[RotowaroRob]

Anyone using a Klim Badlands or Lattitude? I am tossing up between the two, my concern with the Badlands is its too stiiff and heavy...do they loosen up after a bit of wear?
My concern with the lattitude is it maybe too thin??
First hand thoughts appreciated, thanks

 

[virkdoc]

How much do you ride? Tour a lot? Both are good jackets for specific purpose.

 

[aznomad83]

Hi,
I was having the internal struggle just a month ago. Badlands Pro, Carlsbad, Latitude...which one. I live in Tucson, AZ, so the majority of my riding is in warm to hot weather. I eliminated the Latitude, even though a fine suit, it only had Level 1 armor included. Then down to Badlands Pro and Carlsbad. I'm 58 and I will never do hard core off riding. I viewed the Badlands as a suit of armor. Awesome protection, but perhaps a little overkill for my style of riding, plus the extra cost could easily be a couple of accessories for the bike! I settled on the Carlsbad. I've had it for a month now and will tell you, it's very nice. Yes, it does get less "scrunchy" the more you wear it. I'm getting ready to take off this Sunday to ride to Shasta Lake and get my RDL seat made. The weather forecast for there is in the 50's and really good chance of rain. I have electric gear so I'm not worried about the cold and with the Goretex, now I'm not worried about the rain. I also have the Marrakesh suit and that is awesome riding gear. I just didn't like the fact that I had to pull over and put on the Klim Forecast Gortex suit when it rains. So, now I have two suits one for the hot weather with plenty of sunshine (Tucson) and the Carlsbad for my touring suit that's ready for any condition and will be great for my easy-medium off road riding.
Hope this helps. Any one you pick will be a good decision. If you have any questions about the Carlsbad, just let me know.

Duff

 

[A_Saint]

I have both the Latitude & the Induction jackets. I've toured extensively with the Latitude and it is extremely comfortable and weather resistant with decent venting in warm weather. Thankfully I can't speak to its crash worthiness...The Induction is no better or worse than others I've had over the years.

 

[Barab42]

I’ve been wearing the Latitude for about 5 years, 40,000 + miles, all paved. No issues. Great jacket.

 

[TSConver]

I have the badlands pro and love it. Had it about 6 months now. Have not used it in the heat yet but I also have a mesh jacket for summer.

 

[MichaelM]

I have the gen-3 Badlands Pro jacket since last summer and like it a lot. I feel very protected (even more with the Klim A1 vest underneath). I can feel the cordura loosening up a bit, though I’m just a part-time rider so it may take some time. I’ve ridden into the low 90s here in the DC area with the vents open and was comfortable throughout the ride. A couple of weeks ago, I went out in 30ºF (wind chill at 70 mph = 10ºF) and was relatively warm, though I had on Bodz base layer, two merino shirts, plus the airbag vest. I could feel that it was cold but my torso and limbs were comfortable. (I was also wearing Klim Kodiak pants with Bodz leggings.) I was so busy thinking how good it felt that I forgot for the first half hour that I could light up my grips and seat. Only my right hand was a bit chilled, inside Goretex winter gloves with liners, mainly because my handlebars were rotated forward (from an off-road course recently) so the bush guards were a bit low. Oh, and I also forgot that I now own a pair of Hippo Hands, ha! Such is growing old, eh? I’m headed to Bolivia next week where I’ll wear the Klim pants and jacket for two weeks on a DR650… will see how it fares there in the southern latitudes autumn and in the colder, rainy (I hope!) elevations.

 

[Redcard]

No Cal. Also 58 years old. 2022 K1600B and new to me 2019 R1250GS. Light off-road usage so far. Hopefully more to come this year.

I've had the Induction jacket for warm weather and a BMW Dry Suit Jacket. I just added the Carlsbad. Only used it a few times now, but I really like it. Plenty warm when layered underneath. Lots of pockets. My local dealer had the jacket in stock when I bought the bike from them. Had my size and my preferred color. So I had to buy it, it's a rule. Even got a new buyer discount on it.

 

[Ryno23]

Take a look at the Carlsbad. Not as thick but still a worthy jacket and pant.

 

[TSConver]

Also if you are looking at the Klim Carlsbad gear you might want to look at the MSR Xplorer Line, It is getting really good reviews by the youtubers out there. Here is one review but there are several out there.

 

[MichaelM]

I would also recommend a look at a lesser-known BMW jacket, the PureXcursion. It’s mainly a summer jacket, well-ventilated and resists light-medium rain and dust well. My 2020 model is not fully waterproof, but several pockets are; the back pocket easily holds rain jacket or whatever you might want back there. I wore it on a January (summer) ride last year in Bolivia. Very happy how it felt ergonomically, though I’ve read it’s not for every body. Sizing is a bit odd, so read the reviews for tips. (I’m 6’ 185 and wear size 52.) I’ll likely use it more at home once it warms up again.

EDIT: sorry, forgot this is a Goretex thread…

 

[GrayBeard]

I've had a Badlands jacket and pants for over 8 years and have 10's of thousands of adventure rides and more dirt naps on them than I care to admit. Weatherproof - never let me down there. Protective - very energetic off that would have been much worse without my D3O armor. Still looks great. It is a bit heavy but it has a kidney belt built in to it that carries the weight on my hips vs. shoulders. The TAT full distance in weather below freezing to 100F and many BDRs and other adv rides and road trips. It's expensive in a cry once kind of way.

 

[MichaelM]

It even looks expensive. I wore it home the day I bought it at Bob’s. A mile from home, I switched back to my Rev’it Tornado and stuffed the BP into a pannier (not an easy task). I left it there until I had the nerve to wear it in front of my wife. When she saw it, she gave me the look and went shopping that weekend.

 

[Single T]

Anyone using a Klim Badlands or Lattitude? I am tossing up between the two, my concern with the Badlands is its too stiiff and heavy...do they loosen up after a bit of wear?
My concern with the lattitude is it maybe too thin??
First hand thoughts appreciated, thanks

have the Badlands for the last 3 years. Wear it daily to work and travel. Great jacket. It does loosen up after a couple months. Has good ventilation and does a great job keeping me dry. Cons, I've had one pocket zipper pull break and the main zipper pull sometimes does not align properly and is difficult to use. Would I purchase again, YES

 

[tripleblk]

Have had Latitude for 3 years now. Travelled from CA to S America with no issues.
I did immediately upgrade the armor from Level 1 to level 2 - big improvement and it fit in the jacket ok.
Really like the Latitude with upgraded armor.
All about trade-offs. Badlands best protection, highest cost. I didn't like how heavy the Badlands was or how warm it
was relative to the Latitude.

 

[RotowaroRob]

I like the look of the Badlands but worry about the weight and stiffness, I live in NZ so being too hot isnt really an issue , my concern with the Latitude is its possibly not warm enough??

 

[MichaelM]

I can imagine a certain Middle Ages cohort having a similar concern… (cue the Holy Grail gifs)

 

[rthomsonjr]

I've been using Badlands Pro since 2014. I got a new free set from Klim after a high speed highway crash with a dog where I had a couple cracked ribs but not a scratch. The Badlands vents provide for comfortable riding at reasonable on and off road speeds in hot weather. However it is unbearable in very slow technical off road rding during hot weather. It seems bulky when I first put it on, but once on the motorcycle, that feeling seems to me to dissappear.

 

[Marco1959]

Anyone using a Klim Badlands or Lattitude? I am tossing up between the two, my concern with the Badlands is its too stiiff and heavy...do they loosen up after a bit of wear?
My concern with the lattitude is it maybe too thin??
First hand thoughts appreciated, thanks

I have the Klim Carlsbad Gore-Tex jacket and have been quite pleased with it. It's been good for temperatures from 32 (F) to upper 90's, depending on how it's layered. I have ridden for hours in heavy rain and the jacket didn't leak at all.

 

[Turtle]

I use the Roadcrafter 3. After buying a jacket or pair or pants every six months or so for eight years (I bought a wardrobe and put it in the garage to hold it all!) and even selling some items, I lost it all in a house fire. I got a nice badass full leather outfit for when I want to be protected and look cool (about 1% of the time). 99% of the time I wear the RoadCrafter. Its expensive. I added the back and hip armor. And I got an ugly-ish high vis yellow. But boy! can people SEE me. Cars that used to start to try to run me over by making a right on red actually see me and stop (I'm still defensive). I road with my church riding group and was sweep on the right and a friend happened to be driving the other way and she said it really made a huge difference - she said she could see me way more than anyone else in the group.. As to protection - that is excellent - both crash and weather. And its waterproof so you don't have to carry a separate rain suit - that's a huge plus in the NC mountains where it pretty much always rains 30-40% of the time. In the winter I add a heated jacket under it (it has a weather tight Velcro hole for the power cord). In the summer I open the big vent across the back and the arm pit vents and get good airflow. If it gets hotter, I use a water soaked neck thing. It has tons of waterproof pockets, so if it gets even hotter you can put some ice in them. It's an extremely well thought out design for pretty much all riding conditions. It softens over time, increasing comfort. The big downside is lunch. There is something proactive about wearing one - people stop and look. I find it best to wear super light track type pants under it so I can just take it off at the bike and leave it with the bike while we have lunch. Oh - it takes some practice but once you have it down, you can get it on and off pretty quickly - even with big boots on. Its machine washable (remove the armor and the rare earth magnets that hold the collar). They do make it in much more attractive colors but I need to be seen in my area - and yellow reflects the heat better than the more cosmetically appealing colors. A grey one with blue or red would go great with our bikes though. So - if you have $1,200 and you want the best combo of protection and convivence with almost zero fashion, the Road Crafter 3 is great!