X-Lite X-803 RS Ultra Carbon

The X-Lite X-803 RS Ultra Carbon Full-Face Helmet is the new racing helmet from racing oriented brand X-Lite. It is an upgrade of the X-Lite X-803 Ultra Carbon Full Face helmet. It is not an entirely new model, but more of a upgrade. Some differences are more visible than other. This helmet is a premium race helmet made for people that want the absolute best of the best. It competes against other high-end racing helmets such as the AGV Pista GP RR, Shoei X-SPR Pro, Bell Race Star DLX, Shark Race-R Pro GP, Scorpion EXO-R1 EVO Carbon, Roof RO200 Carbon, Icon Airframe Pro, HJC RPHA 1 and the Arai RX-7V Evo

Shell

The shell is made of carbon. A great advantage of carbon is that you need less material to reach the same strength as glass fiber. This results in a very lightweight shell. Another nice feature is the aerodynamics of this helmet. It was tested in a wind tunnel, which is a characteristic of a quality helmet.  One of the biggest difference between the X803 and the X-Lite X-803 Ultra Carbont is the large spoiler in the rear, which’ll provide stability at higher speeds. This spoiler is also removable and can be replaced by the smaller spoiler which you will find in the box as well. This makes the helmet versatile. You can also see that the chin has been made longer to give you more space and comfort. This helmet comes in 3 shell sizes. This is okay but you can see that its competitors have 4 shell sizes. The more shell sizes, the more compact the helmet is. Suppose you have a size L, then you will have the same shell size as a size XXL which isn’t too great. Only the inner lining is different. Mid-Range helmets usually come in 3 or even 2 shell sizes.

Ventilation

For ventilation, you’re getting similar options to the previous X-lite helmets. So, you’ve got an adjustable vent in the chin and the brow. When you ride, the brow vents on the  X-Lite X-803 Ultra Carbon really enable you to feel the cool wind on the forehead which is very comfortable. You’re also getting two more adjustable vents at the top of the head. If we look in the back, then you can see the air come out the exhausts in the back there.

Aerodynamics

The aerodynamics of this helmet is very-high end. The helmet was tested in a wind tunnel. And you can really feel this when wearing the helmet. The deep channels in the EPS shell carry a lot of cool air into the shell and extract the warm air via the spoiler at the back. Adding the smaller spoiler in the box gives you the possibility to ride in a Sport-Touring position. So the X-lite X803 RS Ultra Carbon gives you some good versatility here. The liner will also help out a little bit there.

Visor

The visor for the X-Lite X-803 Ultra Carbon is actually giving you some great options there. It’s wide and it’ll give you a wide field of view, but it the helmet also comes with a dark Smoke visor in the box, even though it’s called a green visor, as well as being pinlock prepared and in the box, so you can already get kitted out for sunny weather and you can prevent any potential fogginess. However, and this is very unfortunate, the dark smoke visor is not ECE rated because it doesn’t transmit enough light, so this is really only good for bright weather. You’ve also got a nose guard here to help prevent fogging up the visor with the breath and it gives a cool looking helmet.

Inner Liner

The liner on this helmet also looks and feels very nice. It’s made of X-Lite’s “Carbon fitting racing experience comfort inner padding”, clearly X-Lite likes to go for the more descriptive in terms of naming conventions. But this liner is very comfortable, it’s soft, and it has carbon filaments which are meant to help with temperature control and preventing static. I’m not sure how much of this really makes a difference, but avoiding helmet hair doesn’t sound so bad. In addition to this, the liner is also removable and washable. The liner is adjustable, to give better fit across a range of different head shapes.