LS2 Valiant 2 - Orbit Jeans

After numerous problems with a Shark flip helmet it was swapped for a LS2. I knew the Valiant 2 was meant to suit people with a long oval head shape like me and it has been comfy from the off. The visor mechanism is brilliant and the helmet looks stunning.

Excellent both open and closed. Not too noisy as some have suggested but a snug fit.

It's very hard to beleive that the Valiant 2 was made by the same people who made the Valiant 1.
Faults with Valiant 2- The sun visor just drops unexpectedly,
The lining is so easy to dislodge,
The latch to open the flip is so much more awkward,
But the biggest fault of the lot, the Valiant 2 has no location for the changing leaf for the LS2 intercom, almost every time you pull on the helmet, the changing lead gets caught between head and helmet, the valiant 1 head a net pocket at the rar of the helmet to store the charging lead.

Overall, stick with the Valiant 1

Set it up put on fitted like a leather glove
Found it to be light and confy
My old one was navy and gave me neck pain after a short ride
This was in a different class
Like a lot how you can change the lining
Brilliant

I'm still relatively new to biking, and have always worn open face helmets. This was partly due to mild claustrophobia, and partly due to my rugby prop ears not being optimised for full face crash helmets. I've never been entirely happy from a safety point of view however, so decided to start researching flip front helmets, as a) I can put it on, then flip the front down, and b) some can be worn "open face" as well.
Safety - First and foremost, a helmet has to have the highest safety rating possible for my budget. The LS2 Valliant 2 has a SHARP rating of 4 stars. This is equal or better than many of the comparable flip front products from other well known brands, and it is also Dual Homologated - so has been tested and can legally be worn open face as well as closed. This was a big plus for me. It is ECE 22-05 approved, and the chin guard stayed locked in over 97% of test impacts.
Comfort - The helmet is extremely comfortable. My head is 59cm, so the recommended size was a large. I found the sizing came up spot on; snug without being too tight. At 1.7kg, it's a good bit heavier than my open front helmets due to the chin guard and the flip hinges. It is a similar weight (within 50g or so) to other flip fronts eg. Caberg, Shark, Shoei or AGV. The helmet and lining are designed to accommodate wearing eyeglasses.
Features - The helmet is very well appointed considering the price point. The flip front chin guard unlike most other helmets, pivots all the way over to the back to avoid catching the airflow, and lifting the helmet. It is operated with a button under the centre of the chin guard, easily operable on the move with gloves. The visor lifts slightly (automatic) to clear the chin guard as it lifts over. The guard will stay at the back of the helmet, but does not engage, thus it can be simply rotated back over to the front again, and locked in by simply pulling down til it clicks. This is easily achieved on the move. The visor itself is large, and gives a distortion free wide angle of vision. It is anti scratch, pinlock ready, and easily removable via two clips at the side which mean it can be removed and replaced in seconds. The visor can open a few mm to a positive "click" position for ventilation, and will stay there. There is also an open/close chin vent on the chin guard, and two open/close sliding crown vents on the top of the helmet. I have found these top ones a little difficult to locate and operate wearing gloves. They do seem to be effective in allowing air circulation though.
A dark internal sun visor, operable by a slide control on the left hand side of the helmet completes the vision aspect of the helmet. I have found this very effective against the low angle sun during rides.
The helmet is secured by a micrometric quick release strap. The release tab although small, does sometimes get caught in the mechanism, making it tricky to release again wearing gloves. The chin strap is adjustable, and can also move forwards and backwards so you can position it in a way that doesn't strangle you. The lining is removable, and has antimicrobial technology which is wash proof.
Noise - I can't really comment on noise. As I usually wear open face helmets, anything would seem quieter. The hinges have however been well designed so they are reasonably flush with the helmet to reduce wind noise. Looking at other reviews, people seem to find it noisier than most good quality full face helmets, but if you wear earplugs, it probably doesn't make any difference.
Instructions - The manual is downloadable via QR code, but it doesn't tell you any more than the leaflet in the box. Whilst crash helmets are pretty self explanatory, I wanted to know how to remove the lining to install an intercom. For this, I had to look at YouTube. I guess that's the way it's done these days, but I'm old school, and like to have written instructions.
Additional accessories - The helmet is supplied with a pinlock - amazingly effective in cold weather, and I would recommend installing this immediately if you've never experienced one before. There are additional reflective stickers which can be applied if desired. The Valliant 2 comes with a soft bag to protect it during storage, and also a very cool little camouflage rucksack to carry it around. Another nice little touch is an inflatable cushion, rather like those neck support pillows. The idea is that you inflate it, put the helmet on it crown downwards, and it supports the helmet without damaging it while you remove the cheek pads/clean the visor etc. Replacement linings are available for a reasonable cost, and visors are available at half the cost of my Italian helmets.
To summarise, I'm extremely happy with my purchase. It looks stylish, has a quality feel about it and a very good safety rating. It has all the standard features I expect, plus a few nice extra touches and a 5 year warranty. The price is very competitive compared to other similar models and brands. I would definitely recommend having a look at the LS2 Valliant 2 if you're in the market for a flip front helmet in the £250-£300 range.

This is a gorgeous looking helmet, I bought it as a replacement for my Shark Evoline 3 Pro, it does everything that it needs to with style, integrated sun visor and lighter than the Shark, it can also be ridden with chin bar open which was a must for me, so happy that it came with a pinlock and also treated myself to a blue iridium visor, so happy with it.

I was forced into the purchase of a new helmet due to weight loss over the winter. I was wearing a Shark Evo before and was drawn by the LS2 similarity.

The design and comfort levels are great, but has better ventilation than the Shark and the chin bar seems easier, and less fiddly to operate.

I like it to so much, we ordered another a week later for my wife.

Loving the helmet backpack it comes with too, we're due to fly to NI to ride the Antrim Coast and have to take our own helmets so this additional touch will come in very handy.

So far I'm impressed.

I've been disappointed with this helmet. The first issue was with bits of trim falling of then, for no reason I can see the sun visor broke at it's fixing point. A few weeks later the main visor broke when I was riding at around 60mph.

The SportsBikeShop were really great in dealing with this. They sent the helmet back to LS2 for review and repair and I received it back a couple of days later, all fixed. In the meantime I bought a Scorpion helmet from them which seems of much higher quality.

I haven't ridden with this helmet since. I am hoping it will be okay. I'll let you know how it goes.

The service from the store has been wonderful though. It's really good to find a company that tries so hard for its customers.

replaced my worn out old schuberth s1 , found the LS2 as a replacement, and was within my budget, .in my opinion its a far better lid lighter not as intrusive when you looking about quickly for traffic ,and very comfortable ,also my driving glasses fit perfectly as there are slots for the legs to easily pass through, this is my first flip up lid and its great should be a lot cooler in the hot weather, also comes with a helmet bag ,fog visor and helmet shaped backpack ,which can hold some small bits and pieces. . I'm very pleased with this lid

The helmet is excellent.
The problem is in the inner size.
They are smaller than average.
If you ware a size M, you must buy a size L.
Despite that is perfect and with a very reasonable price considering all that he brings in the box ( pinlock, backpack, support pillow).

Really comfortable. Chin bar locks at back for town riding. Would've got 5 stars but two silver trim strips came off on side. Helmet replaced but same thing happened. Taken them off as they serve no purpose and hasn't affected cosmetics.

Very comfortable. Like the fact chin guard can be folded all the way back out of the way. Good quality and good price.

Fit is weird, I am an L but the LS2 is an XL. Still a very snug fit and am hoping it will ease as I break it in. That said, the flip mechanism is great and it a very comfy helmet with the front open. It is also ridiculously easy to remove the visor which is so often not the case with helmets. The helmet seems to be moderate weight and it is pretty quiet too. For the price you cannot go far wrong. It even comes supplied with its own helmet rucksack so you can carry it safely when off the bike.

I bought this helmet as I had had two very bad experiences with the Shark EVO range.
I decided to upgrade my Evoline because there's no Pinlock visor available for it, so I bought the EVO One 2. I first wore it on a trip to Germany, but within 500 miles, the rubber seal around the visor aperture came unstuck, as well as the rubber around the base of the Chin-Bar. I was also getting constantly smacked in the face by the so called magnetic chin-curtain.
Thinking it was a one-off, I went for the EVO ES. Another disappointment! Taking it out of the box and the trim around the base came unstuck. If I opened the visor at anything above 45mph while riding, I was again being battered by the magnetic chin-curtain.
Hence I opted for the LS2 Valiant.
It's a nice snug fitting helmet, which comes with a Pinlock insert.
It has a nice wide aperture giving plenty of side vision, and the visor has the ability to be cracked open a few millimetres if you wish, as well as a graduated opening facility.
The thing I like the most about it is that the Chin-Bar closes with nice gentle click, unlike the Shark EVO series, with which you have to put into position and then literally smack yourself in the chin to lock it into place.
The only negative thing I can find
is that the slider for the internal sun-visor is on the left side on the base of the helmet, making it difficult to fit a Bluetooth communications device. But, you don't have pull the entire lining out of the helmet to fit the speakers in to the built in recess.
It also comes in a nicely coloured helmet sack as well as a zip-up carry bag, although it's not in a colour that I'd go for.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the helmet and would recommend it to anyone.

Wow, this helmet is as good as any roof helmet.
I'm a trike rider and it's great to have a combined open and full face helmet that looks this good. Fitted an interphone comm system I also from this seller no problems. Great quality . The best helmet I've had in over 35 years of riding.
Sportsbikeshop is now my go to shop for all my riding needs.