The monochrome Manga is the quietest carbon graphic in the range — black, grey and silver, no colour anywhere. It is also the only version here that will look exactly the same in five years, because there is no palette to date.

A streetfighter shell with a spoiler that works

🔵 A streetfighter helmet is judged on how it looks and lived with on how it behaves, and those two things usually pull apart. The measured results here suggest they do not: 100 dB noise, ventilation scored 4/5, comfort 4/5, overall 3.9/5.

The weakness in the same test was weight, scored 2/5.

About the Manga Grey Black graphic

Monochrome graphics age better than coloured ones because colours belong to seasons and values do not. A black, grey and silver treatment reads as design rather than as a marker of when the helmet was bought — and on a shell whose appeal is its shape, letting the silhouette stay the subject is arguably the right call. The silver elements also do something the plain finishes cannot: they catch light along the spoiler and vent edges, which traces the structure. 🔵 Conspicuity is mid-range at best. On a helmet used mostly in city traffic, one of the white or orange versions does more for you.

The X-PRO Carbon 3K shell

🔵 Carbon buys 75 g here at a higher price. On a helmet whose independent test scored weight 2 out of 5, that saving is worth more than it would be on a lighter helmet — but it does not move the X.WST3 into a different class.

The construction is X-PRO Carbon 3K at 1600 g, in three outer shell sizes.

Anti-Vibration EPS — two shells and a rubber layer

🔵 If you have ridden fast in a conventional helmet you know the sensation this addresses: not noise, not buffeting, but a constant fine shimmer through the shell that tires you and blurs the road surface.

The X.WST3 addresses it structurally, with a rubber trim letting the inner EPS move fractionally instead of transmitting everything.

Recoil visor, sun visor and the spare in the bag

Look after the visor and it will outlast the padding. Never wipe a dry visor — road dust is abrasive and dragging it across the surface leaves permanent fine scratches that flare against headlights at night.

🔵 Wet it first, every time. A second clear visor and a visor bag are supplied, which makes a scratched one considerably less annoying.

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

Two separate air chambers is unusual on a helmet at this price. The Mid Airflow Chamber sits between the inner and outer EPS; the Air Cumbs chamber sits between the EPS and the crown padding. They work in series rather than duplicating each other.

Measured ventilation score: 4 out of 5.

How quiet it actually is

100 dB is a measured number rather than an impression, which makes it the most useful figure here for comparing against another helmet — provided that helmet was measured the same way.

🔵 The accompanying score was 4 out of 5, and MOTORCYCLE NEWS separately rated the helmet 4/5 overall.

Interior, retention and fit

A micrometric ratchet is faster than a double-D ring and adjustable in finer steps, which is what you want on a helmet put on and taken off twice a day. Nexx's is metal rather than plastic, and the X-LOCK magnet holds the strap tail so it does not flap.

🔵 Check the ratchet adjustment every few months; it should be snug enough that the helmet cannot be rolled forward off your head.

1600 grams, and the rest of the honest list

Carbon saves 75 g here rather than a larger margin, because the X.WST3's mass is dominated by its two-part EPS and its hardware rather than by the shell. At 1600 g it remains a substantial helmet.

🔵 Whether 75 g is worth the extra money depends entirely on how long your riding days are.

Comms, camera and spare parts

🔵 Replacement cheek pads are the most useful spare part on any helmet and the least often bought. They correct a fit that has loosened with wear and solve a hot spot that would otherwise mean a different helmet entirely.

On the X.WST3 they come out through the F.R.S. mechanism in seconds, and genuine replacements are stocked.

In the box

• Nexx X.WST3 helmet — Manga Grey Black (X-PRO Carbon 3K 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 — 01XS323517986
• Colour — Manga Grey Black — Manga graphic on carbon 3K, black / grey / silver
• 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-PRO Carbon 3K; three outer shell sizes (XXS–S / M–L / XL–XXXL); made in Portugal
• Weight — 1600 g claimed
• 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-PRO Carbon, three shell sizes)
• 1x Pinlock 120 XLT MaxVision anti-fog lens (fitted)
• 1x clear visor + 1x second (Smoke 80%) visor + visor bag
• Rear spoiler; side action-camera mount; wind deflector / breath guard