Klim Badlands Pro review

  • Thread starter ballisticexchris
  • Start date
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
Testing out my new Klim badlands Pro gear. This gear is the real deal and fantastic!! You really get what you pay for. It is full on triple layer Gore Tex with D3O armor, and a bunch of zip open vents.

Yesterday I did a simple 260+ mile morning - early afternoon loop around Temecula, Hemet, Anzo, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Morongo Valley and back home to Fullerton. The temps ranged from 100-110 degrees for close to 200 miles of the ride.

Mine are the black pants and hi viz black/dark grey jacket. At over 100 degrees I was very comfortable as long as the bike was rolling. I was a bit apprehensive on how well it would vent in the desert. In the start of the morning I opened up all my vents, clipped open the collar, and closed the cuffs on the sleeves. I wore my Racer full gauntlet gloves over the cuffs. When heading out from my buddies shop in Morongo Valley the temps were pushing 110 degrees. So I slipped on my short Fox moto gloves and fully opened up the cuffs putting them over the gloves. This gives a nice bit of extra airflow up the sleeves and though the jacket. BTW I call BS on the light grey gear being cooler. Main thing is staying hydrated and letting your body sweat keep you cool.

Another thing to note is the venting when riding standing. WOW!! This is where the venting works best. Of course I'm riding a Super Tenere so having a windscreen and winglets cuts down the airflow when seated. The jacket feels a little "puffy" and "crunchy" when going from standing to seated. I still have not messed with the kidney belt or bottom drawstring. I have been told by the Klim rep that this Textile stuff breaks in with time. This is a big step up from my Joe rocket leather jacket for street and EVS pressure suit for dual sport.

I figure riding the extreme heat was the best test for this gear. I'm already confident that it will work really well in the cold and wet. Reason being is because I've had the Klim Stowaway Gore Tex jacket and inversion gloves for years. I have ridden in sub freezing snow to cold pouring rain with just the jacket and gloves over my riding gear. They work like a charm. I can only imagine how well this gear will work in the wet and cold.

Reason I got this gear is to have the very best protection as possible. I also wanted something you don't have to fiddle with zip in rain liners, pressure suits, etc. Very simple to wear. Just put on pants and jacket and ride. I'm just a regular guy who want's to enjoy day rides with a few multi day trips.

Lets talk about fit. I'm 5'9". This is down from my original 5' 11" due to broken bones over the years. I weigh in right at about 200 lbs in street clothes. I wear a Columbia 38" hiking pants and have about a 30"-31" inseam. So the 38" regular pants are a perfect fit with plenty of adjustment in each direction for layering. I'm a 44-45" chest and wear the large jacket. I have a bit of a gut and wear XL tee shirts.

Both jacket and pants are just loose enough to be comfortable to move around in. The jacket has plenty of room for layering. Yesterday I was just wearing a single moisture wicking shirt underneath. For underwear I have moisture wicking boxer briefs and lycra bike shorts.

If you fit this or any good high end riding gear it's important to form yourself in a riding position or mount a bike in the store. If you stand up straight and stretch your arms over your head your elbows and shoulder will get pinched with the armor. This stuff is designed for riding in standard position or riding standing. This is not fun casual wear for off the bike. It is most comfortable when in the saddle. If you ride a Harley with ape hangers you will have to rethink your gear.

I suggest to anyone to try on lots of different brands of gear before purchasing. I'm not too thrilled with the fact Polaris owns this company. OTOH, as a consumer, if it fits good and it offers good protection that's what counts. BTW the warranty is really good. I'm lucky enough to live right around the corner from a major distributer of this product (https://motorhelmets.com/collections/klim). The Klim reps are at the shop weekly and there is just a few day turn around for any tears, broken zippers, snaps etc.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
I'll bring this to life in 2023 with my purchase of klim Badlands pro uniform.

I'm 6'1" 185 lb., 33" inseam and 33-34" waist with 42" chest and long arms, and 36" gut, can't forget that part.

Klim makes some nice stuff. Ordered the 42" Tall in the jacket and 34" Regular in pants. The jacket fits well, the pants had to be returned for a 34" Tall as sitting on the bike the legs rode up a little high.

My scales show the suit weighing 13.2# all together, think the jacket is about 7.6#.

Pricey, but good stuff. Still figuring out all the gee gaws and doo dads designed into the suit, really needs an owners manual. Good stuff though.

Think I’ll go the fireman route and wear suspenders with the pants, something that heavy, and they seem to fit better that way.
 
Last edited:

Cycledude

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
3,998
Location
Rib lake wi
I am a Klim Latitude owner, overall I have been pretty satisfied with my purchase it has always managed to keep me dry when riding in the rain, the vents are decent but definitely could be improved, wish it would come with a decent removable insulated liner, the main front zipper is a 2 way zipper that often causes trouble I wish it just had a simple one way zipper, after a few years the zipper pull tab broke off mine so I replaced it with a Stihl chainsaw keychain thing and that works much better than the Klim pull tab ever did. Another helpful tip is to occasionally lube zippers with spray cleaner polish they will work much better.
 

robp

Active Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2021
Messages
112
Location
Driftwood, Texas
Think I’ll go the fireman route and wear suspenders with the pants, something that heavy, and they seem to fit better that way.
That's what I do. I read multiple reviews indicating the Klim suspenders did not work well / did not stay attached. IIRC, They are a 'Y' configuration - single strap in back, two in front. I went with Carhartt suspenders and they are cheaper, made well, and work quite well. No issues with these not staying on.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
That's what I do. I read multiple reviews indicating the Klim suspenders did not work well / did not stay attached. IIRC, They are a 'Y' configuration - single strap in back, two in front. I went with Carhartt suspenders and they are cheaper, made well, and work quite well. No issues with these not staying on.
lol. That's what I have. Carhartt suspenders left over from days gone by.
 

Fennellg

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
607
Location
North Carolina
I have the jacket. Went with these pants. Easier to take on and off. The trade off thicker knee armor (old tech) and no vents, Both the pants and Badlands jacket have been water proof in the extreme. The jacket is built like a tank. When it get past 85 in temp I use my mesh Klim jacket, Kevlar jeans or mesh pants when it’s really hot.


IMG_0649.png
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
What kind of boots you guys wearing with your klim badlands pro pants? I'm on the hunt for a pair. Looks like the pants have enough bell to go over anything. Right now looking at Gaerne and Sidi, maybe Alpinestar.
 

lund

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2019
Messages
809
Location
Okanagan Valley, Canada.
When I'm in the boots for long hours, my Alpinestar are insanely comfortable. I have both the non Gortex adventure and Gortex adventure Alpinestar, both feel the same. Love them.
I wear Klim low profile boots for shorter and local riding, but for comfort not even close to the Alpinestars, their toe box is poor and narrow.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
I've got a pair of Gaerne fastback enduros on the way. The wider toe box and ankle support is high on the list. One day delivery and free return through amazon has benefits.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
Gaerne enduros showed up today. That wasn't going to work. Length was fine, the width at the front was on the narrow side and the heel had plenty of room, probably too much. And with all the plastic they weren't going to form fit. The search goes on. Probably have to give up some protection for fit, something with more leather and walkability.
 

MattR

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Messages
1,175
Location
North Hampshire UK
I’ve got klim gtx boots and the toe box is so big I had to adjust the gear change on my S10. So much so that I now cannot ride any other bike wearing these boots. Not particularly comfy and I don’t think they use leather anywhere. Not that impressed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Mad_Matt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2023
Messages
258
Location
Colorado
I've got a pair of Gaerne fastback enduros on the way. The wider toe box and ankle support is high on the list. One day delivery and free return through amazon has benefits.
If they fit your feet, they are truly amazing boots. I love mine. If you are still hunting for boots, give Brian at atomic-moto.com a call. He is a true boot guru and the prices at his shop are as good as they get. .
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
If they fit your feet, they are truly amazing boots. I love mine. If you are still hunting for boots, give Brian at atomic-moto.com a call. He is a true boot guru and the prices at his shop are as good as they get. .
We mailed back and forth a bit. He wanted a phone call and I didn't want to get advice and feel obligated to make a purchase. I live close to the city and going to make a run and do some test fitting. I think that is really the only way to find something comfortable. I've worn Merrells, Danners, etc., and find the Keens to fit my feet the best. Unfortunately they don't make motorcycle boots.

On a side note, really liking the Klim jacket. Going to make a great shop coat also, rolling around on the floor.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
I have both the Klim Badlands pro and Baja S4 tops and bottoms. They design some good stuff, and Taiwan makes some quality pieces. I'd like to see the machines these are made on. Going to make a few tailoring changes but overall pleased with the product. Buy once, hurt once.

The baja s4 top is a little shorter in the body and they only offer the regular, the sleeves are about 1.5" shorter than the Badlands in Tall. I can see the Baja getting a lot of wear time. Some of the mesh reminds me of the sling fabric used in lawn furniture, and the stretch fabric works well in the right places.
 

Tenforeplay

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2023
Messages
248
Location
Kansas, USA
Re the Badlands pants with which I decided to wear suspenders, they put some pull up straps on the front but neglected the back. So one of the first projects with my new sewing machine was to put some suspender stirrups on the rear and replace the front. Here is what they look like, think they turned out well considering my amateur standing.

A6D006D5-55BA-463F-8E19-EA6B2094C919.jpeg
 
Top