GEAR REVIEW – Klim Baja S4

KLIM Baja S4 Jacket Review

$599.00 for a mesh motorcycle jacket?  Yup.  I live in central Texas and let me tell you, boy howdy does it get hot.  Normally I wear a Klim Badlands Pro and most of the time it’s ok – as long as you keep moving.  Once you stop, it gets very hot very quickly.  Yeah, almost $600.00 is a bucketload of money.   But we are talking about Klim and they don’t screw around with their products.  I know I will get my money’s worth, and I know it will be extremely well-designed and constructed.  Also, their customer service is second to none.  So yeah, I dropped $599.00 on this jacket.  The fit is perfect (I wear XL in Klim) and the jacket is absolutely amazing in the hottest weather.  I like the color and I like the armor placement. 

I am not a huge fan that it comes with D30 Level 1 armor.  I immediately replaced the back pad with KLIM D30 Level 2 armor.  That cost another $50.00 bucks – OUCH!  And was on my way toward replacing the shoulder and elbow armor.  At the time I was only able to get the shoulder and back armor everything else was back-ordered.  The problem was that Level 2 shoulder armor wouldn’t fit.   There is a difference in airflow between the level 1 and level 2 back armor. Level 2 is more restrictive.  Personally, I don’t care because I want the extra protection.  The other thing I added was a kidney belt.  And that’s another $40.00.  My Badlands has one and I love it.  Do you need it on a Baja?  Not really.  It was worth it to me. 

So, if you ride in super-hot weather, don’t care about rain protection and are cool with CE Level 1 armor – this is your jacket.  The fit is great, lots of pockets, super comfortable and the air absolutely flows through the jacket like crazy.  Highly recommended!

SHELL/CONSTRUCTION

SCHOELLER®-DYNATEC® HIGH TENACITY NYLON MESH MAIN BODY/ARMS

COMFORT-MAPPED MESH CHASSIS (SHELL & LINER)

KARBONITE™ MICROMESH 4-WAY STRETCH 1000D CORDURA® IN STRETCH ZONES

STRETCH WOVEN MATERIAL FULLY POROUS FOR AIRFLOW

SUPERFABRIC® ON SHOULDERS/ELBOWS

DESIGNED TO KIT WITH ENDURO S4 JACKET FOR COOL/WET WEATHER

3M™ SCOTCHLITE™ C790 CARBON BLACK REFLECTIVE MATERIAL

BIOMOTION RECOGNITION

DURABLE 750D CORDURA® FABRIC FOR CARGO POCKETS, CUFFS, HEM

YKK® ZIPPERS

CE AA RATING CERTIFIED TO EN 17092-3

ARMOR SYSTEM

D3O® CE LEVEL 1 LP1 VENTED SHOULDER/ELBOW PADS

D3O® CE LEVEL 1 BACK PAD

ADJUSTABLE ARMOR PAD POCKETS

KIDNEY BELT COMPATIBLE (SOLD SEPARATELY)

KLIMATEK™ COOLING STRETCH MESH IN ARMOR PAD POCKETS

ENGINEERED SPACER MESH BACKPAD POCKET

VENTILATION

FULL-TIME CHASSIS VENTILATION THROUGH SCHOELLER®-DYNATEC® MESH PANELS

AIR PERMEABILITY THROUGH KARBONITE™ MICROMESH STRETCH ZONES

PROVIDES AIRFLOW AT ALL SPEEDS

COLLAR TAB BACK FOR INCREASED AIRFLOW TO UPPER CHEST