Fox Unveils New V3 Helmet
Share
Fox Unveils New V3 Helmet
Tonight, Fox Racing invited members of the media to its Irvine, California, headquarters to learn about and take delivery of the new V3 motocross helmet. The helmet has been in development for quite some time and features several unique design and safety elements that set it drastically apart from any safety helmet the brand has ever offered before. While we won’t get into the complete technical dissertation, we will touch on the key elements that we picked up on. For those of you who are extra interested and want to see everything that we did at the launch, we did broadcast the presentation and powerpoint on YouTube Live. The stream is embedded below…
Key Features of the V3
Fluid Inside
Fox engineers teamed with Fluid Inside, who work in conjunction with Neurotrauma Impact Science Laboratory at the University of Ottowa, a world-class biomechanics research laboratory that focuses on head and brain traumas. Together, they developed the Fluid Inside system that is incorporated inside the new V3 helmet. Seven individual Fluid Inside Pods are located inside the helmet between the EPS and comfort liner, and they are designed to help dissipate the rotational impact transferred to the wearer’s brain in the event of a crash. Each Fluid Inside Pod is designed to mimic the body’s natural protection system for the brain, namely cerebral spinal fluid. Inside each pod is a flexible membrane, compressible foam, and synthetic cerebral spinal fluid. On impact, the pods allow the helmet to rotate and twist on the rider’s head, absorbing the impact of a crash and helping dissipate the rotational forces before they reach the wearer’s brain. Soft to the touch, the Fluid Inside pods feel much like the gel pads on some mouse trackpads.
Varizorb EPS
The Varizorb EPS liner has been utilized by other helmet manufacturers before – namely Kali Protectives and Leatt – and the injection-molded design features a dual-density construction that features cone-shaped “fingers” that allow varying densities of EPS to join together for better distribution of impact forces across a wider area. Specific crumple zones are targeted when the EPS is injected into the helmet’s shell.
CAGE Chin Bar/Eye Port
An injection-molded chin bar and eye port piece is designed to add strength and protection to the V3. We suspect that the two-piece design of the shell and chin bar/eye port is also in part to accommodate the injected Varizorb liner, which enjoys a perfect seal against the inside of the helmet shell, eliminating the small air gap in most traditional helmets between the EOS and shell. We picked the chin bar up and tried our best to tweak it…it’s plenty stout!
MCT (Multi-Composite Technology) Shell Construction
The shell of the V3 consists of several different layers of composite fibers, all of which are strategically located for the perfect blend of strength and impact absorption in strategic areas throughout the shell. Furthermore, there are four different shell sizes and EPS liner sizes in the V3 line, ensuring a perfect fit.
The venting ports in the chinbar and throughout the helmet, meanwhile, are lined with injection-molded mesh, which is quite sturdy and guards against roost and penetration. The entire helmet is extremely vented, and the data we saw tonight showed that it flows massive amounts of air.
Got Questions?
Tomorrow, we will join Fox at Fox Raceway for our first day of riding in the new V3. While we’re there, we plan to interview some of the designers and marketing specialists about the new helmet. Have questions about it? We invite you to comment on our Instagram @swapmotolive on the V3 helmet post and we will include the serious questions in our video interview!
Stay tuned for our first impressions of the new helmet tomorrow!
