Klim Badlands Pro suit vs. Aerostitch

[Deezal Man]

I'm in the market for a waterproof three season suit for my 2011 RT. Here in PA we see +95 degree summer days as well as 35 degree nights in spring & fall. Everyone seems to be in love with the Aerostitch product line and so few of you own products made by Klim.

 

While I own neither one, my research on design and features push me to favor the Klim Badlands Pro suit. So I can't help but ask why so few appear to have experience with Klim. Am I missing something? Maybe if I could touch and feel the gear side by side, I would answer my own question.. but it seems that isn't going to happen. So I have to rely on feedback from others.

 

Thoughts??

[BULLman]

Never heard of Klim????

[johnlt]

I've had a Stich Darian suit and a Stich Roadcrafter suit and put many miles on each. Great suits but no comparison to the Klim Badlands Pro. Not even in the same league. I also had a Klim Traverse before the Badlands and the Badlands is truely surperior by a lot. It is the Gortex Pro which breaths much better than regular Gortex plus has better venting by an order of magnitude. My Roadcrafter was very good but the rear exhaust vent was useless. It didn't vent to the interior of the jacket. A real design defect!! It only vented to the space between the liner and the exterior layer. Useless!!!! I emailed Aerostich and their management said they were going to offer a "mod" for $ to fix that defect but to my knowledge, they never did. The Badlands has two arm vents plus under arm vent and a "real" exhaust vent. Plus it has both an intake and exhaust vent in the pants. All waterproof for life!! I posted a review of the Badlands here recentlyl.

[Deezal Man]

Thanks for the feedback John. Always good to know you are on the right track, especially when you can't always touch and feel this stuff side by side....yet alone have real world riding experience in both forms. I did a search on the forum for Klim and I don't recall seeing your review. (Fyi: The search yielded very few topic hits). Regardless, No worries, I'll find it and look that over your review. Thanks John!

[tvguy]

I have been riding with an Aerostitch Roadcrafter suit and I like it a lot. It keeps me dry when I need it to and it vents well. PLUS it can be custom fit to you.

 

Klim is awesome stuff. Most of the BMW shops carry a large selection of gear. It is bullet proof type gear. I would ride to Alaska with it. But you have to buy it off the rack and hope it fits ok.

 

 

[johnlt]

Here is a link to the review: Link

[Deezal Man]

Thanks John, your review is exactly what I was looking for!! Add to that, you ride the same model bike (RT)!! A key element in my search due to the substantial wind protection offered by this bike. I have to be honest, until it was mentioned by others on this forum I never gave much thought about reduced airflow in hot summer months. Not a show stopper just something I need to include to my list of considerations.

[GRB60]

Where are you in PA?

There's a dealer nearby me that stocks KLIM gear now. As others have said, it is very substantial gear. For me, the arms were WAY too long and I'd need to incur substantial alteration costs.

[Deezal Man]

9 miles NW of the Lehigh Valley exit of the PA Turnpike. Are you referring to Montgomeryville Cycle? I used to work in Hatfield so I'm familiar with Harleysville. I did call them today and apparently they were too busy to answer my simple question: Do you carry Klim adventure gear. So I never had the chance to talk to someone about it.

[randy]

also keep in mind, Klim has been around for decades in the snowmobile and I think off road gear. I think Klim has only been in street gear for about 5 years now. Of course Klim hit the ground running with their loyal followers in the snowmobile gear. Aerostitch has been the mainstay for long distance riding since at least the 80's that I know of. So I think the relative lack of comments on Klim vrs Aerostitch is currently more a function of time than quality.

 

As noted above, my quick research showed Klim with alterations to be ++++ more dollars than Aerostitch. Plus finding good used Aerostitch gear is relatively easy. Many alone come up on this board. So if you can buy used vrs Klim new, the price difference is huge. But if you want new, and are going to wear/use the gear for many years to come, that is not as big a concern.

 

A friend was a Klim salesperson for a couple years. Even after his departure from Klim he always speaks highly of the gear and the company. As noted in a previous post a number of BMW shops have picked up the Klim line of clothing, as it is priced similar to BMW gear and offers the potential BMW market person an additional option without lowering the BMW apparel perceived value. (Just my opinion on that last comment)

[Deezal Man]

So lets further complicate the issue. Today I struggled to find a dealer within 100 miles who either knew they were a Klim dealer or knew anything about the BP gear. Seriously, how do you not know if your are a dealer when your dealership is listed on Klim's website!!! But I digress... Got to thinking. Do I buy a First Gear Kilamanjaro for a few hundred bucks and buy a second all summer jacket for about the same price as the BP. I don't might the price of the Klim but I have to be honest, the lack of availability from local representation is a little concerning/frustrating. Buying on-line sight unseen is not an option in this price range!

[ltljohn]

9 miles NW of the Lehigh Valley exit of the PA Turnpike. Are you referring to Montgomeryville Cycle? I used to work in Hatfield so I'm familiar with Harleysville. I did call them today and apparently they were too busy to answer my simple question: Do you carry Klim adventure gear. So I never had the chance to talk to someone about it.

Hijack

Are you up near New Tripoli?

Hijack off

[aterry1067]

You might find some opinions and experiences with Klim gear on advrider. I know lots of dualsport guys really speak highly of Klim.

 

[Deezal Man]

HAHA..yes..My address is New Tripoli but I live 6.7 miles from the town itself.

[GRB60]

Yes. Montgomeryville had a good bit of Klim gear in the store.

[randy]

I have a kilamangaro jacket. I rode with one for aobut 6 years before I could upgrade my gear. To me Kilimangaro is the best of the second tier garments. I actually still have about a 4 year old Kilimangaro as a back up. I now currently have Motoport airfmesh jacket and pants for 8 months of the year. (I live in Atlanta) a one piece Roadcrafter, a Gerbing heated liner, and a Gerbing Heated/waterproof Jacket and the Kilimanjaro. I wear the Kilimanjaro with the heated liner maybe one month of the year, and the Gerbing jacket the other 3 months. I just purchased the Gerbing jacket this winter and I am loving it so far. I think the Roadcrafter will be available for sale soon. The roadcrafter use to be my three month garment. I will be looking for a good pair of waterproof winter pants to team up with the Gerbing Jacket.

 

I will say until it got to around 35 degrees on my R1100RT I wore my summer airflow pants with frogg toggs, and my Kilimanjaro + heated Liner. I never really needed anything more for my legs.

 

But now that I ride an Aprilla Tuono I am finding I need warmer gear for my lower body.

 

As I noted above, if buying new and keeping the gear for a very long time, or continual daily use the Klim gear seems great. But there has been so much Darien or Roadcrafter used gear available that I have just gone that route. The only new gear I have purchased is the MotoPort, and that was primarily becuase I bought it when it was very new to the market. And I planned on keeping it a long time (now 9 years old I think) and MotoPort does all custom fittings if you happen to be able to go to the San Diego location. And of course Klim was not in the street gear back then, and Darien gear was just coming out. And I was looking for a 6 months/hot season gear. The motoport air mesh seemed a better fit for me than the Darien. That has proven to be true for me, but I would not hesitate to buy darien pants to go with my new gerbing heated/waterproof Jacket.

 

But I think our local BMW shop is not carrying the KLIM line, so I may go look at pants by KLIM. My problem is I am abotu 6_5 with long legs. Without customer options, finding an inseam long enough to actually cover my legs and down over my boots is difficult. One reason I have always looked at Aerostitch. One reason I went with First Gear originally was the "Tall Sizing" that first gear provided. So I have been looking at first gear waterproof pants lately.

[Sailorlite]

I've noticed that KLIM does offer tall pants (but not tall jackets).