This Mekarium Mat runs darker again: an anthracite-and-black base with the same chrome-effect diagonal treatment, and no bright accent colour at all. Whatever colourway a Mekarium decor lands in, it is built on the identical OXO shell, with the identical chin-bar hinge — the graphic changes what you see from three metres away, not what happens when you unlock the two catches and rotate the bar back over the crown.

The graphic, and the base underneath it

Anthracite here reads as a genuine dark grey panel distinct from the surrounding black, not just a lighting effect on black paint — close enough to black that Grey is listed alongside Black rather than instead of it, since both are clearly present in the photography. The chrome diagonal keeps its brushed-silver shimmer on this darker base too, the one constant across all four Mekarium colourways in this line.

Full-face and open, on demand

The point of a Flip-Back design like the OXO's is that you don't choose between a full-face helmet and an open one when you buy it — you choose per stop. Two catches at the chin release the bar, which swings back and locks against the crown; ride it closed on the motorway, flip it open at the services, and it's still the identical certified shell either way, not a jet helmet improvised from full-face parts.

Homologated both ways

The chin bar being able to lock back is a mechanical fact; whether you're legally covered riding that way is a certification fact, and they're not the same thing. Shark's documentation states the OXO carries P/J approval under ECE 22.06 — full-face and jet configurations both certified. 22.06 is the harder EU standard in force since 2024: eighteen impact zones, multiple speeds, an oblique-impact test, and a rotational Brain Injury Criterion the older 22.05 standard didn't score.

Not one shell for six sizes

Some helmets scale a single shell shape across their whole size range with interior padding doing the rest of the work; the OXO doesn't. Shark moulds it in two distinct shells, and the dedicated VZ390 visor family follows suit — every tint listed twice, once for the small shell and once for the large, on Shark's own visor page and confirmed again on the separate Pinlock cross-reference.

What three different scales found

Shark's own number for the OXO is 1,660 g, quoted for the smallest available shell. SHARP weighed their own unit at around 1.7 kg during testing; MotorcycleNews weighed theirs at 1,880 g. All three can be true at once — different shells, different accessory loads — but the honest takeaway is that the manufacturer's figure is a best case, and the real number on your own head could run over 200 g heavier.

Price ladder: real helmets, not a bracket

This OXO's nearest neighbours on Shark's own 2027 price list, one cheaper and one dearer, are both full-face designs — a useful reminder that the flip-up mechanism here isn't being charged at a steep premium over a standard shell:

Front, brow, and the honest gap on exhaust

Two intakes are documented on the OXO — one at the chin, one at the brow, each binary rather than dialable — while the exhaust side of the ventilation system isn't specified anywhere Shark publishes, so it's left unstated. Noise reports are similarly qualitative: no complaints riding open through town in one test, general expectations of quiet in another, alongside a note that earlier Shark flip-ups weren't always calm at speed. No dB number is published for the OXO in any configuration.

The tints available, and their actual limits

A clear VZ390 visor, cleared for all users and fitted with Pinlock 70 from the factory, is the OXO's standard. Above it sits a TE50 light tint, approved specifically for daytime road use, and then five Iridium finishes — blue, gold, silver, red, rainbow — every one restricted to racing use only. VZ390 doesn't carry a stated optical class, a point this description leaves unresolved rather than assumes.

Living with the OXO, day to day

Built-in drop-down sun visor, intercom-ready recesses in the shell, a tool-free visor mechanism, and a glasses-friendly groove: four everyday features the OXO's SHARP listing and Shark's own page both confirm. Two things neither confirms — whether the removable interior is washable, and what pad sizes are stocked — stay as open questions rather than assumed answers. SHARP's May 2025 test gave the helmet four stars.

Who this decor suits

The darkest Mekarium Mat colourway, anthracite and black with no bright accent, still carries Sport and Street tags rather than Touring — the graphic treatment reads as road-focused even without a loud colour, and the flip-back mechanism does the same job regardless of which Mekarium finish you pick. A rider who wants the quietest version of this graphic family fits here.

What one independent tester found about fit

Because the OXO's six sizes span two different shell moulds, its internal shape isn't guaranteed to feel the same across the whole range. One reviewer's own account described the fit as oval-leaning, and too oval for their particular head — a subjective, personal observation, not a Shark specification, but a genuine data point worth checking against your own fit before buying.

Sixteen options, one extra step

The OXO's visor range covers sixteen official options, clear through TE50 light tint to five Iridium colours, priced roughly EUR 31 to EUR 85 — and each requires one extra decision beyond colour: small shell or large shell, since both versions exist for every tint. The Pinlock 70 insert needs the same check, confirmed with its own two-part split in the range book.

The limits worth stating up front

No MIPS. No EQRS. No independently measured noise level, in either the closed or the open configuration. SHARP's four stars, earned in a May 2025 test, are real but describe that one test rather than a permanent guarantee. The exhaust-vent count is undocumented. And one independent review found the fit too oval for the reviewer's own head. Five honest gaps, stated rather than glossed over.

Ready from the box, covered for years after

The OXO leaves the box with its clear VZ390 visor already fitted, a Pinlock 70 insert included, and an internal sun visor built in and ready to use. Shark's five-year warranty, backed by real spare-parts availability, covers it well beyond that first ride.