing borrowed from a sibling

🔵 The absence is worth weighing rather than dismissing. It means nobody independent has measured this helmet's impact performance, so the available evidence is that it meets the legal requirement.

For many riders that is a reasonable basis at this price. It should be a decision rather than an assumption.

About the Sporty black and grey graphic

Monochrome graphics are considerably harder to execute than coloured ones, because every decision comes down to value rather than hue. Too little separation between the two tones and the artwork disappears into the shell; too much and it stops being monochrome and becomes a two-tone helmet with a hard line through it. This one lands correctly, and the result has a quality that no plain helmet has: the pattern is clearly present in raking light and almost invisible in flat light, so the helmet changes as you walk around it or as the sun moves. For a rider who wants the shell to look considered without carrying a colour, this is the answer, and on a helmet with as much visible hardware as the Storm III the restraint is welcome. 🔵 The practical trade is the trade every dark finish makes. It hides road film well and it is harder for a driver to resolve in poor light than a pale one; the grey elements lift it slightly above solid black, but only slightly. If the majority of your riding is grey commuting rather than summer touring, one of the pale finishes here is the better tool.

Sun visor and the Pinlock in the box

The supplied Pinlock is a 70 MaxVision. Grade 70 is Pinlock's mid specification and entirely adequate for road use; 120 is the premium tier and costs more.

🔵 Fitting is a two-minute job with no tools, and on this helmet it is already in the box rather than on your next order.

Crown and chin intakes, channelled EPS

Compare inside LS2's own range and ventilation is one of the Storm III's genuine strengths: the FF808 Stream II has intakes and exhausts but no documented EPS channelling, and the FF817 Challenger II runs a single intake path.

🔵 This helmet has two paths and channelling.

Emergency release, closure and comfort

🔵 Three things on this helmet exist for moments you hope never arrive: the emergency release, the reflective elements, and the EPS liner itself.

Only the first two are visible, and the third is the one that does the work.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 The sixteen finishes divide usefully into three groups: three plain solids at the lower price, dark graphics, and pale or high-contrast graphics. Only the last group has a measurable road advantage.

Every one of them is the same helmet underneath.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 The magnetic chin deflector is the part most likely to be lost rather than broken — it comes off in seconds and ends up in a drawer or a pannier. Replacements are available.

Keep it with the helmet rather than separately.

In the box

• LS2 FF818 Storm III helmet — Sporty, Black and grey (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

🔵 Fit matters more than any specification on this page. The liner protects you where it is in contact with your head, and a loose helmet moves before it begins working.

Measure, try, and keep it on for ten minutes.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF818 Storm III
• Part number — 168180465
• Colour — Sporty — Black and grey
• 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