Blank Mat takes the Skwal i3 Jet down to a single flat black, no graphic layer between you and the shell's own lines — the spoiler, the vent scoops, the LED strip itself standing out precisely because nothing else on the shell is competing for the eye. It is the decor Shark's own range starts a colourway from, and on a helmet whose main technical story is the light system rather than the paint, letting the shell speak plainly is a reasonable place to begin.

An open face with a light built in

The Skwal i3 Jet is Shark's open-face answer to the closed-face Skwal i3: the same idea — an active LED brake light built into the shell, triggered by a built-in accelerometer rather than wired to the bike — carried onto a jet silhouette instead of a full-face one. A triaxial accelerometer reads deceleration and switches the light automatically; a single button on the shell cycles between three states: smart brake lights alone, position lights plus smart brake lights, and flashing position lights plus smart brake lights. There is no Bluetooth pairing and no app — the system runs entirely on its own sensor and its own logic.

Whether it's road-legal here, honestly

Shark's own owner's manual for this exact helmet — a distinct 175-page document, not the closed-face i3's manual reused — carries this instruction word for word: check that your country's legislation does not place restrictions on the use of LEDs. No E-mark, no type-approval number for the light itself appears anywhere in that manual. The helmet's ECE 22.06 rating covers head protection, not vehicle lighting, and no source found for this listing — manufacturer or independent — states outright whether a helmet-mounted brake light of this kind satisfies German road law. That is a genuine grey area, not a confirmed yes dressed up as one.

No chin bar, said plainly

This remains an open-face helmet under the LED technology, and an open face has no chin bar. Nothing structural covers your jaw below the visor line — that protection simply is not part of this shape, on this or any other decor of it. The trade is the same one every jet buyer makes: an open field of view and fast on/off, against coverage across the chin a full-face model would provide instead.

What ECE 22.06 actually tests

This shell is certified to ECE 22.06, the standard that replaced 22.05 as the EU's mandatory approval for newly homologated helmets from January 2024. The test itself grew substantially: eighteen strike points rather than five, across multiple impact speeds instead of one, plus an oblique-impact test against an abrasive anvil that 22.05 never ran at all — scoring the rotational force a glancing hit sends into the brain, not only the straight-line force a drop test measures. Accessories, visor and LED unit included, stay fitted through testing. Norme 2206 on the price sheet, no FIM suffix: a road standard, not a race one.

Weight as a number your neck carries all day

Shark states 1,425 g for this helmet's first shell size, identical across all three current decors — a figure that includes the LED hardware built into the spoiler, not a separate accessory bolted on afterward. Every gram of that rides above your neck for as long as the helmet is on, through a commute, a full day at a track, a long weekend ride — not only at the moment of an impact the shell is built to survive.

Ventilation and the light system together

Two intakes at the front and two extractors at the back move air through a shell with a shorter, simpler path than a full-face design needs, since there is no chin bar to route around. The LED hardware sits in the spoiler at the rear, outside that airflow path rather than obstructing it.

Visor: VZ670, side-locking

The fitted VZ670 visor — shared with the plain Skwal Jet and the Skwal Jet Cup, not with the closed-face i3 — carries a vortex generator at its edge and locks from the side rather than centrally. It comes with a Pinlock 70 insert and an integrated drop-down sun visor, both standard rather than optional extras. No optical-class rating is published for this visor family on Shark's own documentation, so none is claimed here.

Charging and runtime

The LED unit charges over USB-C, with a cable stowed inside the neck protection rather than left loose in a bag. Shark states roughly three hours for a full charge and up to twelve hours of runtime in flashing mode — figures worth planning around on a multi-day trip rather than assuming the light will always be topped up.

Wind noise, honestly

An open face is louder at speed than a full-face by simple construction, LED system or not — there is no chin bar sealing air away from your ears, and that is true of this shell exactly as it is true of every jet helmet on the market. No decibel figure is published for it, so none is stated here to soften that fact.

Where the Skwal i3 Jet sits on price

Inside Shark's open-face range, the plain Skwal Jet opens the ladder from €189.99 and the Skwal Jet Cup follows from €239.99, both without any light system. The RS Jet pairing runs €249.99 to €319.99, also without a light. This helmet, carrying the full active LED system, runs €289.99 to €349.99 depending on decor — the premium over an equivalent light-free jet is mostly the electronics themselves.

Spare parts, later

The Pinlock 70 insert and visor are stocked under the same VZ670 part numbers shared with the plain Skwal Jet and Skwal Jet Cup — two other current helmets drawing from the same parts bin, a reasonable guarantee this visor stays available well after any one decor cycles out.

What this helmet does not have

No SHARP rating exists for this helmet — the UK programme has tested older Shark models under the Skwal name, none of them this one, and nothing from those results is carried over here. No MIPS, no optical-class figure, no published wind-noise number, and no Bluetooth or app connectivity for the LED system — it operates entirely on its own accelerometer with no phone pairing available at all.

In the box

The helmet arrives with the visor fitted and its Pinlock 70 insert already mounted, the USB-C charging cable stowed in the neck protection, reflective bands, and Shark's documentation covering both the 5-year warranty and the LED system's own operating instructions — including the line about checking your own country's rules before relying on the light.