LS2 FF325 Strobe flip-front motorcycle crash helmet

A look at LS2’s polycarbonate modular crash helmet – the LS2 FF325 Strobe

The FF325 Strobe is Chinese helmet maker LS2‘s entry-level flip-up crash helmet. LS2 say it’s aimed at sports-touring riders, which really means more or less anyone and everyone, from commuters to sunday riders and long distance tourers.

As soon as you hear the words ‘entry level’, you start looking for the cost-cutting and money-saving because we know that’s how companies make their entry level helmets right? They usually develop a polycarbonate/thermoplastic shelled model (two names for effectively the same helmet material) with a view to releasing it without some of the bells and whistles we’re all increasingly taking for granted in a helmet.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the LS2 FF325 to see if we can find out where LS2 has cut corners, and find out what existing Strobe owners think of their helmet.

• LS2’s entry-level modular helmet
• Polycarbonate shell
• SHARP 3 star safety rated
• 2 shell sizes
• Micrometric fastener
• Drop down sun visor
• Sizes XXS-XXL (XS-XXXL US)
  
• Expect to pay £75-£125

Best places to buy an LS2 Strobe?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Strobe helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Safety

The LS2 FF325 Strobe seems to do pretty well on the safety front.

It’s both ECE 22.05 and DOT certified, meaning it’s passed the mandatory safety testing required before it can go on sale in Europe (that’s the ECE bit) and LS2 confirms its helmets comply with the US DOT requirements. For more information on those, click the links.

The Strobe has also been tested by the SHARP crash helmet safety labs where it scored 3 stars out of 5, which is OK but not the best (see our alternatives section at the bottom of the page for some suggested and recommended flip-up helmets that will score four and five stars for safety).

Crucially for a modular helmet, SHARP noted that the chin guard remained closed and locked in 100% of its impact tests. That’s a great result and surprisingly not that common in a flip-up helmet – and probably testament to the solid metal locking mechanism used by LS2.

Of course, you need a helmet to protect you when you hit the ground or skidding along the road, which is why we pay such close attention to SHARP helmet tests.

But there’s other stuff on a crash helmet that’ll help you avoid an accident in the first place.

The Strobe’s got most of the other features you’d hope for in this respect.

It’s got a decent sized visor (though could be a little wider for max peripheral vision) with locating pins for LS2’s version of a Pinlock anti-fog insert.

It’s also an optically correct visor for distortion-free vision.

There’s a drop down sun visor so you don’t get too caught out by the sun – though as usual, a few owners reckon the tinting is a bit too light for when the sun’s full in your face.

The FF325 also has a micrometric fastener on the strap. They’re widely regarded as safe as houses and really easy and convenient – though you do have to ensure the strap remains correctly adjusted as the strap stretches over time.

So, overall for safety, the LS2 FF325 Strobe has many of the features you’d look for in a helmet and there’s no obvious cost-cuttings gone on here. Just a slightly weaker SHARP performance compared to some of the best-tested modulars on the market lets the Strobe down a little.

To find the best safety-tested modulars we’ve found, jump to our Smart Filters page and click the boxes for ‘flip-up/modular’ and ‘SHARP 5 star’. Or click here!

Helmet Noise

As usual – a word of warning on how noisy you’ll find the LS2 Strobe.

How noisy or quiet you’ll find the Strobe is very much dependent on things like how noisy your existing helmet is, your riding style, how fast you ride, type of motorbike you ride and so on.

That’s reflected in the feedback given by owners of the LS2 FF325 Strobe whose opinions vary quite a bit.

What’s for certain is it’s not the quietest helmet. But then again, modular helmets are usually on the noisier side (even those that claim to be whisper quiet!).

Most owners reckon it’s either noisy or quite noisy. The occasional one or two do say it’s quiet, but overall, we’d expect you to find it’s noisier than average.

A couple of owners said the noise seems to come in mostly from the vents and closing them quietens things down a bit. But that’s not very helpful if you’re riding along in the summer!

So, if you’re thinking of buying a LS2 FF325 Strobe, go into it expecting it to be quite noisy and buy some decent ear plugs to wear when you’re riding and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Ventilation

Consensus seems to be that the ventilation on the Strobe is OK but could be better.

It has the conventional array of vents – from a dual chin vent and single crown vent – all venting through the internal shock absorbing liner to take air through to the scalp.

Owners seem to agree that the ventilation is about average – typical comments are that it keeps you reasonably cool but could be better.

There’s also a few comments about the visor vents not managing to keep the visor fog-free at low speeds. However, that’s common on most helmets and why anti-fog Pinlock inserts (or in this case LS2’s own version of a Pinlock) are becoming so popular.

If great ventilation is important to you, we suggest you have a look at our ‘helmets with good ventilation‘ page.

Visor

The LS2 FF325 Strobe comes with what LS2 call their Twin Shield System – but what the rest of us call a clear main visor and drop down sun visor!

Having said that, it’s still great to have both in an entry-level modular helmet and from owners comments, they work very well.

The main clear visor works on a ratchet and is a quick-release visor. Having a quick release visor on a flip-up helmet is still novel enough to be worth a mention, and in the Strobe’s case it’s LS2s very good ShortShift system.

You’ll notice there’s two round pins on the visor if you look closely at the pics. Usually, they’re locating pins for a Pinlock anti-fog insert, but if you’re used to seeing Pinlock pins, you’ll notice that these are a bit lower down the visor than normal.

That’s because they’re locating pins for LS2’s own version of the Pinlock, the FogFighter. So if you want an anti-fog insert to fit to the rear of your visor to keep it nice and clear, then don’t go looking for a Pinlock for the Strobe and search for a FogFighter instead. They usually sell for £20-£25.

Overall, folks say the main visor is a good un. There’s one or two comments about the cracked open position being too big and letting too much air in. And there were a similar number complaining their visors were too stiff to open (which sounds to me like there was a bad batch of Strobes around towards the beginning of the production run). It looks like it should be sorted now though.

One final note. The Strobe’s main visor is an optically correct visor. That means it should be distortion-free and, again, is something we rarely see in such an entry-level helmet.

Sun Visor

The sun visor is operated by a slider on the bottom left of the helmet. Moving the slider operates the sun visor by a cable and it’s an analogue version – meaning you can part lower the sun visor as well as having it fully down (some are up or down and nothing in between).

As with most sun visors, a few folks say the on fitted to the FF325 Strobe is a bit too light; but that’s normally because there’s a legal limit to how dark a sun visor can be in most countries meaning LS2 have to comply with those regs.

If you live somewhere really sunny, then you’ll probably use the helmet’s sun visor in addition to some sunglasses. Which is fine because the Strobe has glasses grooves to make fitting and wearing glasses much more comfortable.

Again, even though the LS2 FF325 Strobe is an entry level, budget modular, we’ve not really found any short-cuts or cost cutting made by LS2 so far.

Chin Guard

There’s two main points to make about the chin guard on the LS2 Strobe.

First, it’s easy to use. To open it, there’s a single large button underneath the chin guard to press and that’s it. Raising the chin guard couldn’t be simpler.

Second, it should be as safe as they come. You see, when a modular helmet is tested by SHARP, they note how often the chin guard becomes unlocked. And if you read our articles on SHARP testing or our visit to the SHARP testing labs, you’ll know that many flip-front helmets fair badly on this test.

If our records are correct, the lowest score by any modular helmet showed it stayed locked just 17% of the times it was tested (that was an old Marushin M401 btw – a helmet that’s no longer available thankfully!).

So for the LS2 Strobe to score 100% is an excellent performance and means you can be as sure as you can with any modular that the chin guard will stay locked in an accident.

Which is precisely what you expect with a modular right?!

Comfort & Sizing

Overall, owners say the FF325 is a comfortable helmet, though there’s mixed reports on the sizing, so read on.

Most buyers reckon the sizing’s way out. They say the Strobe is smaller than you’d expect – so order one size and in some cases two sizes larger than you’d expect.

But it’s mixed messages as others say the sizing is spot on.

From our research, there’s more people ordering a size above their usual helmet size (or their measured helmet size) and we’d go with that. But make sure you order from a retailer who’ll happily accept returns without quibbling – and preferably from one who’ll pay for the returns (some of our recommended retailers will do this).

The Strobe is designed for intermediate oval shaped heads (that’s most of us) though a few folks with very long heads said it fits them perfectly too.

Inside the LS2 Strobe, the lining is removable and washable and it’s made from breathable and hypo-allergenic fabrics. There’s also a glasses groove in there so fitting and wearing glasses with the Strobe should be comfortable.

There’s lots of comments by owners saying how comfortable their Strobe is so, as long as you get one that fits right with no pressure points, (and don’t forget, having a helmet that fits right should be your number one safety priority when buying a new helmet) then we don’t expect you to have any problems here either.

Looks & Graphics

The LS2 FF325 Strobe probably isn’t going to win any awards for innovative design. But then it wasn’t intended to. It’s designed to appeal to as many riders as possible so LS2 have made a pretty conventional helmet design with some reasonably ‘safe’ graphic options.

If you’re after a high-vis helmet, you’ll find the hi-viz Civik Strobe and there’s also the gloss black and white along with a cool titanium grey Strobe. Apart from these, the Civik comes in black/white and black/blue versions. Finally, there’s a classy solid coloured Strobe wineberry burgandy version around.

For any other design options and to check the latest deals (or just to buy one because they’re such a decent price) visit our recommended retailers by clicking one of the links below. To find out stuff like delivery costs and returns policies, make a note of the retailers mentioned below then click this recommended retailer link for at-a-glance information before buying.

Best places to buy an LS2 Strobe helmet?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Strobe helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

LS2 FF325 Strobe Video

Here’s a video giving you a look around the Strobe from the dude at Competition Accessories in the US.

Other stuff – audio, weight, build quality, chin curtain, warranty

There’s no specific bluetooth communicator designed to work with the Strobe, and it’s worth being aware that a few owners (not to mention the guy in the video above) reckons that the sun visor slider might get in the way of mounting your bluetooth. If you’re planning on mounting one, take a good close look at the pics of the helmet to make sure you think it’ll mount OK before buying.

A medium size LS2 Strobe weighs in at about 1.55Kg (3.4lbs) that’s lighter than the average flip-up helmet so shouldn’t feel too heavy on the bike.

Most owners rate the materials and build quality as being very good. Having said that, I think most take into consideration that the Strobe is a lower-priced helmet so they’re not expecting Arai or Shoei levels of build quality in the first place. They say it feels sturdy and solidly built. There have been a few moans though and it does sound like there was a batch of helmets with quality issues around the comfort lining pulling away and the chin guard and visors becoming stiff and difficult to operate. However, that seems to be resolved now and most owners are surprised at how well built their Strobe feels.

Having said that, many owners report the chin curtain can come off very easily. It is designed to be removable and it does clip back in, but it’s obviously annoying several owners.

LS2 does give a full five years manufacturer’s warranty with the FF325 Strobe though, so if you do have any build-quality problems, you’ve always got that warranty for piece of mind.

Overall/Summary

Well, we set out to find out where LS2 have cut corners with the FF325 Strobe – and we came up empty-handed.

LS2 seem to have made a great helmet with some premium-level features (I’m talking about you, optically correct, quick release visor!) that would shame some helmets at twice the price.

OK so it doesn’t score full marks in the SHARP helmet safety test – though its chin guard does – and OK it doesn’t have the best ventilation on the market.

But apart from these blemishes, it’s a great helmet. That chin guard is super easy to operate (and shouldn’t open in an accident). Fit LS2’s Fog Fighter and the visor should be fog-free. The sun visor is great and the slider makes it really easy to use. It’s also comfortable and has a quick release main visor which many modulars at a much higher price point still lack.

It’s a shame it drops a star or two for safety so we can’t add it to our recommended modular helmets list.

But that’s not to say it’s one to avoid. At this price, the LS2 FF325 Strobe is a great helmet and well worth checking out when you’re in the market for a new flip-up helmet.

Crash Helmet Buying Guides & Top 10s

For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various Motorcycle Helmet Buying Guides - or have a look at our Top 10 best helmet lists where we've got the top 10 best rated helmets overall along with Top 10 Best Budget/Top 10 Safest/Top 10 Best Full Face/Top 10 Best Modular/Flip-up/ Top 10 Best Sportsbike/Track helmets.

Alternatives to the LS2 FF325 Strobe

It’s amazing what you can get for your money these days. The Strobe might be great value, but it’s not alone. So here’s some other modular/flip-up helmets that offer excellent value for money and performance (and of course check out our top 10 flip-up and modular helmets list).

First off, there’s MDS’ MD200. That’s a SHARP 4 star modular helmet with sun visor that’s made by AGV (who know a thing or two about helmets!). It retails for around the same price as the LS2 Strobe too.

We’d always say check out the Caberg Duke – as it’s one of the few SHARP 5 star rated modulars and it comes with a Pinlock anti-fog insert and has a sun visor too. It’s a little bit pricier than the base Strobe though.

In fact, most of the rest are more expensive. There’s the Lazer Paname and the HJC IS Max II – they’re both SHARP 4 star safety rated but their prices start at where the Strobe leaves off. They’re both great helmets though.

Best places to buy an LS2 Strobe?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Strobe helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

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