Anyone with a Klim Badlands?

[Mr_Gone]

I just picked up the Badlands Pro jacket and it's a beast.  

Great review!!! I ordered a Badlands Pro jacket last week and expect it to be delivered Wednesday or Thursday. Your review just reinforces my belief that I made the right choice.

I wonder if there is a way to speed up the break-in process? Anyone have any ideas.

[GRN]

I wonder if there is a way to speed up the break-in process? Anyone have any ideas.

Rhino stampede.

[Mr_Gone]

Rhino stampede.

Dude, I just got rid of my rhinos earlier this year. The summer drought caused hay prices to just skyrocket, and it was too much to import hay from Africa. Damn you, global warming!!!

[Mr_Gone]

After a week of "We're trying to find your jacket order" at Klim, my Badlands should arrive tomorrow. I actually have a Fedex tracking number, so there's something in that box, and it should be a Klim Badlands Pro. (fingers crossed)

Christmas is a couple weeks away, but this is a gift to myself for earning zero performance awards this year.

Is it ridiculous that I'm impatiently tracking this jacket thru Fedex like CNN tracks Santa Claus on Christmas Eve?

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Is it ridiculous that I'm impatiently tracking this jacket thru Fedex like CNN tracks Santa Claus on Christmas Eve?

Nope, not at all  

[Mr_Gone]

Nope, not at all  

I wonder if Fedex will grant me access to the GPS tracking system on their truck?

[bomber]

I wonder if Fedex will grant me access to the GPS tracking system on their truck?

you could ask to ride along if you get to the FEDEX barn early enough . . ..

[GRN]

Dude, I just got rid of my rhinos earlier this year. The summer drought caused hay prices to just skyrocket, and it was too much to import hay from Africa. Damn you, global warming!!!

Swiss chard works, grows fast, grows anywhere... gives them some wicked diarrhea though  

[Mr_Gone]

Swiss chard works, grows fast, grows anywhere... gives them some wicked diarrhea though  

 

Rhino diarrhea... uh, no thanks. Been there, done that.

[Mr_Gone]

you could ask to ride along if you get to the FEDEX barn early enough . . ..

Seriously? Is that an option? Because I might just do that.

No, really. Stop laughing.

 

[bomber]

Seriously? Is that an option? Because I might just do that.

No, really. Stop laughing.

 

surely you don't think you're the only kid on the board?

;-}

"I'm too excited to sleep!"

[expatbrit]

Nope, not at all  

Not even remotely. Stalking packages is fun. And even legal...

[Mr_Gone]

Okay, I received my Klim Badlands Pro jacket yesterday afternoon. And since I was alone in the office, I wore it around the building for about an hour just getting the feel for it. Yes, I’m a dork. Stop laughing.

I also wore it on the ride home, and on the ride in to work this morning. The temp this morning was right around freezing. I have a short commute, but I felt comfortable with just a t-shirt and Polo. But I could definitely tell that I would need a heavier layer or a fleece or a heated liner if I wanted to ride longer in cold temps. This is definitely not a winter jacket, on its own. This weekend, I’ll go on a longer ride to see how warm the jacket is.

Here are my initial thoughts on the Klim Badlands Pro jacket:

— Sizing. I ordered an XL since I’m 6’3” and 210 pounds with a 44" chest. Maybe 215… depends on how much weight I’ve gained over the holidays. Anyway, the Klim sizing chart had me between a Large and XL. I’m really glad I went with the XL, because there’s no way I could have layered underneath with a Large. Even with the XL, layering will be tight (which isn’t necessary a bad thing). Truthfully, I probably could have gone with an XXL if I planned to do lots of cold-weather riding with multiple layers and/or heated gear, but for use a base layer and a heavy mid layer, I think I’ll be fine with an XL.

— The jacket is heavy and very stiff. It won’t get any lighter, obviously, but the weight isn’t really all that bad. Further, I believe that after wearing it for some time on the bike, it will break in and loosen up. Sitting on the bike, it’s very comfortable, and some serious thought was given to rider ergonomics. Right now, the jacket feels like medieval chainmail. Later today, I plan on having some co-workers shoot at me with large-caliber rifles to check the bulletproofing. Well, nothing bigger than a .30-06, obviously.

— It’s not as long as I thought it would be for a 3/4-length jacket, although I’m taller than average, so maybe it’s just me. On my FJR, the jacket doesn’t bunch up at all, which is a good thing, and it’s comfortable.

— The photo-reflective panel across the back of the jacket works extremely well. I turned out all the lights in my apartment and shined an LED at the jacket; the photo-reflective panel reflected an astonishing amount of light straight back. I was seeing a white dot in my vision for two minutes after that little experiment.

— Wearing only a Polo-style shirt under the jacket, you can definitely tell it’s just a shell. There’s no padding inside the jacket. It feels hard and stiff.

— It has a bunch of logos and tags.
4 “Klim” logos
3 “K” logos
1 “Gore-Tex” logo
1 “Gore-Tex Pro Shell” logo
1 “Deflexion” tag
1 “D3O” tag
1 “Cordura”
1 “Scotchlite Reflective Material” tag
1 “Made in China XL” tag
1 “Klim” tag
1 “Gore-Tex” tag

There are probably more logos and tags somewhere, but I’m not going to go searching for them. Sheesh.

— In photos, and even in the Revzilla product video, all the logos and tags didn’t bother me regarding the aesthetics of the jacket. They sort of bother me now that I have the jacket. The logos really do give the jacket a billboard image. If people ask me about Klim, I’m going to tell them it’s my last name and that I’m ridiculously famous. And rich.

— All the zipper pulls have the Klim-yellow thread, and there are A LOT of zippers, so there seem to be a lot of yellow flashes when you’re walking around and looking at yourself in the mirror. All the zippers seem tight, which probably has something to do with the water-resistant covers (gaskets?). And I have already found that you have to really make sure the zippers are zipped all the way up into the zipper garages, which takes an extra few seconds.

— Did I mention that it’s heavy? It probably weighs 10 or 11 pounds, but in all honesty the weight isn’t that bad for a heavy-duty jacket. The more you wear it, the lighter it seems. I walked around my neighborhood last night, trying to see some meteors, and I wore the jacket. After a half-hour or so, I was still comfortable with just a sweatshirt and the jacket in 40-degree temps (Fahrenheit). I have no doubt that with a good base layer and a fleece, I’ll be warm enough down to freezing and maybe below that. I’ll try to check that this weekend.

— There are a lot of pockets. A lot. An absurd number of pockets, really. I stopped counting somewhere around 42 pockets. Calculating the odds, I’m 100% certain that I will lose things in the jacket pockets and NEVER find them again. Who needs this many pockets? A magician? A pocket salesman? If you’re carrying enough stuff to fill all these pockets, you need 1) a bigger bike, and 2) sidecases and maybe a topcase.

— The jacket is obviously well-constructed. The Gore-Tex/840D Cordura/Armacor fabric seems like it will hold up well in a crash. I’m not going to test this if I don’t have to. The stitching looks very good, and it’s double-stitched where the cloth panels come together. There were a couple places, however, where I found loose stitching. Not a big deal. The zippers seem sturdy, but only time will tell with how long-lasting the zippers will be since these are high-use features.

— It is made in China.

— The collar seems comfortable to me. And with the drawstring, I can cinch it tighter around my neck so that it’s comfortable and blocks the cold air. A nice touch. I wish there was a little more padding around the drawstring, which is easily felt through the thin collar fabric — not a big deal, but it’s a detail that Klim missed. The collar doesn’t seem too high for me, but then I’m a tall guy. YMMV. There’s only a small gap between the top of the collar and the bottom of my helmet, which dramatically reduces wind noise around the helmet and the wind chill on exposed skin.

— I just found 17 additional pockets! And 1 secret pocket!!! Really, there are almost too many pockets on this jacket. The rear pocket (“rabbit pouch”) is huge. You could probably keep three or four good-sized rabbits in there, no problem. Or two fat ground hogs. Or a small capybara. Probably you’ll want to keep some rabbits in there. Or maps. Whatever. Your choice.

— The interior pockets are mesh, and don’t really seem very durable if you’ve got keys or anything else that hard/metallic in there.

— The armor feels fairly comfortable, but will take some getting used to. The back protector is light, flexible, and completely unnoticeable even though it’s HUGE. The shoulder armor is comfortable, but I need to move the elbow armor up a little bit, and I haven’t yet figured out how to do that yet. This could be a challenge.

— The two Dow Corning Deflexion chest protectors are nice to have, but I’ll probably take them out when I’m just commuting to work or riding around town. If I’m going to be on the highway/interstate for longer periods of time, I might stick the chest armor back in, since any crash on the highway will probably involve higher speeds and the extra protection would be nice. But around town, the Deflexion pieces just feel a little constrictive, plus they reduce the weight of the jacket a little bit.

— Did I mention all the logos and emblems and tags? The only advertising opportunity missed on the jacket would involve neon and/or blinking LEDs.

— The jacket itself is comfortable, except for a couple areas. The shoulders are very, very stiff on the panels where you see the yellow “K” and the photo-reflective strip with “Klim” written across it. Also, when I bend my elbows, the jacket is extremely stiff right at the elbow joint and even binds a little bit, because three pieces of fabric come together right there and are double-stitched, and this is the bottom of a zip pull also, adding to the stiffness of that joint area. This stiffness might also have something to do with the pre-curved structure of the sleeves. I don’t know. Maybe this will break in; I hope so. It’s a little annoying right now, but everyone has different physical ergonomics and no jacket is perfect. It’s not a dealbreaker.

— The cuffs are enormous. I’d say that the cuffs are actually larger in diameter than the forearms of the sleeves, but maybe it just seems this way because of the gusset. I have to use nearly all of the Velcro strip to cinch the wrists tight, although I admittedly do have narrow wrists. Not a big deal. Klim used long, wide strips of Velcro at the cuffs, so tightening them down is no problem. The storm cuffs are a nice touch, and I’ll probably get some use out of them at some point.

— The front YKK zipper is smooth and easy to pull up and down. As I’ve already mentioned, the other zippers feel taut, perhaps because of the water-resistant gaskets. These zippers are easy to zip and unzip when you have the jacket off; while you’re sitting on your bike with the jacket on, I have the feeling that the zippers will be more difficult to zip and unzip.

— The Velcro collar closure has changed, I think, from earlier versions; instead of having Velcro only to keep the collar closed, Klim now has a metal snap positioned in the center of the Velcro. As long as you line up the snap before the Velcro panels touch, you’re good; otherwise it’s a PITA. Nonetheless, the collar closure feels very solid.

— On the 32-degree ride this morning to work, I found out that I will definitely need an extra layer for warmth, or heated gear. This shell isn’t as warm as my previous jacket, for obvious reasons since it doesn’t have a liner. Which is okay. I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy some Gerbing’s heated gear.

— The jacket doesn’t flap around in the wind. I took the highway to work instead of slower back roads, and the jacket felt solid at 70 mph.

This weekend should be nice enough for me to take a long ride and really get a feel for the jacket. I’ll probably open up all the vents when the temperature rises over 50* to see how the ventilation scheme works. After I’ve ridden in the jacket for a few hours and a few hundred miles, I’ll follow up with additional thoughts and impressions.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Nice review, thank you.

I'm looking forward to getting my jacket out of storage and working on the "break in" process  

[Hotbrakes]

Just picked up a Latitude jacket this weekend to complete the set I began 6 months ago.  Only complaint so far is the stiff collar that wedges or velcros itself to my helmet preventing smooth head turns.  If I leave the collar detached it can be persuaded to stay mostly out of the way, when I velcro it shut the stiffness chokes me and eventually I swallow enough to pop it back open where it attacks my helmet again.  And the connection to the pants is buried within the waist which seems to be a bit tighter than when I first purchased them.  Luckily the tail is long enough that connecting the two isn't really necessary.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Only complaint so far is the stiff collar that wedges or velcros itself to my helmet preventing smooth head turns.  If I leave the collar detached it can be persuaded to stay mostly out of the way, when I velcro it shut the stiffness chokes me and eventually I swallow enough to pop it back open where it attacks my helmet again.  And the connection to the pants is buried within the waist which seems to be a bit tighter than when I first purchased them.  Luckily the tail is long enough that connecting the two isn't really necessary.

That's the jacket I have and I am solving both of these problems right now: my jacket and pants are in Seattle being altered by a talented seamstress.

She is adding a length of velcro to the neck flap, thereby allowing me to secure it while still being able to breath. She is also replacing the "buried" zipper with a 3/4 zipper that will wrap most of the way around the jacket/pants. I prefer this connection for multiple reasons: 1) it is easy to get to  2) it is more comfortable in keeping cold weather from blowing up the backside of the jacket and 3) it'll keep the jacket/pants together better in the event of an unexpected dismount  

I don't have the bill yet, but if you're interested in doing the same, let me know and I'll get you her contact information. She's good  

[Mr_Gone]

That's the jacket I have and I am solving both of these problems right now: my jacket and pants are in Seattle being altered by a talented seamstress.

She is adding a length of velcro to the neck flap, thereby allowing me to secure it while still being able to breath. She is also replacing the "buried" zipper with a 3/4 zipper that will wrap most of the way around the jacket/pants. I prefer this connection for multiple reasons: 1) it is easy to get to  2) it is more comfortable in keeping cold weather from blowing up the backside of the jacket and 3) it'll keep the jacket/pants together better in the event of an unexpected dismount  

I don't have the bill yet, but if you're interested in doing the same, let me know and I'll get you her contact information. She's good  

MrsDantesDame, as a New Jerseyan, do you layer under your jacket, or did you go with heated gear for the colder temps?

[Mr_Gone]

I just received my Klim pants in the mail yesterday. I went with the Traverse, which is the cheapest option that's still Gore-tex from Klim; the pants just don't have any armor. But since I ride with kevlar/denim jeans that have armor in the knees and hips, I figure this is an acceptable trade-off. The Traverse pants are very light compared to the pants I've owned previous, which was a nice surprise — easier to pack!!!

[Mrs. DantesDame]

MrsDantesDame, as a [unwilling] New Jerseyan, do you layer under your jacket, or did you go with heated gear for the colder temps?

I didn't wear the jacket much this year as it was mesh-season when I got it and then preferred to wear the old jacket until I got the waist zippers replaced. Therefore, I can not adequately answer your question  

As a rule, however, I would only wear the heated gear for (day + ) long rides. Otherwise it was layering for the commute. And being a [unwilling] New Jerseyan, the long day + rides were few and far between  

[Hotbrakes]

MrsDantesDame, as a New Jerseyan, do you layer under your jacket, or did you go with heated gear for the colder temps?

I always layer underneath for the worst possible temperature that could be encountered.  Under Armour Cold Gear and a fleece jacket or heated jacket usually suffices for anything 50 or below.