Klim D30 Armor ....
Bikers, are a stange group of people, we will happily spends large amount of money on things which other people tell us is the right stuff ... I remember years ago, everyone had the buy Rukka (most still do), then and now it is Klim, both of them have been bought up by large corporations. And on the sideline one finds Stadler (the last of the big ones), then of the "B" like there are companies like RevIT, Alpinstarts, and so one. We are not discussing clothing for fast bikes, this is the "real" stuff for the traveler who wants to go and see the world.
Now as usual I've listened to the wrong people, and ended up with something which I should not have spend money on....
First back in February I decided to get an Klim Overland Jacket, as everyone rave about the price / quality, it did not fit me at all, and due to the wonderful customer service from where I got it from I could not return it (I was stupid enough to drive 35km with it on), which cost me 50% of the price - as funny enough no one else was interested in buying it ... hummmm....
But as I really needed a new jacket, and my favorite; Stadler Tour was too expensive (+1100€), I decided to try with a Klim Latitude, which is a very nice jacket, which comes with the right amount of pockets, almost the right amount of ventilation (very few do - read; Stadler), and I was happy.
Now a few weeks back I was on my way to HUM Germany, and due to a brain fart I ended up face down on the asphalt sliding a few meters, which I would expect would not be a big problem. Ok, it did hurt like a bitch, but I was ok, my right leg took most of the impact, but my crap boots and trousers (BMW with good protection) left me with a black n' blue leg, but otherwise ok.
The problem was (is) my right arm .... now back to a few facts;
- Klim only provide D3O Level 1 armor in their jackets (even Overland is only an upgrade, but still level 1).
- D30 is impact resistant
- D30 is NOT abrasive resistant
This means that if it hist something it will dispert the power of the impact, but when you slide over a surface it can fold up and not give any protection. That is a massive issue, as most of the problems comes from sliding ....
Our skin is made up of 5 layers, and my "small" spill where I landed with my arm underneath my body, the D3O albow proctetion folded up or slid away and did not provide any proction to my arm and the layer of skin which sits ontop of the muschle has lost the connecton to the muschle ... this is reasonable painful... and according to my doctor who does diagnostics from the other side of the table this will eventually heal.... (do not get me started on Dutch Doctors - all of them)
But I have a used Stadler Jacket (which is too small) which comes with Level 2 back protection and hard shell shoulder and elbow protectors ... so I could just move them across. Nop, no such luck, Klim's pockets for protectors are too small.
So now I have a very nice jacket which looks like it should do, but it scares the living daylights out of wearing as there is practically no protection in it.
So what is it with a company like Klim, for me it looks like we're all stupid enough to believe what they tell us - ie. they use the best possible proctors; they do not - they are the cheapest one can get from D3O, they have the best warranty; actually if the garment have been close to the ground at any speed they might refuse any warranty claims, lucky enough Gore-Text will help out. Most of their cloth fit like it was made for a cow, but we're still happy to buy it, which I do not understand - we much be stupid.
Now as usual I've listened to the wrong people, and ended up with something which I should not have spend money on....
First back in February I decided to get an Klim Overland Jacket, as everyone rave about the price / quality, it did not fit me at all, and due to the wonderful customer service from where I got it from I could not return it (I was stupid enough to drive 35km with it on), which cost me 50% of the price - as funny enough no one else was interested in buying it ... hummmm....
But as I really needed a new jacket, and my favorite; Stadler Tour was too expensive (+1100€), I decided to try with a Klim Latitude, which is a very nice jacket, which comes with the right amount of pockets, almost the right amount of ventilation (very few do - read; Stadler), and I was happy.
Now a few weeks back I was on my way to HUM Germany, and due to a brain fart I ended up face down on the asphalt sliding a few meters, which I would expect would not be a big problem. Ok, it did hurt like a bitch, but I was ok, my right leg took most of the impact, but my crap boots and trousers (BMW with good protection) left me with a black n' blue leg, but otherwise ok.
The problem was (is) my right arm .... now back to a few facts;
- Klim only provide D3O Level 1 armor in their jackets (even Overland is only an upgrade, but still level 1).
- D30 is impact resistant
- D30 is NOT abrasive resistant
This means that if it hist something it will dispert the power of the impact, but when you slide over a surface it can fold up and not give any protection. That is a massive issue, as most of the problems comes from sliding ....
Our skin is made up of 5 layers, and my "small" spill where I landed with my arm underneath my body, the D3O albow proctetion folded up or slid away and did not provide any proction to my arm and the layer of skin which sits ontop of the muschle has lost the connecton to the muschle ... this is reasonable painful... and according to my doctor who does diagnostics from the other side of the table this will eventually heal.... (do not get me started on Dutch Doctors - all of them)
But I have a used Stadler Jacket (which is too small) which comes with Level 2 back protection and hard shell shoulder and elbow protectors ... so I could just move them across. Nop, no such luck, Klim's pockets for protectors are too small.
So now I have a very nice jacket which looks like it should do, but it scares the living daylights out of wearing as there is practically no protection in it.
So what is it with a company like Klim, for me it looks like we're all stupid enough to believe what they tell us - ie. they use the best possible proctors; they do not - they are the cheapest one can get from D3O, they have the best warranty; actually if the garment have been close to the ground at any speed they might refuse any warranty claims, lucky enough Gore-Text will help out. Most of their cloth fit like it was made for a cow, but we're still happy to buy it, which I do not understand - we much be stupid.
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