Quick Take: The Defend jacket and pants by Fox Racing is the 50-year-old company’s foray into dedicated adventure riding gear after five decades of making gear for motocross riders and OHV enthusiasts. The three tiers of the ADV Collection feature competitive pricing and features, plus some innovation and organization tools that are a step ahead of some competitors. It’s the first time Fox has designed and sold gear for adventure riders, and its long history of making motocross apparel has helped to inform the design and performance of the new line.
Off-road enthusiast and racing apparel maker Fox Racing, a separate but related company to Fox Suspension (aka RideFox), has debuted a line of dedicated apparel for street-legal adventure and dual-sport motorcycle riders. The new “ADV Collection” is the first focused foray into street-oriented gear for the company and targets motorcycle riders who ride bikes in the popular adventure motorcycling and dual-sport categories.
The company supports multiple motocross and supercross racers and teams and has long served dirt bike riders, as well as off-road ATV, UTV/side-by-side vehicle enthusiasts, but has seldom ventured into providing gear specifically for riders of street-legal machines outside of casual wear and other non-riding specific items. Fox Racing, as it is now known, was formed by a physics professor, Geoff Fox, in Southern California in 1974, making 2024 their 50th year of operation.
The new Fox ADV Collection consists of three models: Recon, Defend (as seen in the photos above), and Ranger. Each set includes a riding jacket and pants. Fox says the new gear was developed in cooperation with Gore-Tex and protective riding armor maker D30 to provide superior waterproofing and impact protection as standard features. Fox representatives told me the company has been developing the ADV Collection for at least the past four years.
The middle Defend set I wore for this review runs $699.95 for the jacket and $649.95 for the pants, and the base Ranger jacket goes for $549.95 while the pants are $499.95. The top-tier Recon jacket retails for $949.95, while the pants are $899.95. Buyers can also mix and match as their riding needs dictate. All of the jackets and pants can be worn separately or will zip together, as is common with most adventure motorcycle wear. Each model is available in two colors. I chose to try out the middle-tier Defend model in burnt orange and black, as it seemed the most versatile and best fits my riding style. A more monochromatic street-oriented dark grey is the other color option.
I also wore a pair of $429.95 Fox Motion X Off Road motocross boots, Fox 180 Nuklr Thick socks ($15), and new adventure riding gloves the company is developing. I rounded out the kit with the new Fox V3 RS motocross helmet with Mips Integra protection I recently reviewed, along with some Fox motocross dirt riding goggles that worked with my prescription glasses. For many dual-sport and adventure riders, there is a lot of crossover between motocross and adventure riding gear, so mixing a motocross helmet with ADV togs would not be an uncommon setup. I also installed a Cardo PackTalk Edge comms system into the Fox V3 RS helmet.
Fox Racing was acquired by Revelyst, a subsidiary of Vista Outdoors, in 2023 for $504 million. Fox, Bell, Giro, CamelBak, Camp Chef, Bushnell, and other outdoor, fishing, and hunting-related companies are also under Revelyst’s umbrella, which itself is controlled by Vista Outdoor, a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company that operates dozens of outdoor activity brands. I was invited to try out the gear for a day of riding with other journalists and former world champion motocross racer Ricky Carmichael at an event based out of Fox’s L.A.- area headquarters, which are being renovated under the Revelyst banner.
The relatively long development timeline through the pandemic allowed Fox’s riding apparel designers to look closely at the competition and include expected features as well as some innovations. For example, none of the models in the ADV Collection includes removable waterproof or insulating liners, a common practice among competitors. Instead, Fox built the waterproofing into the gear via their collaboration with Gore-Tex, and then built extensive closeable venting into the jackets and pants for warm-weather riding. Most adventure riders utilize base layers for warmth as needed, so the Fox systems could best be described as three-season kits for spring, summer, and fall riding. Adding a base layer or an electric garment should work for cold-weather riding, and all of the jackets and pants feature adjustment straps and tension bands for customizing the fit as needed.
There were a number of nice touches built into the jacket and pants. The jacket is replete with pockets inside and out, most of which have zipper closures. Inside the jacket, there are dedicated (or at least labeled) pockets for gloves, a phone, a balaclava/stocking cap, snacks, and other bits. A small zipper pocket on the left wrist is a perfect spot for toll money, and most phones fit in it as well. The construction feels robust, with double stitching and a riding-friendly posture cut built-in, much like a set of racing leathers but more relaxed, of course. The Defend pants feature heat and abrasion-resistant inner panels that look like thin leather but are textile, and the hemmable bottoms of the pant legs have wide openings to accommodate large MX-style riding boots, such as the excellent Motion X pair I wore that reach nearly to my knees.
Our pool of motorcycles was mostly made up Triumph models, including the new Tiger 900, along with Honda’s popular Africa Twin, and some KTM options. I opted for an unusual choice but one that I’ve been curious about from some years now: the Triumph Scrambler 1200XE, a retro-style off-road capable machine powered by the 1,200cc P-Twin from the Bonneville street bike line. It also features twin long-travel rear shocks instead of the typical mono-shock on the Tigers and a more traditional/retro gas tank and flat seat. Triumph offers the Scrambler 1200 in two trims, XC and XE, with the XE being more off-road capable by way of longer-travel and adjustable Marzocchi suspension, dedicated off-road riding modes, wire-spoke wheels with DOT-legal knobby tires, hand guards and a bash plate as standard. The Scrambler also had engine protection bars installed. As a serendipitous bonus, the XE Scrambler’s dark orange and black paint scheme matched my new Fox Defend ADV togs (below).
Despite all the recent rain, we were set to ride in more typical sunny SoCal weather, but our early departure hour meant temps were in the low 50s at the start of the ride east towards Lake Elsinore. I zipped up the Defend’s many zippers, and despite wearing just a single long-sleeve base layer in preparation for warmer temperatures in the afternoon and no wind protection to speak of on the Triumph, I was comfortable and warm as our small group of riders began to ascend into the hills east of L.A. on Highway 74, the infamous Ortega Highway. At highway speeds, the wind roar in the MX-specific V3 RS helmet is considerable, but nothing a pair of earplugs couldn’t solve.
After a ripping ride up the Ortega that tested the limits of the surprisingly agile DOT knobbies on the Triumph Scrambler, we came to a stop at the Lookout Roadhouse, a cozy restaurant perched high above Lake Elsinore where we met up with the dirt-riding contingent of our press group. I opted for the road ride (with a detour for some quick dirty fun at an OHV park, below) as I was recovering from a nagging injury and had plans to test the new Fox gear on some much more serious off-road adventures the next week.
Heading west back into Los Angeles, I zipped open all of the venting on the pants and jacket and used the clever small hooks that held the vents open. Despite temperatures in the mid-80s, I remained cool on the ride back – as long as we were moving. Stopping in traffic or poking along on small town roads with no room to pass or split lanes, the heat builds up quickly. Fortunately, Fox included a second front “rally” zipper option that opens a large venting column in the middle of the jacket, which helped cooling to some degree. But like any jacket being worn in hot weather, it got a bit sticky and sweaty if I had to stop for any length of time in the hot California sun.
On balance, the Fox Defend ADV kit was comfortable, flexible, and unobtrusive while riding. When needed, there were plenty of pockets and carry spaces for essentials and a few luxuries, like small cameras and snacks. Also, the Defend (and all of the jacket models) will hold Camelbak hydration systems in the rear armor pocket while also accommodating the armor. Coupled with the Fox V3 RS helmet’s hydration routing loops, I was never far away from a hands-free sip of water while riding.
A week later, I saddled up my DR650 and the Fox Defend kit for another warm ride out in Oregon’s high desert backcountry. Basing out of a small town on the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route (ORBDR), I rode for two days in dusty, high desert heat but stayed relatively comfortable in and out of the saddle as we blasted up tiny jeep trails to the top of Table Rock (below) and navigated barely-there backroads and singletrack near Crack In The Ground. I took one slight tumble while working to navigate out of the trench I’d wandered into, but the jacket and pants emerged unscathed save for a small abrasion. Exhausted, our small group passed on wilderness cooking and headed into tiny Christmas Valley for some hearty meals at the Ranch Hand restaurant.
Overall, I was very happy with the performance of Fox’s Defend ADV kit. For a first try at purpose-built riding gear for both off-road and street-legal riding, it was comfortable, tough, and on the lighter side since it isn’t trying to cover winter riding as well, and opted not to go with liners. Not that it can’t deal with winter cold with a little help from some base layers and perhaps some heated garments. It didn’t rain during my outings, but with the Gore-Tex shell, I have no doubt it would keep me dry in Oregon’s more damp riding seasons, which is most of them. I just lucked out on this round. I also liked the Defend’s color scheme with the Burnt Orange and tan; riders have the option of the dark grey option with the same functionality.
Fox put a lot of time and effort into the features and functionality of the Defend and other ADV Collection kits, and small details like the little hooks for holding open the vents and the small pocket on the left wrist show they’re paying attention to rider qualms with other gear. I felt I made the right pick for my riding style and exposure with the Defend kit; RTW (‘Round The World) riders who need more capability can level up to the Ranger bits while those on a budget looking for their first purpose-built set of riding togs should consider the still-capable and stylish Recon trim.
It’s an impressive debut at a competitive price for a company that’s starting to steer more towards outfitting street riders after decades of dressing motocrossers and OHV users. That experience has certainly been well-utilized in informing the new ADV Collection.
What To Know:
- MODEL: Fox Defend from the Fox ADV Collection
- MATERIALS: Gore-Tex waterproofing, D30 armor. Fox SuperFabric in top Ranger trim
- CERTIFICATIONS: Armor meets EU CE standards
- KEY FEATURES: Gore-Tex waterproofing, extensive venting, tough materials, including armor.