18K Aviators

The 18K Aviators are headgear in the Splatoon series.

In Splatoon, they are a 3-star item produced by Rockenberg and come with the primary ability Last-Ditch Effort. They can be purchased from Cooler Heads for  12,000.

In Splatoon 2, they are a 3-star item produced by Rockenberg and come with the primary ability Last-Ditch Effort. They can be purchased from Headspace for  12,000 or from SplatNet 2 Gear Shop for  18,000.

In Splatoon 3, they are a 3-star item produced by Rockenberg and come with the primary ability Last-Ditch Effort. They can be purchased from Naut Couture for  12,000 or from SplatNet 3 Shop for  18,000.

Appearance

The 18K Aviators are a pair of aviator sunglasses with shiny, gold-colored frames and dark brown lenses that fade from nearly opaque at the top to semi-transparent at the bottom. On the bottom of the left lens is the Inkling text from the Rockenberg logo in white. They are the only glasses in Splatoon to have nose pieces.

Splatoon

Abilities

The 18K Aviators come with Last-Ditch Effort as the primary ability, which, being exclusive to the main slot of Headgear, prevents the wearer from also having Comeback, Opening Gambit, or Tenacity. As a 3-star item, the 18K Aviators come with three additional slots for secondary abilities. Since they are made by the Rockenberg gear brand, they have a higher chance of rolling Run Speed Up and a lower chance of rolling Swim Speed Up to fill their secondary ability slots.

Splatoon 2

Abilities

The 18K Aviators come with Last-Ditch Effort as the primary ability when purchased from a shop or ordered from Murch, which, being exclusive to the main slot of Headgear, prevents the wearer from also having Comeback, Opening Gambit, or Tenacity. When purchased from SplatNet 2, they come with any other primary ability normally available to Headgear. As a 3-star item, the 18K Aviators come with three additional slots for secondary abilities. Since they are made by the Rockenberg gear brand, they have a higher chance of rolling Run Speed Up and a lower chance of rolling Swim Speed Up to fill their secondary ability slots.

Splatoon 3

The 18K Aviators appeared in a Twitter post showcasing various shooter-class weapons on 2 May 2022.

Abilities

The 18K Aviators come with Last-Ditch Effort as the primary ability when purchased from a shop or ordered from Murch, which, being exclusive to the main slot of Headgear, prevents the wearer from also having Comeback, Opening Gambit, or Tenacity. When purchased from SplatNet 3, they come with any other primary ability normally available to Headgear. The 18K Aviators may appear as a 0-star item with one additional slot for secondary abilities, a 1-star item with two additional slots for secondary abilities, or a 2-star item with three additional slots for secondary abilities. The star level may be increased with Super Sea Snails for 1 (first), 1 (second), 5 (third), 10 (fourth), or 20 (fifth) Super Sea Snails per star, or by purchasing additional copies of them from Naut Couture for 10,000 (first), 30,000 (second), 50,000 (third), 100,000 (fourth), or 200,000 (fifth) Cash per star. Increasing the star level beyond 2 stars will increase the gear experience gained by a cumulative 3.333…% up to 10% additional experience at 5-star level. Since they are made by the Rockenberg gear brand, they have a higher chance of rolling Run Speed Up and a lower chance of rolling Swim Speed Up to fill their secondary ability slots.

Gallery

• File:18K Aviators.png

  A male Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• File:NewGearWithAerospray.jpg

  Another male Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators, wielding an Aerospray RG

• File:18k aviators + black inky rider + squink wingtips.png

  A female Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• File:18k aviators + black inky rider + squink wingtips back.png

  Back view

• File:18k aviators + cycle king jersey + red work boots.png

  Another female Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators, holding an Inkbrush

• File:18k aviators closeup.png

  Closeup of a female Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• 

  Official art of an Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators, holding a Heavy Splatling Deco

• File:18K aviators + shirt and tie + black norimaki 750s.jpg

  A male Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• 

  An Octoling (far right) wearing the 18K Aviators in a promo for Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion

• File:S2 18K Aviators Close Up.png

  A closeup of the 18K Aviators

• File:Gherk-OUT Inkling.jpg

  A female Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• File:Hairstyle S2 spikehawk.jpg

  A male Inkling wearing the 18K Aviators

• File:18K Aviators front.png

  Front view

• File:18K Aviators side.png

  Side view

• File:Inklings and Octolings With Shooter Weapons.jpeg

  The Octoling wielding the N-ZAP '85 wears the 18K Aviators

Trivia

• The "18K" in the name refers to 18-karat gold, suggesting that the gold-colored frames may be actual gold.
• At 12,000 cash, the 18K Aviators are the most expensive piece of gear with Last-Ditch Effort and most expensive piece of headgear in the game. They are tied with the Varsity Jacket and Blue Moto Boots for the most expensive gear overall, and Blue Moto Boots for most expensive Rockenberg gear.
• The glasses seen on Octocommanders look very similar to the 18K Aviators.