Fox invited DBT up to the central coast to showcase their 2018 gear that included some big changes in their hard goods lineup. Hosted at the Saarloos and Sons winery on Monday night, we got a first look at the new colorways and some new products for 2018.
The two new products included an updated V3 helmet featuring MVRS, or Magnetic Visor Retention System, which a few of their top riders like Chad Reed and Ken Roczen have been wearing throughout the year. Some more changes to the V3 helmet is the addition of a medium specific size shell. Previously, Fox would utilize a size large shell but use different padding to provide a smaller fit but they now have a medium sized shell. Lastly, the MIPs equipped helmet has a reduced weight from 2017.
Another new product displayed was Fox’s all new 180 boot. Base off of their already popular Instinct boot, the 180 serves as more cost effective boot while still maintaining performance and comfort. One of the key features include its two buckles with the addition of a unique rubber strap at the top of the boot going around the calf. It retails for $249.
Additionally, although we didn’t get to see it or wear it at the intro, Fox has an all new chest protector in the Airframe Pro Jacket. It is a full upper body suit offering protection for the chest and back, shoulders, and arms/elbows and designed for off-road riding. 
The Flex Air gear also received an updated chassis for 2018. For the pants, the internal liner was removed for reduced weight while the waist system is more rigid for better fit. The knee area has a better fit for both knee braces and guards as well as a 4 way stretch TruMotion material for the main fabric for better mobility. With the jersey, TruDri fabric provides the lightweight material as the main fabric. Also, both the jersey and pant have taped seams to reduce chaffing. In addition, the 360, 180, and Legion gear lines all received updated colorways. 
The next morning, everyone met up at Zaca Station MX to ride some laps in the new gear. Ricky Carmichael, Carey Hart, and Ivan Tedesco were all on hand to ride with everyone and help showcase the different products. After riding in the new V3 MVRS helmet, we never had any problems with the visor being knocked off or altered from any roost which is the biggest concern with this design for most. Although, we have yet to take it off-road riding where we do have some questions with how it will perform. The 180 boot was as comfortable as the Instinct, one of the strongest points of Fox’s top of the line boot. The new upper strap takes a second to learn how to stretch it but once learned it is simple. In use the boot has a lot of padding and feels sturdy for a lower cost boot. It didn’t seem like it will need much break-in time. And after a few laps we quit thinking about it. It does have the rider standing a little taller inside the boot as if we’d raised our footpegs about 5mm.
We’ll be putting more time on this gear and getting back with some product tests.
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