B-Side is the graphic family on the fibreglass shell, and white with black is its most legible reading. Two values as far apart as the palette allows, which is what keeps a graphic readable at speed rather than turning into texture.

A streetfighter shell with a spoiler that works

🔵 The rear spoiler is worth a sentence because most helmets that have one do not need one. Here it is doing measurable work: managing the low-pressure wake behind the shell, reducing drag and steadying the helmet at speed — which is what makes an aggressive shape usable rather than merely dramatic.

Independent testing scored the helmet 3.9/5 overall, with MCN separately rating it 4/5.

About the B-Side White Black graphic

Graphics on a streetfighter helmet have a harder job than on a touring one, because the shell is already busy — spoiler, vents, hard edges. A drawing that adds more detail turns the whole thing into noise. B-Side works by using large blocked areas rather than fine elements, which reads as design at a distance instead of dissolving. In white and black it also keeps the conspicuity advantage of a pale helmet across most of the shell. 🔵 The white areas show road film sooner than the black ones, so the helmet weathers unevenly rather than uniformly until it is washed.

The X-Matrix2 shell

🔵 Worth noting because it is unusual: the claimed and measured weights for this shell agree. Nexx quotes 1675 g; an independent reviewer put a size M on a scale and recorded 1673 g.

The construction is X-Matrix2 multiaxial fibreglass multi-composite, in three outer shell sizes, with an X-Foam EPP bumper at the chin.

Anti-Vibration EPS — two shells and a rubber layer

Most helmets treat the impact liner as one rigid block. The X.WST3 splits it and separates the halves with rubber, so the inner EPS can move a controlled amount under buffeting.

🔵 It is a stability and comfort system, not a rotational-impact one. Nexx does not claim it as the latter, and neither do we.

Recoil visor, sun visor and the spare in the bag

Two clear visors in the box is unusual and genuinely useful: a scratched visor is the most common thing that ruins a ride, and a spare in the bag turns a trip-ending problem into a five-minute one.

Both run on the Recoil base plates, which re-tension automatically against the twin-lip beads each time the visor closes. A Pinlock 70 MaxVision lens (DKS553) is fitted.

Six intakes, two chambers — and a 4/5 measurement

Only two exhausts sounds thin next to six intakes, and it is worth understanding why it works: the Mid Airflow Chamber moves air through the gap between the inner and outer EPS rather than merely over the crown, so a smaller outlet area still keeps the path flowing.

🔵 The measured outcome was 4/5 for ventilation, which supports the design.

How quiet it actually is

Perceived noise depends more on your motorcycle than on your helmet: a screen that puts turbulent air at head height will make any helmet loud, where clean air at the same speed will not.

🔵 Against that background the X.WST3 measured 100 dB and scored 4/5 — among the quieter results in its category.

Interior, retention and fit

F.R.S.® — the Fast Release System — lets both cheek pads come out together without tools: lift the rubberised arms locking the buttons on each side, slide the red buttons back, and both pads release.

The everyday use is cleaning. The important one is emergency removal, where one action instead of two means less movement of an injured rider's head and neck.

1675 grams claimed, 1673 measured

The weight is structural rather than careless: two EPS shells with a rubber interlayer, an X-Foam chin bumper, an internal sun visor mechanism and a functional rear spoiler. Every one of those is a feature you can point to.

🔵 If none of them matters to you, lighter road helmets exist. 1675 g claimed, 1673 g measured, scored 2/5.

Comms, camera and spare parts

Spare parts are worth checking before buying any helmet. For the X.WST3, visors, Pinlock DKS553 lenses, cheek pads, crown pads, chin-strap covers and the breath guard are all separately available.

🔵 What cannot be replaced is a crushed EPS liner. After a real impact the helmet is finished, however it looks.

In the box

• Nexx X.WST3 helmet — B-Side White Black (X-Matrix2 shell)
• Clear visor with Pinlock® 70 MaxVision anti-fog lens fitted
• Second clear visor and a visor bag
• Removable breath guard, fitted
• 🔵 No X-COM3 comms system and no action camera — the helmet is built for both; both are separate purchases

Size guide

Specification

• Model — Nexx X.WST3
• Part number — 01XS300477018
• Colour — B-Side White Black — B-Side graphic on X-Matrix2, white / black
• Homologation — ECE 22-06 (UN) · DOT FMVSS 218 · CCC GB811:2022 · NBR7471:2015
• Safety rating — 🔴 none — SHARP has no entry for the X.WST3; no ADAC or Snell result either
• Independent verdict — scored road test 3.9/5 overall — noise 4/5, ventilation 4/5, comfort 4/5, weight 2/5 · MOTORCYCLE NEWS 4/5
• Helmet type — Full-face, streetfighter — road use; no peak, no goggle provision
• Shell — X-Matrix2 multiaxial fibreglass multi-composite; three outer shell sizes (XXS–S / M–L / XL–XXXL); made in Portugal
• Weight — 1675 g claimed — independently weighed at 1673 g in size M
• Sizes — XXS to XXXL (eight sizes)
• Impact protection — two-part EPS with a rubber Anti-Vibration interlayer, plus an X-Foam EPP bumper at the chin
• Aerodynamics — functional rear spoiler — improves airflow, cuts drag and adds high-speed stability
• Visor — Visor Recoil System — spring-loaded base side-plates tensioning against twin-lip beads
• Supplied optics — Pinlock® 70 MaxVision fitted, plus a second clear visor and a visor bag
• Anti-fog replacements — Pinlock EVO DKS553 — specific to this helmet
• Sun visor — internal, 18 % larger than the previous generation, drops to just above the bridge of the nose
• Ventilation — six intakes / two exhausts, cheek-pad ventilation, patent-pending Mid Airflow Chamber between the EPS shells, Air Cumbs alveolar-mesh crown pad
• Noise, measured — 100 dB average, scored 4/5
• Emergency release — F.R.S.® Fast Release System — both cheek pads release together, tool-free
• Retention — metal micrometric ratchet with X-LOCK magnetic catch (not a double-D ring)
• Interior — faux leather with ventilation-mesh inserts, dark reflective inserts, X-Mart Dry liner, removable chin-strap covers, removable breath guard
• Head shape — intermediate-to-round oval — independently found glasses-friendly
• Communication — X-COM3 ready, Bluetooth 5.2 — Standard and PRO (2.0 Mesh, Harman Kardon); sold separately
• Camera — side action-camera mount — camera sold separately
• Other — moulded night-vision reflectors

• 1x helmet (X-Matrix2, three shell sizes)
• 1x Pinlock 70 MaxVision anti-fog lens (fitted)
• 1x clear visor + 1x second (clear) visor + visor bag
• Rear spoiler; side action-camera mount; wind deflector / breath guard