After 3 years of use, I retired my trusted helmet today, which served me well over roughly 19,000 Kms (I had this back when I had my Ather as well). It was in essence, a rebranded Axor Rage, sold by Royal Enfield as the 'Street Prime' which was one of the few entry-level ECE 22.05 certified helmets at the time. Whilst it may not look like it in the picture, it is pretty nicked all over (No Major Crashes)
My knowledge of helmets, (what little I have) since then has evolved quite a bit since then, and with the introduction of the ECE 22.06 standard, almost 20 years since the erstwhile 22.05, coupled with observations I made whilst touring, I knew it would make sense for me to upgrade my helmet now.
Observation 1: A pinlock lens is significantly more useful than any of the generic stick-on anti-fog mechanisms
Observation 2: An internal Sun visor is an absolute must for someone like me who will use the helmet every day, leaving when the sun is out and returning when the moon is out.
Observation 3: I really need a quieter helmet for touring, but not at the complete cost of ventilation
Observation 4: A D Ring System may be more fiddly, but safety is paramount
The main contenders were the LS2 Storm II and the MT Thunder 4 SV. Long story short, and I chose the former purely because it made a lot more sense in terms of cost. The MT, priced at 12950, didn't have a D Ring Setup, which I was willing to overlook, but where it got me was the lack of an included Pinlock!
The Visor Fogging up had been one of my biggest gripes since the start, and a Pinlock 70 and above was an absolute must for me. The LS2 includes this in the box, and certain variants of the Storm II, include D Ring Straps as well.
IMPORTANT: There is a sizing variation between the Storm and the Storm II, which I discovered the hard way. This is only apparent when both are kept next to each other. LS2 still has the same old size guide on their website, which sizes are also printed onto the back of the helmet. My head's circumference is a little over 57cms (Under 58cms), meaning that a Medium should fit me fine. A Gloss Black helmet was procured in this size which I happily took home. When I say happily, that was for 30 minutes. I'd tested the helmet for about 20 minutes at the store, checking for pressure points and whatnot already. However after 45 minutes of riding, it gave me a splitting headache, not concentrated on a single point but in general. This may have something to do with the fact that the LS2 is slightly more oval in shape, but a medium was just not happening.
Luckily since I had the tags and whatnot I was able to return the helmet for a different size. We discovered the sizing difference when I tried the Storm and the Storm II back to back, wherein the latter was much more compact. For my head, only the XL Size (

) was properly snug on the cheek whilst having minimal pressure on the forehead, whilst not being loose. This is why I strongly urge everyone to try out the helmets before purchasing them and avoiding an online purchase.
However, this shade of grey looks absolutely stunning in person I must say. The shade is called "Jeans Titanium Gloss" and looks like a smoked nardo grey in person. Coming from a person who wears all black all the time, this looks better
I've been using the Bluarmor c30 for about 2,000 Kms now, will drop a long term review later on
I don't want to get into a detailed review as multiple others, such as @neil.jericho have left detailed reviews of the Storm. The chin vent mechanism is a lot smoother to operate now though, which I believe was an issue earlier. The helmet is additionally ISI certified (Not a Sticker, its under the paint) which is great!
The Ventilation is excellent and the noise is much better contained (But not completely quiet). The inner fabric padding is super thick and of excellent quality. The paint quality is top-notch, and as Neil mentioned, this visor is absolutely beautiful. Crystal Clear, to say the least. The only gripe I have is that the internal sun visor does not completely lower to be flush with the breath deflector, meaning there is a small gap where regular light can be seen at the bottom, which is a little disconcerting.
I do have some sentimental attachment to my first helmet, which is why I decided to keep it and procure an additional helmet to stand for it. Here's both of them together!
Aditya at Rally Motorsports, Whitefield, Bengaluru, was really patient and helpful throughout! Really grateful to him for this.
Overall, I'm stoked with my purchase and pray for many more happy and safe miles with this lid!
