Alexandria Brown, or Dria to those who know her, is an Ohio firefighter, founder of the group Female Firefighters of Ohio, and avid (and successful) Firefighter Challenge competitor.   

She’s worn AeroFlex during training and competitions, performing intense workouts that put the breathability of the gear to the test. “The gear has been great,” she says. “The best thing about it is how light and breathable it is. Compared to other gear, I am training longer and I am not as fatigued when I am done just because it is lighter and I am not getting as hot.”  

Dria says that she is “kind of a nerd” about tracking vital statistics during training, including measuring her heart rate when wearing gear and then how long it stays at that rate. “A lot of the workouts or training that I do my heart rate will get high and I will keep the gear on just to see how I respond to it. In the gear prior I felt like I could not recover so I would have to take the gear off; whereas in Fire-Dex gear, I can feel my heart rate come down and I can recover while wearing it, so that is a huge difference in my eyes.”  

As far as durability and usefulness is concerned, she says it felt great right out of the box and has continued to perform after multiple washes and a lot of intense training.   

“Gear typically when you get it’s super stiff and you feel like you are walking around in a cardboard box, where this one I felt like there was a very minimal break in period. I have put it through a lot, like I am on the ground dragging stuff, using the knee pads and there are no holes in it and nothing's tearing.”  

She adds that because of the knee pads, you “definitely can take it through search and rescue and you are not going to wake up the next day with your knees hurting.”  

Much of her training is preparation for competing in the firefighter challenge, a series of firefighter tasks that train for real-world scenarios in bunker gear. That means she’s worn AeroFlex for everything from hoisting tools, climbing steps, dummy drags, and much more.   

She says that AeroFlex lets her do the job better. “I am able to squat down lower, I am able to pick the dummy up without my gear getting caught on certain things.” In other gear, she “cannot always get a good grip on the dummy because maybe my gear is more limiting.”  

It’s not just the lightness and breathability of AeroFlex that have made an impact. She says the fit also makes a big difference, adding that it also increases how protected she feels. When carrying hoses, “the gear does not ride up and the pants actually come up high enough so no air that gets in there. So like if we are in a heated setting I’m not worried about my gear coming up too high and hot air getting in there.”  

Part of the design process for AeroFlex was to go back to the drawing board and design gear specifically for different body types. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, AeroFlex can be tailored to accommodate wider hips or narrower shoulders or anything in between. Gone are the days of overly bulky gear or pants that don’t fit over waists.  

A good fit means a lot to Dria. “Not only do I like the features and obviously the things that I have I have mentioned,” she says, “but I am I am more adamant about getting gear especially for maybe smaller people or people who are just built different.”  

She says firefighters shouldn’t have to settle for ill-fitting gear. “I am very adamant about ‘hey make sure your department is fitting you appropriately,’ look into the gear.”    

After a lot of experience wearing her gear across challenges, “I have a better idea of what I should be looking for in gear, so I definitely I recommend Fire-Dex. I was shown through Fire-Dex what it is like to be sized appropriately and what it is like to get gear that works for you and is functional so absolutely I recommend it.”