{"product_id":"spartan-rs-dark-shadow-mat-he8109kma","title":"Shark Spartan RS Dark Shadow Mat Helmet HE8109","description":"\u003cp\u003eDark Shadow keeps the Blank's matte black base but adds Shark's low-contrast tonal treatment: a subtle raised-texture pattern across the shell, visible mainly at an angle or under direct light rather than a printed graphic competing for attention. Shark's own line describes it as raw power draped in dark elegance, and the effect is exactly that understated — closer to a finish than a decoration, for riders who want more presence than the plain Blank without a loud graphic. Worn next to the brighter decors later in this line, Dark Shadow reads as the quieter, more versatile option for a rider who wants the Spartan RS shape and spec without a graphic that dates or clashes with a future bike change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe matte tonal finish\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe base coat is the same matte black as the Blank decor, with a tone-on-tone pattern worked into the same colour rather than contrasted against it, so the graphic reads through texture and light rather than a second paint colour. It photographs differently by light source — flat under overcast sky, more visibly patterned under direct sun or a garage spotlight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAbout the Dark Shadow name\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDark Shadow is not unique to this helmet: Shark runs it as a recurring family name across several models, with its own dedicated microsite (dark-shadow.shark-helmets.com) describing it as built for what the brand calls dark motorbikers. On the Spartan RS specifically it takes the form of a tonal, texture-based graphic rather than a printed pattern, distinguishing it from the brighter decors elsewhere in this line.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eECE 22.06, and why it matters here\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDark Shadow's matte shell is certified to ECE 22.06, mandatory across the EU since January 2024 for any newly homologated helmet. The jump from 22.05 is substantial: five impact points become eighteen, one test speed becomes several, and a new oblique-impact test against an abrasive anvil specifically loads the shell with a twisting force rather than a straight drop. A rotational Brain Injury Criterion is measured for the first time, and the certificate covers the complete helmet as worn, Pinlock fitted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat the fibre shell buys you, and what it doesn't\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnder the matte black-on-black graphic, Dark Shadow uses the same multiaxial composite fibre shell as the rest of this line — cross-laid glass fibre rather than a carbon weave. Compared to the carbon Spartan RS sold alongside it, the certification, closure, EPS liner and visor family are all identical; the carbon version trades roughly 45 to 75 grams at the first shell size and a different look under the coat for a higher price, not a safety upgrade this fibre shell is missing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat 1500 g means over a riding day\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe manufacturer figure for Dark Shadow at the first shell size is 1500 g; one independent test unit weighed a touch more, 1530 g. Either number is ordinary for a full-face fibre helmet, and what matters more than the exact gram count is that the weight is carried by the neck continuously through every lean, brake and head-check across a ride, not held statically like luggage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow air moves through Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA chin-bar intake angled at the visor and a forehead intake supply air, exhausted through a permanently open vent in the rear spoiler. Reviewers rate the sliders as easy to operate with gloved hands, though without detent clicks fine adjustment is done by feel rather than a defined click-stop. Overall it is enough to keep the visor from fogging in normal use, without being singled out as exceptional.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSun visor and outer visor, Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe internal drop-down sun visor covers most of the face and holds its own detente positions, praised in independent tests. Outside it, the VZ300 visor is optical class 1, tapering from 2.8 mm to 2.2 mm, anchored at four points with a central grip-and-lock, anti-scratch coated, and pre-fitted with a clear Pinlock 120 insert rather than requiring a separate purchase.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHandling the visor day to day\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eTool-free removal applies to Dark Shadow's visor exactly as it does across the rest of the line, via the same four-point lock. Swapping to a spare or tinted visor is a couple of minutes' work rather than a workshop job, and the anti-scratch coating ships as standard rather than a paid extra.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eComms compatibility, Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs with the rest of the range, the shell recess at the cheek pad accepts Shark's Sharktooth intercom or a SENA For SHARK unit without an external bracket. It ships without a comms unit fitted — the compatibility is built in, the hardware is bought separately.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSizing across the range, Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe size run spans XS to XXL on two shell sizes, split around the middle — fewer shells than some reviewers consider ideal, worth knowing before ordering at either extreme. What they praise instead is the rounder internal fit, singled out as suiting heads that find Shoei or Arai too oval, plus cheek pads that can be changed independently for a tighter or looser feel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eOn wind noise, Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eShark does not publish a decibel rating for this decor. Independent accounts differ slightly: one calls the noise unremarkable and appropriate at legal speeds on sport and naked bikes alike; another notes, without measuring it, that the missing neck roll compared to the older Spartan GT could mean more wind noise at motorway speed. Both are left here as reported, not reconciled into a single figure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eReplacement parts, Dark Shadow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA scratched visor on this Dark Shadow decor is covered by Shark's standing spare-visor listing for the Spartan RS range. Because the VZ300 visor is shared with the Spartan RS Carbon and the Spartan GT Pro Carbon, replacement tints and clear visors stay in production for as long as any of those three lines are current.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhere this sits in Shark's own range\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 389.99 EUR, Dark Shadow sits at the top of the fibre range's own price band. For context against Shark's own current lineup rather than a rival brand:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eLine\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eUVP range\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eShell\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSkwal i3\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e319.99 - 399.99 EUR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eThermoplastic, LED brake light\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOXO\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e349.99 - 459.99 EUR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eThermoplastic modular\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpartan RS (this decor: 389.99 EUR)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e359.99 - 389.99 EUR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMultiaxial composite fibre\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpartan RS Carbon\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e429.99 - 529.99 EUR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCarbon, same VZ300 visor family\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpartan GT Pro Carbon\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e549.99 - 629.99 EUR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCarbon, also shares the VZ300 visor\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLimitations, honestly\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause the pattern is tonal rather than high-contrast, it reads as close to plain from a distance and in flat lighting, which riders shopping specifically for a graphic decor may find underwhelming next to the brighter options later in this line. Wind noise has no manufacturer decibel figure and the shell comes in two sizes rather than three, unchanged from the rest of the range.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shark","offers":[{"title":"XS \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334557962,"sku":"HE8109KMA_XS","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"S \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334459658,"sku":"HE8109KMA_S","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"M \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334492426,"sku":"HE8109KMA_M","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"L \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334525194,"sku":"HE8109KMA_L","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334426890,"sku":"HE8109KMA_XL","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"XXL \/ Dark Shadow Mat KMA HE8109","offer_id":53819334394122,"sku":"HE8109KMA_XXL","price":350.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0949\/7831\/0410\/files\/HE8109KMA-00-front-three-quarter-view.png?v=1790468648","url":"https:\/\/inter-pace.com\/products\/spartan-rs-dark-shadow-mat-he8109kma","provider":"Inter-Pace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}