If you can keep snowmobilers warm and dry as they roar through the Idaho snowpack, it should be a no-brainer to do the same for adventure motorcyclists. Klim has proven just that since it morphed into an all-season riderwear company early in the century. The light went on when the company noticed that serious off-road moto-travelers, those we now call adventure riders, were using its Valdez jacket, a wind and waterproof shell designed for snowmobiling. It didn’t take long for them to begin leveraging the Valdez design into moto-specific prototypes for rally riders like Jonah Street.
The rest is a history you can read in Klim’s extensive line of adventure motorcycling gear. What’s new in 2022 is a bring-your-own-armor approach to moto wear, the single-layer, waterproof Raptor GTX Overshell pant and jacket.
Gore-Tex is front and center in the Raptor (hence, the GTX), in this case the company’s 3-layer Performance Shell fabric. It’s tough, it breathes, it’s waterproof. But as all riders know, the faster you go, the harder you slide if you go down, so Klim has added SuperFabric ceramic to beef up the Gore-Tex abrasion quotient. It does the job so well that the garments are certified to standard EN 17092-3:2020, netting a B rating for abrasion resistance. The Raptor’s jacket shoulders and elbows get the SuperFabric overlay, as do the pant knees. And both garments are liner-free to enhance mobility on the bike.
For storage, the jacket has two zippered hand pockets and an internal chest pocket. A storm flap covers the front water-resistant zipper, and vents at the biceps and chest bring in cool air that exits from the rear vents. Realizing your flak jacket may not be fabric friendly, Klim lines the inside of the elbows with Cordura. Jacket and pants both come in Monument Gray-Asphalt and Asphalt Hi-Viz in sizes S through 3XL, for $650.
Raptor GTX pants are every bit as technical as the jacket. Knee pads, boots, and butts are kept from wearing through the Gore-Tex fabric with 840D internal reinforcement panels at the knee, boot and booty regions. Thigh and exhaust vents are in place to keep legs cool. Mix or match the jacket and pant, they both come in the same two colors. Sizing is where the pant offers a bit more—regular, short, and tall versions in waist sizes 30 to 40, all priced at $550.
The Raptor GTX garments are sized to fit armor underneath the jacket or pant size you’d normally wear. Check them out on the web, or find a KLIM dealer near you.
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