Fox Flux MTB Helmet Review

Finding the right helmet that fits your needs and your head can be a difficult task with all of the different versions and brands on the market today. Fox jumped into the mountain biking helmet scene in 2007 with the Flux. After looking over the Fox’s list of features, I decided to give it a try several months ago.

The stats from the Fox site:

• A deeper rear profile EPS shell offers more comprehensive coverage than a traditional XC helmet.
• In-molding technology molds the outer shell onto the EPS foam. The outer shell covers and protects the EPS from dings and dents, and adds structural integrity with a molded wrap fit.
• Detox retention system.
• Visor and Spoiler.
• 20 strategically placed vents.
• Inset Chin Straps.
• Testing Standards: CPSC, CE: EN 1078, AS/NZS 2063
• $99.95

Fox Flux Helmet – The Good

Price – I found $100.00 US to be very fair. Most of the helmets that I have seen in this category are in the 140.00 range, so the price point of this helmet makes it very appealing.

The Protection – The reason I bought this helmet to begin with was the added protection down the rear of your head. A lot of cross country geared helmets do not cover this important crash zone as much as I would like. This area alone has saved me a couple of times recently in crashes where you either roll or fall over backwards.

Ventilation – The 20 large vents do a great job of letting heat out and fresh air in. I haven’t ever felt like this helmet was too hot and that is in Georgia heat and humidity.

Retention – The Detox retention system can be fine tuned for your head. There are more than enough engagement points, so you never feel like your perfect fit would be between adjustments. I had a huge problem with Bell’s wheel retention system for that very reason. I always felt like my perfect fit was between clicks of the wheel. With the Flux, I do not run into this issue. With a simple action of pushing the two sides together, you are fit and ready to ride.

Style – The helmet looks great on the trail. This might not be important to some riders, but I believe that Fox captured the look of all mountain riding. Some might even say the spoiler increases your down force which gives you more traction (joking)! I personally don’t care for some of the colors available, but that is purely personal preference. I am extremely happy with my black camo version.

Chin Straps – The chin straps are highly adjustable, but more importantly…the mount to the side of the helmet instead of inside of it. This makes the helmet much more comfortable because the straps don’t twist or hit you in the side of the face. This is one aspect of the helmet that I ended up really liking but not noticing until I had some serious ride time on it.

Fit – It fits my head, and that is the most important part. Helmets depend heavily on personal preference and fit. Once I put the Flux on, I knew it was my new favorite. As with any helmet purchase, I suggest you try on as many as possible to find the one that fits your head the best.

Fox Flux Helmet – The Bad

Visor – The visor looks great, but it is not adjustable. I would like to see a few degrees of adjustment so that it doesn’t affect my vision. There have been several times on the trail where I was wishing that I could push the visor up some.

Sizes – I am not sure why Fox did this, but the Flux is only available in s/m and l/xl. In my opinion, that is too large of a range and Fox should have stuck with separate helmets for s, m, l and xl. There is a huge difference between a small and medium head size.

Weight/Size – While I find the weight and overall size of this helmet acceptable, I would not consider this a helmet for a cross country racer, endurance rider or any rider that is heavily focused on cross country styled riding. The Flux is marketed towards the all mountain/recreational crowd and it was not built to please the hammers out there.

Final Thoughts on the Fox Flux Helmet

I have found my new favorite helmet and more importantly, one that fits me perfectly. The Fox Flux incorporated everything that I had been looking for in a helmet but have not been able to find. I needed a helmet that had extra protection but also great ventilation for all day rides. Of course, it also had to be comfortable, so the retention system had to be adjustable enough for different conditions (with and without a sweat band). All of this came together at a price that doesn’t break the bank and also looks great. Until someone else comes out with a product that fills all of these needs better than Fox has…I will be riding with the Flux for a long time. Fox found a winner in the Flux and if local trail heads are any indication of success…Fox is doing very well with the Flux.

Buy A Fox Flux Helmet