Shark Skwal i3 review | Motorcycle helmet with LED active brake light

Date reviewed: December 2024| Tested by: Phil Kermeen, BikeSocial member | Price: From £279.99 | www.nevis.uk.com

I’ve been using the Shark Skwal i3 for over a year now, covering several thousand miles through the rain and sun on my 2003 Honda VFR800.

This helmet replaces a Skwal 2 lid I’ve owned for almost four years, which was a comfortable, solid helmet so I was intrigued to see if the new brake light feature was any more worthwhile than the original helmet’s LEDs.

How good are the Shark Skwal i3’s lights?

The battery for the Shark Skwal i3’s built-in LEDs is charged using a neatly-fitted USB-C connector, which has its own zip pocket – a big step up from the nastily tucked-away micro-USB cable on the older model.

Charging is simple, with the helmet flashing slowly to show it’s charging. Pressing and holding the power button makes the light flash up to three times to indicate the current charge level. According to Shark a fully charged battery should last about six hours, and while I’ve never run it down completely to test the claim, it seems accurate as after a weeks’ worth of riding the charge level indicated it was low.

The LED lights (white at the front, red at the rear) can be set to be either on solidly, flashing, or off, but all with the brake light function active; an integrated accelerometer detects changes in speed that then triggers the built-in rear lights to flash for around two seconds, making drivers more aware that you’re slowing down.

Does anyone notice the LEDs? I‘ve accidentally left them on flashing before and felt that car drivers had been slightly keener to move over. During a week’s Enhanced Rider Scheme instructor training, I asked the assessor to give his verdict, who told me that, during several hours of daytime riding if I was sitting upright (for example in town) the lights tended to point downwards, so weren’t as visible as they could be.

I also asked my wife to follow me in a car in the daylight and give her opinion. I tried several fierce braking sessions from speed and a few ‘no brake’ maneuverers to see whether the lights would work, and to gauge her reaction to them.

When not using the bike’s brakes and taking some local roundabouts using the gears, the brake light LEDs did come on as I was rolling off the throttle sharply.

On a faster road I accelerated away from the car and then rolled off the throttle sharply again. The lights would come on but not immediately – more towards the end of the point at which the bike was slowing. She described their behaviour as ‘inconsistent’.

In normal riding the lights would come on when I braked, again not immediately and she remarked that the brake lights on the bike were so much brighter than the helmet lights that she would stop looking for the helmet light and just rely upon the bike brake light as it was a better indicator of what the bike was going to do.

She felt at night they may be more useful but was concerned they might distract from the brake lights.

I think it’d be very difficult to prove how much the Skwal i3’s LEDs improve safety, though I know a lot of riders feel that the more attention they can get from drivers, the safer they will be.

Outer Shell

The Shark Skwal i3 is a good-looking helmet with a polycarbonate outer shell that has a less narrow design than its predecessor, which leads to a much more ‘wide screen’ view of the world through the visor.

Plain colours like this start at £279.99, with graphics increasing to between £309.99, and £349.99, depending on the model. Some plain colours are also available with an additional dark smoke visor for £309.99, as are some graphics from around £329.99.

Shark provides a five-year warranty with the ECE 22.06-certified Skwal i3. It’s not been tested by SHARP at the time of writing, though the previous Shark Skwal 2 achieved four stars.

The Skwal 2 (left) with the new helmet

Weight

When I first picked up the newer helmet my thoughts were that it weighed more than the earlier Skwal, however on the scale – at 1,603g – they appear to be pretty much the same. Weight hasn’t been an issue for me when on the move but then I’ve never owned a helmet that’s much heavier, or even much lighter, than this one.

Ventilation

Ventilation on the Shark Skwal i3 is mostly adequate, but reaching and adjusting the levers is a bit more awkward than I’d hope. The top vent is controlled by a single slider directly on the top of the helmet, which I find a little fiddly to catch with the edge of my finger, taking quite a lot of effort to get to slide back.

The chin bar ventilation slider is also stiff to operate, though when open it works okay.

This certainly isn’t the best helmet for ventilation – it’s hard to feel the air moving that much, so if you’re looking for a particularly cooling lid for hot weather, I’d suggest this might not be ideal.

Visor

I’m impressed with the wide field of view from the Skark Skwal i3’s visor, which also comes with a pinlock 70 (the middle-range anti-fog insert) that’s very easy to fit and has proved effective on colder mornings.

Noise from the visor where it meets the helmet is low but does require the central section to be actively clicked into place. Often I’ve pulled the lid down through its five position smooth ratchet mechanism and found that it’s started to get windy and noisy when the visor isn’t fully closed. The tab to close the visor is central, which is usually a good thing as it’s easier to reach with either hand, but I’ve found the lock to be too effective, making it difficult to release.

Removal of the visor for cleaning is straight-forward and it seems to be more robust and of better quality than the earlier Skwal – certainly it’s suffered less from scratches and hazing in general use.

The inbuilt drop-down sun visor is good, with it not catching on my (large-ish) nose, and an improved action over the earlier model. The wider aperture also helps the sunshield in terms of peripheral vision.

The slider that controls the shield has moved from the right of the visor on the old model, to the top of the helmet – I’ve found myself fumbling for it much more as it requires your arm to reach around the top and towards the back of the helmet. You can then catch the vent slider and have to go back to finding the visor slider. When you’re on the move it’s not as easy as it could be.

Lining

The Shark’s lining is plush and feels quite comfortable to the touch, and is fully removable for cleaning.

It’s worth noting though – if you tend to take it out regularly – that to do so requires feeding the USB-C charging cable out of the back of the skull cap insert, which leaves the electronics loose so do be careful not to damage the wiring.

Fastening

The Shark Skwal i3 uses a micrometric ratchet-type fastener that’s easier to use with gloves on than a double-D. The advantage of this type of design is that, once the strap’s been adjusted to suit you, there’s a good range of movement to ensure it’s always properly secure.

Fit

It’s very important to stress here that fit is entirely subjective, but I did find the Shark Skwal i3 to be a far-from ideal shape for me, which is a shame considering the Skwal 2 was great.

The main issues for me is pressure on the front of my head, so do be sure to try any helmet on before buying.

A huge number of riders wear incorrectly-sized helmets, so even if you’ve been riding for many years, it’s worth going to a decent store, trying on several, and getting some advice.

Shark Skwal i3 Noise

I nearly always wear ear plugs but have, in the interests of science, worn the Skawl i3 for short distances without them and found it to be surprisingly quiet. This will depend entirely on your bike, riding position, height and the fit of the lid, and of course, earplugs are essential with ANY helmet over about 40mph.

For more information on why earplugs are vital with any helmet, and advice on which are the best, click here.

Can I fit my own intercom to the Shark Skwal i3?

With no optional integrated intercom system available, it should be easier than on some other helmets to fit your own comms to the Shark Skwal i3. The lining has recesses for speakers, so there should be no issues for most systems.

Alternative to the Shark Skwal i3

Besides some extremely dubious options from Temu (please don’t buy motorcycle helmets from there), I can’t think of any other lids that have built-in LED lights.

If additional illumination is your key reason for considering the Shark Skwal i3, while it doesn’t add any front LEDs, the Brake Free is perhaps worth considering. BikeSocial hasn’t tested it yet, but this USB-C charged devices promises to be extremely bright and features fully wireless brake detection.

You can find all the motorcycle helmets we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Shark Skwal i3 review: Verdict

While I’m not sure the Shark Skwal i3’s LEDs are enough to attract the attention of all car drivers, it seems likely that they’d at least help to make most of them more aware of you, and having rear AND front illumination has to be a benefit. The brake light feature may or may not be valuable as I’m slightly concerned it might distract from the bike’s brake light, but again – if it gets you noticed, that that has to be a good thing.

I’d strongly recommend that – like any helmet – you try the Skwal i3 on before buying as the fit wasn’t as suitable for me, despite getting on fine with the previous Skwal 2.

Ultimately, the i3 is a fairly basic polycarbonate helmet with the cost being taken up in part by the LED lighting, but the £300 price-tag is putting it in the mid-range of a fair few better-ventilated, potentially more comfortable – but LED-free – lids.

If you’ve got a question about this helmet, or you own one and want to tell us about it, join us and many other riders for FREE at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.