Hyper in white, blue and red is the classic racing tricolour laid onto a modern shell, and it is one of the two or three most conspicuous helmets in this range.

1350 grams, and why that is the headline

🔵 Weight is one of the few helmet specifications that is genuinely comparable between brands, because everyone measures it the same way — mid-size shell, nothing fitted.

On that basis 1350 g puts the Rapid III at the light end of its class.

HPTT shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

🔵 A homologation is a threshold, not a ranking. Every helmet legally sold in Europe clears ECE 22.06, so the plaque tells you the Rapid III met the requirement — not by how much.

For that you would need an independent rating, and as the next section explains, this helmet does not have one.

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

🔵 A helmet with a low rating and a helmet with no rating are not the same thing, and the difference matters when you are comparing. One has been measured and found wanting; the other has not been measured.

The Rapid III is in the second category. Its predecessor was in the first.

About the Hyper white, blue and red graphic

This palette has outlasted sixty years of changing helmet fashion for a functional reason rather than a nostalgic one: it was designed to be told apart at speed, at distance, by people who had a professional need to do so. White supplies the value, blue and red supply the contrast, and the banding gives an eye an edge to fix on rather than a smooth surface to slide off. All three of those properties transfer directly to being seen by a driver at a junction, which is the situation that actually matters on a road. That it also looks right is a consequence of the design being functional first. 🔵 The white base is doing most of the work and brings the usual cost with it — fly strike and motorway film show clearly, so expect to wash this one more often than a dark helmet. Wash wet, dry soft. Compared with the two dark Hyper finishes at the same money, this is the version we would put a commuter on without hesitation. The geometry is identical across all three — what changes is the base value, and base value is the property that decides whether a driver at a junction resolves you in time. The black versions look calmer and cost you exactly that.

What this helmet does not have: an internal sun visor

🔵 For riders who almost never encounter low sun — short urban commutes, mostly, or riding that stops before evening — the missing shield costs nothing at all and the weight saving is free.

For everyone else it is the reason to look at the FF808 Stream II instead.

Chin and top intakes, channelled EPS

Ventilation is the specification most exaggerated in helmet marketing, because it is the hardest for a buyer to check and the easiest to describe impressively.

🔵 Ours is deliberately flat: chin and top intakes, channelled EPS, rear exhausts, breath deflector, chin curtain — and no independent measurement of any of it.

Anti-fog — prepared for, not supplied

🔵 A quick check when the helmet arrives: look at the inside edges of the visor for two small adjustable pins. They should already be there.

That is the whole of the „Pinlock prepared" specification — the mounting without the lens.

Lining, closure and everyday comfort

🔵 If a helmet is comfortable for twenty minutes and unbearable after two hours, the cause is almost always a single pressure point rather than the overall size. Because the pads come out and can be swapped individually, that is usually fixable.

The Rapid III's interior is fully removable.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 What the Rapid III is not: a competition helmet. It holds ECE 22.06 for road use and no FIM homologation, so it is not eligible for FIM-sanctioned racing.

LS2's FIM helmet is the FF805 Thunder GP Pro FIM, several tiers above this one.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Never repaint a helmet or apply solvent-based stickers to one. Paint solvents attack thermoplastic invisibly, and doing so voids the ECE approval the helmet carries.

Choose from the nineteen finishes here instead.

In the box

• LS2 FF820 Rapid III helmet — Hyper, White, blue and red (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

🔵 Buying for someone else? The tape measurement is the only reliable input — hat sizes and estimates are not. Measure them and use the chart.

Eight sizes from 2XS to 3XL.

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF820 Rapid III
• Part number — 168200802
• Colour — Hyper — White, blue and red
• 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