Fox Airspace X goggles review

Fox’s Airspace X goggles pack in plenty of features – such as a dual-pane lens and an outrigger design – for a reasonable £69.99 price tag.

The lens, which uses two bits of Lexan polycarbonate separated by foam to create ‘double glazing' in layman’s terms, has a curved, flexible design.

Included is a second clear lens, and a soft goggle bag and lens wipe.

Thanks to Fox’s Variable Lens System (VLS), both standard, flexible lenses and rigid injection-moulded models can be used with the Airspace X mountain bike goggles. They attach to the frames using a traditional push-fit design.

Replacement lenses retail from £9.99 to £42.99.

Using injection moulding, the frame’s size is claimed to offer “unparalleled peripheral vision”.

Fleece-backed three-layer foam is designed to absorb sweat. There’s a removable nose guard and they’re tear-off ready, too.

The adjustable 45mm-wide strap, with a silicone bead to stop it slipping, is attached to the frame’s outriggers.

Weighing only 169g, the Airspace X goggles are impressively light.

Fox Airspace X performance

While the double-glazing lens design is impressive at preventing fogging in harsh conditions, even with very little air flow – such as when you’re stationary at a trailhead – it’s not faultless.

In low-light conditions, there’s plenty of clarity, with undistorted optics and good definition.

However, look at a light source, whether that’s a back-lit bike computer, ebike display or natural light, and the dual-pane design tends to reflect light between its sections. This creates a slightly confusing reflective hologram of whatever you’re looking at.

Using the included single-glazed lens fixed this issue, but it’s more prone to fogging than the double-glazed version.

The Airspace goggles are very comfortable, helped by their curved, relatively stiff shape that doesn’t squash or deform as the strap is pulled tight, helping reduce nose pinching.

The strap doesn’t need to be tightened significantly for a secure fit; the goggles cup your face well, not bouncing, vibrating or moving even on very rough terrain.

Creating a good seal, air, water and other debris can’t enter their interior.

While the size of the frame means they fit comfortably in full-face mountain bike helmets such as Bell’s Full-9 and MET’s Parachute MCR and work well with open-face options such as the Troy Lee Designs A1 and A2, their internal depth is quite shallow.

The frame edges and the foam separator in the lens can be seen in your peripheral vision, becoming distracting.

Once again, the single-glazed lens, which forgoes the foam separator, reduces this problem. Overall, they could have a wider view port, given the frame size.

The traditional push-fit lens tabs make removal easy, but installation is trickier.

Plenty of manipulation of both frame and the lens is needed to get it fitted, resulting in lots of greasy fingerprints and smudges on both its exterior and interior.

Fox Airspace X bottom line

Good looks, a comfortable fit and impressive fog resistance are the Airpsace X goggles' standout features, all for a reasonable price.

While the lens optics are good in most conditions, some light sources bounce off the double-glazed design, creating distracting reflections or holograms.

Using the single-glazed model included fixes the glare, but it’s more prone to fogging up.