Fox Racing Youth Airframe Chest Guard

For the past few years, clothing and protection companies have pushed aggressively towards comfier products, lighter fabrics, better breathability and an emphasis on range of motion. In one phrase we could describe this line of thinking as “wear it without it being noticed.” Fox sent us a new protection product aiming to add options to the menu and score high marks in this category, but did they get the recipe right? Fighting out of the green corner, this is the Airframe Chest Guard.

Fox Racing Airframe Chest Guard Highlights

• Lightweight, low-profile design built to conform to body 
• CE Level 1 Koroyd chest and back inserts for impact protection, breathability, and flexibility 
• Adjustable shoulder straps and waistband with fast-action buckles for secure and easy adjustments 
• Removable collarbone and upper chest pads for added coverage 
• CE EN 1621-2 LEVEL 1 certified full back protection 
• CE prEN 1621-3 LEVEL 1 certified chest protection (in process of certification)
• Made from: 30% nylon, 30% polyester, 30% EVA, 10% elastane
• Weight: 1054 grams (size L/XL, verified)
• MSRP: $194.95 USD

Initial Impressions

The Airframe is well made, and gives a certain “futuristic” impression as you pull it out of the box – perhaps exacerbated by the bright neon green of the Koroyd inserts. The Airframe is sold as a “Chest Guard” both for moto and MTB use, so in addition to the usual back protector it features the same type of insert across the chest area as well. These inserts were designed to be able to flex in any direction without losing shape or protective abilities. They can both be removed when washing the guard.

The Airframe is well made, featuring a mix of materials strategically placed with comfort and breathability in mind. There are two adjustable straps along the sides, and two Velcro straps over the shoulders (these would prove to be too stiff and bulky for our liking, more on that later). There is a small extra piece of protection for the collarbone and top of the chest area, which is more useful when running the Airframe as a moto roost guard – we opted to remove it for our strictly MTB-only testing.

On The Trail

The fabrics and materials of the Airframe are quite smooth and soft on the skin, and we had no problems whatsoever when we wore it as the first layer under the jersey - no chafing or red marks were detected. This is high praise as this tester tends to have very sensitive skin, some would even go so far as to put him in the “princess and the pea” category. However, from the first try out of the box, we scratched our heads as to why Fox used shoulder straps that are quite narrow and very stiff. There is no flexibility to them at all, so they always end up in a slightly awkward position which is rather unbecoming of the guard as a whole. Other than that, the Airframe is easy to set up and adjust to a good fit (we tested the size L/XL which was perfect for our 6'0" (1.83m), 180 pounds (82kg) tester).

In action, the Airframe feels light on the body and sits nice and tight around the lower chest and rib area. It does not move in an unwanted manner, but it is still dynamic enough to allow for easy breathing and gymnastics on the bike. Compared to other flexible guards that we’ve tested, the Airframe is pliable from the get-go and does not need any time to get warmed up before softening up. We’re sorry to say we stopped short of hitting our interval sessions wearing the Airframe, but it was still comfortable on long rides where it did not interfere with our breathing, comfort, or ability to move around. The ventilation was a bit of a let-down however, as the two layers of fabric surrounding the Koroyd inserts seem to trap air between them, causing a bit of an insulating effect which left us feeling the heat more than we expected to when we first laid eyes on the design of the Airframe.

In terms of protection, we are pleased to report that we have managed to avoid any huge crashes while wearing the Airframe. The inserts are both certified to level 1 (technically, the chest insert is still listed as “prEN”, which means it is in the process of completing the full certification process). This should translate to good protection in a crash, although we wouldn’t mind seeing Fox move to level 2 to keep up with certain other alternatives in the market currently. As for the design itself, the main areas are well protected but the Airframe does stop short of covering a couple of ribs, something to keep in mind if full coverage is what you are after.

Things That Could Be Improved

The stiff shoulder straps are a noticeable miss in the whole “second skin” approach, we would like them to be longer, wider and way more flexible. Other than facilitating an even better range of motion, this would place the side straps a bit lower on the body and allow the Airframe to have a better overall fit under the jersey. We also have our aforementioned suspicion that the dual layers of fabric over the Koroyd panels are trapping heat. We would get rid of the outer layer in favor of better ventilation and perhaps turning the chest insert into Fox’s own version of a skid plate.

We also feel like the straps on the sides risk coming loose in not a long time. They have a rather bulky loop adjuster, we would ditch it in favor of a sleeker design (Fox could even forego one of the buckles to further slim down the profile in this area).

Long Term Durability

We did not have the opportunity to use the Airframe for a full duration of a summer in the park, but after a number of rides at home we have not found any noticeable signs of wear and tear at this point. As mentioned in the previous section, the straps on the side do feel like they have the potential to loosen over time, but this has not actually happened at this point.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Fox managed to stir in some good ingredients in the pot, but a few spices that are out of context prevent the Airframe from being a Michelin-star dish. The protector is comfy on the body overall, but lacks some flexibility in certain areas. We’d love to see an improved version with better straps and a bit more coverage around the lower body, that would make it a great product for all uses in mountain biking. It definitely has the potential for a homerun, with excellent fabrics and materials and a cool overall design language. If it fits you well, it is still a good choice for the bike park as it currently stands.

For more information head on over to foxracing.com.

About The Tester

Yonatan Yatom - Age: 31 // Years Riding MTB: 19 // Height :6'0" (1.83m) // Weight: 180 pounds (82kg)

Yonatan is a born racer and a bike addict. As a true competitor the only thing on his mind when lining up in the start gate is the finish line. With a background in local enduro and DH races and even the occasional appearance in an Enduro World Series on his resume, Yonatan has more recently also applied himself to building bigger legs and trying his luck racing XC as well. Throughout the week he’ll be manning the spanners at the bike shop, reading about new stuff on the internet, and thinking about how to improve everything he rides. Yonatan’s riding style is fully pinned, smooth, and quiet but he can be nasty to his bike when needed.

Photos by Johan Hjord