Matt titanium is the finish that asks least of you. It is not the brightest, not the darkest and not the most interesting to look at — and over five years of ordinary riding it will look better than any of them.

1350 grams, and why that is the headline

🔵 The difference between 1350 g and a 1600 g helmet is imperceptible in the first hour and unmistakable in the fifth. Weight is the specification you stop noticing and your neck does not.

For an inexpensive thermoplastic full-face, 1350 g is a genuinely good number.

HPTT shell, three shell sizes and ECE 22.06

🔵 What three shell sizes actually get you: a small helmet that sits close to the head instead of ballooning, and a large one that is not wrapped around a shell never sized for it.

Single-shell helmets make up the difference in foam, which changes the fit and the proportions at both ends of the range.

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

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

What we will not do is inherit the old FF353 Rapid's 2-star score for this helmet. Same name, different generation, different standard.

About the solid matt titanium finish

How dirty a helmet looks is a question of contrast rather than of cleanliness, and a mid grey sits precisely where contrast is lowest. The grey film that motorway riding deposits, dried rain spots, the dust that settles on anything left in a garage — all of it reads clearly against white and as a dull haze against black, and against titanium it effectively vanishes until you wash the helmet and see what comes off the cloth. The consequence is a helmet that looks maintained without being maintained. There is a safety dividend too, and it is not trivial: 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. 🔵 Matt has one rule and it is absolute: wash it, never polish it. Abrasive compound cuts a permanently glossy patch into a flat coat and nothing will blend it back out. If you are weighing it against the gloss white at the same price, the honest split is this: white is measurably easier for a driver to resolve in flat light, and titanium is measurably easier to live with. Neither is wrong. For a rider who washes the helmet twice a year rather than twice a month, titanium is the one that still looks respectable in its fourth season.

What this helmet does not have: an internal sun visor

🔵 Worth knowing before ordering rather than after: no internal sun visor. For glare you will need sunglasses under the helmet or a tinted outer visor, which has to be swapped at the roadside.

LS2's FF808 Stream II has a drop-down shield, weighs 200 g more and costs a little more.

Chin and top intakes, channelled EPS

🔵 The distinction that matters in helmet ventilation: intakes and exhausts move air into and out of the shell, while channels moulded into the EPS move it across your scalp in between. Plenty of helmets have the first without the second.

The Rapid III has both, plus a breath deflector.

Anti-fog — prepared for, not supplied

🔵 Budget for the anti-fog insert. On a helmet with no sun visor and no second screen, the Pinlock 70 MaxVision is the one accessory that changes what the helmet can do — and it is not in the box.

The visor carries the pins for it.

Lining, closure and everyday comfort

🔵 Retention is a ratchet buckle: one-handed, glove-friendly, adjustable in fine steps, and returning to the same tension every time.

Check the setting every few months. A ratchet holds at a preset length, and that length drifts as the padding beds in.

Where it sits in LS2's range

🔵 The comparison that matters most is with LS2's own FF808 Stream II: a little more expensive, 200 g heavier, and it adds an internal sun visor and a 4-star SHARP rating.

If either of those is important to you, the extra money is well spent.

Care and replacement parts

🔵 Never clean a thermoplastic shell with solvent, petrol or alcohol. Thermoplastics are chemically attacked by all three, and the damage is invisible at first and structural afterwards.

Warm water and a soft cloth is the whole procedure.

In the box

• LS2 FF820 Rapid III helmet — Solid, Matt titanium (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

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

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

Size	Head circumference
2XS	51–52 cm
XS	53–54 cm
S	55–56 cm
M	57–58 cm
L	59–60 cm
XL	61–62 cm
2XL	63–64 cm
3XL	65–66 cm

Specification

• Model — LS2 FF820 Rapid III
• Part number — 168200007
• Colour — Solid — Matt titanium
• 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

Size guide — all measurements