Ultra-strong Dyneema and techy Polartec fabrics lead the Fox Flexair Pro line, which landed in July with men’s and women’s jerseys, pants, and gloves for trail riding. Fox said the design relies on a slim fit built “to work as one with your body.” To do it, the brand included various cooling panels and anti-abrasion material choices in strategic areas.
The Fox Flexair Pro jersey, for instance, gets a Polartec Delta front panel to help keep riders cool. Delta works by creating loft around points where the material contacts your skin, which it says increases airflow, makes moisture disperse faster, and reduces cling when the fabric’s wet.
The jersey also gets Dyneema shoulders. Used primarily as a high-strength, low-weight fiber for climbing gear, Dyneema helps the jersey stand up to brush-by on trails without making the shirt heavier. The sleeves are Carvico, which is a recycled polyester/elastane fiber made in Italy that exhibits UV protection, two-way stretch, and a highly smooth surface. It also vents well, Fox said, which is part of the reason it chose the fiber for the Flexair Pro line. Body-mapped laser cut perforations add to the jersey’s venting characteristics.
Flexair Pro pants, meanwhile, get Fox’s proprietary TruDri fabric, which the brand says it designed to wick away sweat during rides. The pants stretch four ways thanks to Fox’s TruMotion fabric. Finally, Dyneema knees and legs and body-mapped perforations perform similar functions on the pants as on the jersey.
The gloves might be the coolest part of the lineup — Dyneema knuckles should make them unusually tough through tight trail corridors, but D3O impact protection elsewhere makes the Flexair Pro gloves stand out. The company designs impact solutions for MotoGP, martial arts, skydiving, and more. Flexair Pro gloves get D3O touches on the outer knuckles to dampen rattle. Finally, Fox uses Clarino microfiber for the palm. A Japanese material, Clarino approximates leather by imitating the collagen patterns found in natural hide fibers.
It’s all live now, courtesy of Fox.
