Is the Schuberth S3 sports/touring helmet worth buying?

Schuberth’s old S2 is a decent sports touring lid, but it’s starting to feel a bit dated.

So, Schuberth has replaced it with the S3, same helmet type but with the goal of updating the design and improving its performance where they can. That means – and I’m paraphrasing the official Schuberth helmet info here – incorporating their latest safety, comfort, aerodynamic and aeroacoustic technology to make the best performing sports touring helmet possible.

Worthy aims of course, so let’s take a look over the Schuberth S3 to find out exactly what it offers and whether you should buy one if you’re looking to buy your next premium sports touring helmet.

• Sports touring full face helmet
• Fibreglass & Carbon fibre construction
• Pinlock 120 antifog included
• Integrated sun visor
• EQRS liner
• ECE 22.06 certified
• Micrometric fastener
• Ready wired for the Schuberth SC2 bluetooth
• Sizes XS-XXXL
• Expect to pay £375-£435 / 435€ – 510€

Best places to buy a Schuberth S3?

Please click below to visit the Schuberth S3 helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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

 (more about helmet safety)

Like pretty well all new helmets post 2023, the Schuberth is ECE 22.06 certified meaning it’s been designed to pass the latest mandatory helmet test for helmets in Europe and Oz.

That’s always a good starting point, though it’s always good to see further test evidence where it’s available.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t yet been SHARP tested (or Snell in the US) so that’s tricky. Until then, all we can really do is look back at previously tested Schuberth helmets to see how they’ve performed in the past.

Doing that, we can see their average score is just over 3/5 stars when tested by SHARP, which is a pretty average.

Their old S2 helmet scored 3/5 stars; their last tested full face helmet – the Schuberth R2 – scored 3/5 stars, while their most recently tested helmet – the Schuberth C4 Pro modular helmet – actually scored 4 stars.

So, if they stick with that trajectory, then you’d expect the Schuberth S3 to score something similar. If/when anyone publishes any test results, we’ll update this article to let you know.

FYI if you’re after a helmet that offers proven protection, then you can check out our Safest Helmets pages where you’ll find a only helmets that scored either 4 or 5 SHARP stars for safety.

Until then, it’s good to see Schuberth including a maximum effectiveness Pinlock 120 antifog insert in the box – along with adding a drop down sun visor. Together, they should keep your vision unimpeded whether it’s mega sunny or cold and rainy.

They’ve also added EQRS emergency quick release cheekpads inside which are there to help paramedics carefully remove helmets from downed bikers, hopefully without exacerbating any injuries. It also helps you more easily pop out the comfort liner if you’re looking to clean it or fit speakers/mics in there.

Schuberth have opted to add the convenience of a micrometric ratchet fastener to secure the S3. If you’re only used to double-d rings, then you may well find them a revelation because they’re so easy to use and – as long as they’re correctly setup – should be as safe as any fastener out there.

Schuberth have long pre-empted the addition of a roll-off test to the 22.06 safety test by adding their anti roll-off system (called AROS) to the strap mechanism. That’s good to see as it’s estimated (from memory) that somewhere around 6% of motorcycle rider fatalities involve the helmet coming off. So anything to help keep the helmet in place has to be a good thing.

The last incarnation of AROS in the S2 had some owners complaining it felt a little uncomfortable. So it’s good to see Schuberth saying they’re modified the system for improved comfort.

And finally while we’re talking about safety, Schuberth make the S3 in two different shell sizes – you’d kinda expect more shells to be used when you’re talking about optimizing a premium helmet for safety, fitment and looks – so two is the minimum they can probably get away with I guess.

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Take a look at our Best Motorbike Helmet Top 10s to find your next helmet too...

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Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

Helmet noise is a biggie for Schuberth and their marketing bumf has always harked on about how they’ve used wind tunnels to help them make quiet helmets.

The only thing is that lots of punters disagree and reckon in practice, they’re not really any quieter than most other helmet brands (click to find the quietest helmets we’ve covered).

True to form, the marketing blurb talks about how quiet the Schuberth S3 is. They say at 100Kmh (62mph) noise levels are 85db when riding a naked bike. In their helmet manual they do go on to say the critical area is to ensure there’s not much wind getting in around the bottom edge of the helmet and to adjust any screen accordingly.

They also say they’ve fitted their usual ‘turbulators’ to the top edge of the visor to break up airflow that can otherwise catch straight edges and cause noise or whistling.

And they provide the usual removable chin curtain to the bottom of the helmet to help stop breeze (and noise) getting into the helmet from below – though they also recommend wearing a scarf (thanks mum!).

We’ve heard from a couple of owners who do say it’s a quiet helmet, but whether that’s reflected by Schuberth S3 owners at large is hard to tell. When we get any further insight, we’ll let you know.

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

Ventilation on the S3 looks pretty well thought out.

Up top, there’s a double forehead vent operated by a single large slider. Push that back and it’ll let air into the helmet, helped by the design of the helmet shell that Schuberth say creates an area of low pressure behind the helmet to actually suck air through the helmet.

Air then exits the helmet through a double exhaust vent at the upper rear of the helmet and another down by the neck roll.

The double vent in the chin bar lets you seperately direct air towards the back of the visor and towards the mouth; the upper tipping panel opens/closes the visor vent while the bottom slider panel opens up the chin vent. Both are nice and large so you can find and easily operate them in gloves.

Interestingly, Schuberth have added a washable filter to the chin bar vent – something you only usually see on dirt helmets. Still, if you’ve ever worn a helmet that lets mashed bugs fire towards your mouth, it might be something you’re keen to invest in!

Visor

(more about visors)

The visor on the Schuberth S3 is a quick-change visor that’s Pinlock-ready. It also comes with Pinlock’s top-rated 120 antifog insert in the box.

Note: you’ll only find Pinlock 120’s available when buying helmets and not available to retro-fit to other helmets. So if having maximum antifog protection on your visor’s an important consideration when buying your next helmet, always go for one that comes with a Pinlock 120 (or 120XLT which is their reformulated, more transparent version) actually in the box. You can find all our Pinlock helmets here and more info about Pinlocks here.

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A couple of useful links…

– Which earplugs to buy –
– Top rated full face helmets –

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You might notice small triangular mouldings along the top edge of the visor. They’re ‘turbulators’, designed to break up the airflow over the rest of the helmet to reduce noise. I’ve never seen a with/without comparison to see whether they work or not but it can’t hurt I guess.

The S3’s visor comes with opening tabs both left and right which is ideal because it lets you open your visor with either hand. It’s surprising how few brands actually do this as it’s mega convenient.

Sun Visor

(more about sun visors)

The sun visor’s a more or less standard type of affair – except for one useful feature. It’s operated the same way many sun visors are by using a slider on the left hand side to drop the sun visor down or retracting it back up into the helmet shell when not in use.

You can’t quite see it on the photos but there’s actually a small lever on the underside of the sun visor slider. That’s usually in the closed position – but push it out and that lets the sun visor drop lower down. That’s a useful feature because one common moan about sun visors is that they don’t drop low enough – I guess to protect people with well endowed noses from having a sun visor plonking straight onto the top of it. Schuberth’s system clevery lets you choose from two positions depending on preference. Good design that.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

Schuberth S3s are available in fitment sizes XS-XXXL, with one helmet shell size covering fitments XS-L and the other XL-XXXL.

The interior has a fully removable and washable liner with EQRS quick-release cheekpads. It’s an intermediate oval fitment so should work for most riders.

If you reckon your helmet fitment needs changing slightly, Schuberth offer something called ‘individual program’ which sounds very grand but seems like it’s just that they’ll swap out the pads in the comfort liner to try and customise the fit a little. It’s only available for helmet sizes M/L/XL too.

There’s also a strange little flap on the comfort liner so you can plug up the internal venting channels in the winter to stop cold air getting through.

Looks & Graphics

The S3 looks like a reasonably typical all rounder helmet but, with the addition of a tiny rear spoiler, it’s definitely got a slightly sporty edge.

You’ll not find any race rep graphics going on though – at the time of writing, there’s the Storm and Daytona graphics along with gloss white and grey and a matt black.

As always, to find any more graphics that have been launched since we wrote this article or to find any deals at our recommended retailers, please check out the links below.

Best places to buy a Schuberth S3 helmet?

Please click below to visit the Schuberth S3 helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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).

Schuberth S3 Video

Here’s a 15m video looking around a Storm graphic Schuberth S3 (video’s set to start after the usual intro nonsense).

Other stuff – bluetooth, weight, aero, warranty etc.

Bluetooth

If you’re after a sports/touring helmet and bluetooth set combo, you should be sorted with the Schuberth S3 as it’s preconfigured to accept Schuberth’s SC2 bluetooth headset. That’s a Sena-developed Schuberth-badged bluetooth headset that Sena trumpets as being a Mesh 2 device.

Mesh devices are the latest type of bluetooth kits and create a resilient network among compatable intercoms. I tried to research Mesh 2 but couldn’t really find anything on the net about it so it seems like it’s just Sena/Schuberth trying to talk up their own mesh bluetooth kits rather than being some concrete new Mesh development (though I could be wrong – please comment below if you know better, thanks!).

If on the other hand you’re looking to mount your own 3rd party bluetooth headset on an S3, it might be a bit tricky given the way the helmet’s moulded and the fact the sun visor slider’s where you might want to mount one. Having said that, where there’s a will there’s usually a way and of course the S3 has speaker pockets ready to accept your speakers.

You might also find our communications ready helmets pages (for helmets that come with speaker pockets) and integrated bluetooth helmets (for helmets designed to work with specific bluetooth kits) useful.

Weight

The Schuberth S3 is quoted as weighing around 1.6Kg (3.5lbs), depending on helmet size. That’s actually a good bit heavier than the outgoing S2 (1.45Kg) and heavier than the average fibreglass helmet (1.5Kg).

At that weight it won’t cause problems of course, just that it’s not a particularly lightweight helmet.

Warranty

Schuberth offer a class leading 5 year warranty on their helmets with is great to see – though you have to register on their website to activate it.

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.

Good Alternatives to the Schuberth S3?

OK, here’s some great performing all rounder helmets you might want to consider.

For a smidge less than the Schuberth S3 is Scorpion’s ST1400 carbon/composite sports touring helmet. SHARP 4 star rated, EQRS, sun visor, Pinlock and 5 year warranty. What’s not to like?

Or how about the cool-looking Simpson Venom? SHARP 4 star safety rated, sun visor, Pinlock and those distinctive Simpson looks. So good, I bought one myself and love it!

Shoei’s NXR2 is their SHARP 5 star safety rated full face all rounder helmet. Comes with a Pinlock, EQRS liner, double-d ring fastener and at 1.4Kg it’s much lighter than the S3.

Finally, for a good chunk less than the S3, Shark’s thermoplastic Skwal is SHARP 4 star, comes with a Pinlock, has a simple micrometric fastener and features rechargeable lights front and rear (ooOOh!)

Best places to buy a Schuberth S3?

Please click below to visit the Schuberth S3 helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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).