Found here, not sure wtf either. http://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-really-cost-all-in-to-participate-in-the-Dakar
Is Klim gear worth the price?
- Thread starter jc100
- Start date
Found here, not sure wtf either. http://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-really-cost-all-in-to-participate-in-the-Dakar
Alamode
Well-known member
I've been wearing a Klim latitude jacket for 2 years, and the Misano (basically latitude 2.0) pants for 1, and I've been extremely happy with the set. A few thoughts:
- They don't have liners or comfort layers, as the expectation is that you'll wear your own layers underneath.
- The waterproofing works brilliantly; I've stayed dry during nasty cloud bursts riding across the plains, and in the long steady rains in BC.
- The Latitude is chunky and doesn't articulate as well as the Misano, due to the heavier Cordura. I've had one fairly serious get-off in this gear that left me uninjured, and the gear unscathed. D3O armour is the ****; I forget that it's there except on really cold days where it takes longer to soften up.
- It wont fit as snug as a set of leathers, so you are more likely to sustain some minor injuries from the material twisting and moving on you as you slide. There's a lot of provision for adjustment so you can make it as tight as possible, but you'll never achieve that 'second skin' effect that you get from leathers.
- They use a European cut so the gear is better fit to folks on the leaner side.
- It's pretty warm. The jacket vents that work very well on the arms, back and under-arms, but there is no direct chest ventilation so it can get pretty warm. The pants have vents on the sides of the hips, so if you're behind a fairing, even a relatively small VFR fairing, they don't offer a ton of air flow. I expect being upright, or standing would offer much more.
- it's not sexy. I was told by a random woman while on the road, so it must be true.
Hope this helps!
- They don't have liners or comfort layers, as the expectation is that you'll wear your own layers underneath.
- The waterproofing works brilliantly; I've stayed dry during nasty cloud bursts riding across the plains, and in the long steady rains in BC.
- The Latitude is chunky and doesn't articulate as well as the Misano, due to the heavier Cordura. I've had one fairly serious get-off in this gear that left me uninjured, and the gear unscathed. D3O armour is the ****; I forget that it's there except on really cold days where it takes longer to soften up.
- It wont fit as snug as a set of leathers, so you are more likely to sustain some minor injuries from the material twisting and moving on you as you slide. There's a lot of provision for adjustment so you can make it as tight as possible, but you'll never achieve that 'second skin' effect that you get from leathers.
- They use a European cut so the gear is better fit to folks on the leaner side.
- It's pretty warm. The jacket vents that work very well on the arms, back and under-arms, but there is no direct chest ventilation so it can get pretty warm. The pants have vents on the sides of the hips, so if you're behind a fairing, even a relatively small VFR fairing, they don't offer a ton of air flow. I expect being upright, or standing would offer much more.
- it's not sexy. I was told by a random woman while on the road, so it must be true.
Hope this helps!
triniboy27
Well-known member
There's an ongoing thread about it in ADVrider but you might also want to check out Aether's new Expedition jacket and pants. Styling's a bit more subdued than Klim.
I check that thread frequently but I wanted to see what Canadians thought about it as we have a climate that easily spans 30 C if not more at times with wild swings in humidity too. I'm more or less sure that this would be a good purchase. Need to have a look at sizing and also sell some of my crap to fund this!
I just got back from a 10 day trip down to Georgia and I'm on the sport side of sport touring so I wear leather. I have a Powerlet jacket liner that I plug in for heat if needed and it works well under the leather but the rain is another issue. I use waterproof rain gear to keep the leather dry but it's a royal pain to put it on and take it off depending on what the sky looks like it's about to do. This trip had lots of changes it weather and we went in and out of rain several time a day sometimes so it became frustrating. I own a Rev'It Sand suit that I don't use because it doesn't provide the protection of leather and the waterproof liner is as much of a pain as outer rain gear.
So, I've been looking at a new sport touring suit and want something more road oriented that most of the Gore Tex shell adventure suits. Rukka is nice but I cannot justify the price. Klim has just come out with the Apex jacket which seems to fit the bill perfectly for me. It's a shorter sport cut, has great armour, waterproof shell, and leather in the impact zones. I'm sure it would be great over my heated liner in cold weather and ventilates well for the hot times.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-apex-jacket
I'm thinking of matching it up with Klim Latitude pants.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-latitude-pants
I just dream of not having to pack rain gear, a mesh jacket, and have to stop to change 5 times a day.
So, I've been looking at a new sport touring suit and want something more road oriented that most of the Gore Tex shell adventure suits. Rukka is nice but I cannot justify the price. Klim has just come out with the Apex jacket which seems to fit the bill perfectly for me. It's a shorter sport cut, has great armour, waterproof shell, and leather in the impact zones. I'm sure it would be great over my heated liner in cold weather and ventilates well for the hot times.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-apex-jacket
I'm thinking of matching it up with Klim Latitude pants.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-latitude-pants
I just dream of not having to pack rain gear, a mesh jacket, and have to stop to change 5 times a day.
Klim makes an excellent product, but as with any decision you'll have to decide how much it's worth to you. Both Held and Stadler Pro-shells have Gore-Tex laminated to the outer shell, preventing the water from getting in in the first place. With an inner removable liner, the water will get in eventually, but the liner can be removed for more active riding styles. There's a trade-off for either style. At some point your decision will come down to costs vs. benefits and what features you are willing to give up to save whatever number makes sense to you.
http://www.stadler-bekleidung.de/index.php/home-en.html
http://www.held.de/1-1-Home.html
http://www.stadler-bekleidung.de/index.php/home-en.html
http://www.held.de/1-1-Home.html
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I left Williamsport PA yesterday at 7 AM and it was 5 degrees. About an hour later I was on Hwy 15 in PA and the temp was down to 1 degree in the mountains. A bit after noon I was on the QEW through Burlington and the thermometer was reading 29. Crazy.
defeater905
Well-known member
I am a new rider, my first day on my bike I took a trip to my local shop to get some pants. I was looking at the jeans with kevlar in them. I ended up getting a pair of Klim K Fifty 1 jeans. Spent more than I wanted too at the time, but these jeans make the competition (the ones they had at that store anyways) seem like flimsy regular jeans that would offer minimal protection.
The K Fifty 1's have D30 armor in knees & hips, plus and a tail bone pad. Cordura denim, plus kevlar in all impact zones. I will probably consider getting other Klim gear in the future now that I'm familiar with the brand. They obviously make stuff that'll protect you, not stuff that looks cool like I've noticed from other brands out there.
The K Fifty 1's have D30 armor in knees & hips, plus and a tail bone pad. Cordura denim, plus kevlar in all impact zones. I will probably consider getting other Klim gear in the future now that I'm familiar with the brand. They obviously make stuff that'll protect you, not stuff that looks cool like I've noticed from other brands out there.
Newstrommer
New member
Good question. I have a Latitude Misano jacket and it fits as advertised. It is a performance shell, lots of vents which help as it can be warm on the 30 degree days. It is a solid jacket, but is only a shell, so layering is key for warmth or cool. Being gore-tex and Klim, both companies fully stand behind their product for the life of the jacket. Thats hard to beat. I have some Power Trip jackets that are falling apart, no warranty there. You get what you pay for. Re-sale value is also very high. Klim is highly recommended.
