KLIM Adventure suit in HOT weather? Any good?

[One Less Harley]

I know you're asking about a ADV jacket, but why not just ride in a pressure suit??? It'll be cooler for those temps. Stow away a thin breathable rainsuit if needed.

[MZ5]

O.P.-- I ride in temps quite similar to that in the lower Sonoran Desert (SW AZ). Though it surprises many people, it gets very humid here in the summers. One day I recall specifically, I was driving home at 112F and it started to rain...

Anyway, the best I've tried in those conditions are (depending upon how much shielding you have available from a fairing, etc) either a perforated leather jacket like the KomodoGear Ceno I wear, or a leather jacket with super-high-flow, but closeable, vents. That over the top of an LDComfort long-sleeve turtleneck shirt completely soaked with water is about the best a person can do, IMO/E. I also have a phase-change cooling vest, and although it's very useful, I don't like it overall as well as the LDComfort. Be careful, though, a perforated jacket, or especially a mesh textile, will evaporate your cooling water TOO quickly. I ride a sport bike and basically lay on the tank in order to get what wind shielding I can from the tiny fairing & windscreen. my ~40-mile (one way) ride each afternoon sees the arms of my LDComfort shirt completely dry, and the torso pretty well dry except under the back armor. Air flow there is reduced, plus I'm sweating and keeping it wet. :|

Also, WEAR SOMETHING LIKE AN LDCOMFORT HEADLINER UNDER YOUR HELMET. That's super important/helpful to keep the body cooled.

Good luck! I don't especially like riding when it gets above 110, and it's quite un-fun above 115. It's doable, but not at all fun.

KEEP LOTS OF WATER ON YOU, OR RIDE WHERE YOU CAN GET WATER IMMEDIATELY. If you can't do this given your assignment, then don't ride if you don't absolutely have to.

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by MZ5

O.P.-- I ride in temps quite similar to that in the lower Sonoran Desert (SW AZ). Though it surprises many people, it gets very humid here in the summers. One day I recall specifically, I was driving home at 112F and it started to rain...

Anyway, the best I've tried in those conditions are (depending upon how much shielding you have available from a fairing, etc) either a perforated leather jacket like the KomodoGear Ceno I wear, or a leather jacket with super-high-flow, but closeable, vents. That over the top of an LDComfort long-sleeve turtleneck shirt completely soaked with water is about the best a person can do, IMO/E. I also have a phase-change cooling vest, and although it's very useful, I don't like it overall as well as the LDComfort. Be careful, though, a perforated jacket, or especially a mesh textile, will evaporate your cooling water TOO quickly. I ride a sport bike and basically lay on the tank in order to get what wind shielding I can from the tiny fairing & windscreen. my ~40-mile (one way) ride each afternoon sees the arms of my LDComfort shirt completely dry, and the torso pretty well dry except under the back armor. Air flow there is reduced, plus I'm sweating and keeping it wet. :|

Also, WEAR SOMETHING LIKE AN LDCOMFORT HEADLINER UNDER YOUR HELMET. That's super important/helpful to keep the body cooled.

Good luck! I don't especially like riding when it gets above 110, and it's quite un-fun above 115. It's doable, but not at all fun.

KEEP LOTS OF WATER ON YOU, OR RIDE WHERE YOU CAN GET WATER IMMEDIATELY. If you can't do this given your assignment, then don't ride if you don't absolutely have to.

in Oklahoma we can get brutal summers, high temps combined with high humidity. when temps gets 105-110f range it's downright dangerous without loads of water handy.

for longer rides some type of vent control would be useful. but for stop and go .. nothing beats mesh kevlar, where all the venting possible is desirable.

folks who claim riding in 95f degree with a heavy double layer Goretex suit is doable are nuts. getting into a hot sauna is also doable too.

[hewhohesit8s]

We rode through TX, NM, and AZ last August. I wore the ADV jacket (and pants) sans collar the whole way. It wasn't pleasant, but we only had to stop for gas and refilling of the 3l bladder. Temps topped 115F through Phoenix and the gear at that temp actually protects you from the heat as long as you stay moving and hydrated. At one point traffic slowed to stop-and-go in Phoenix and the bike was headed to overheating so we got off the highway and stopped for a while. Sitting in stop and go traffic on an overheating bike in full gear in 117F is no one's definition of fun I don't care what you're wearing. I also wore the full gear in May in Moab last year on the 530, but that was "only" 95-100F. The gear is hot, but it carries 3l of water, and as long as you fill it with ice and water, it will help cool for a few hours and hydrated a few more.

just another data point...

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by hewhohesit8s

We rode through TX, NM, and AZ last August. I wore the ADV jacket (and pants) sans collar the whole way. It wasn't pleasant, but we only had to stop for gas and refilling of the 3l bladder. Temps topped 115F through Phoenix and the gear at that temp actually protects you from the heat as long as you stay moving and hydrated. At one point traffic slowed to stop-and-go in Phoenix and the bike was headed to overheating so we got off the highway and stopped for a while. Sitting in stop and go traffic on an overheating bike in full gear in 117F is no one's definition of fun I don't care what you're wearing. I also wore the full gear in May in Moab last year on the 530, but that was "only" 95-100F. The gear is hot, but it carries 3l of water, and as long as you fill it with ice and water, it will help cool for a few hours and hydrated a few more.

just another data point...

entire point of last post was to point out ... if one is riding in stop and go traffic. Heavy two layer suits in 105f+ is nuts. still not pleasant but max air flow when stopped is still preferred.

[zenjen]

Maybe Neduro will chime in. - He rode the 2012 Dakar in an Adventure jacket. The pants he wore were Klim Dakars.

In the 2011 Dakar Jonah wore the Adventure suit, but in 2012 he opted for a modified Klim PowerXross pullover and Chinook pants.

.

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by zenjen

Maybe Neduro will chime in. - He rode the 2012 Dakar in an Adventure jacket. The pants he wore were Klim Dakars.

In the 2011 Dakar Jonah wore the Adventure suit, but in 2012 he opted for a modified Klim PowerXross pullover and Chinook pants.

.

not that familiar with Klim... isn't Chinook pants made from non-waterproof vented fabric? Klim Powerxross is made from light weight Goretex similar to a Darian light?

would not want to be wearing a heavy double layer Goretex suit in desert conditions!!! anytime you stop, you'd bake

[zenjen]

Originally Posted by _cy_

not that familiar with Klim... isn't Chinook pants made from non-waterproof vented fabric? Klim Powerxross is made from light weight Goretex similar to a Darian light?

would not want to be wearing a heavy double layer Goretex suit in desert conditions!!! anytime you stop, you'd bake

The Chinook pants are basically an in-boot version of the Dakars. The PowerXross that Jonah wore was a custom version with the high collar cut off and the liner removed.

I was just trying to point out that in 2011 Jonah wore the Adventure suit in the Dakar, but the next year he chose to wear something much lighter.

.

[GB]

"shameless plug" from vendors go to the Vendors forum, not here... The spam has been punted.

[killergasser]

Originally Posted by bamarider

I've used the Roadcrafter alot in the southeast US. It is not best suited for that environment. I picked up the Badlands this year.. I did 700+ miles across Kansas & Missouri in June, with the high being 106... I don't believe that anything will work well in those temps. Stopped to hydrate, internaly and externally every 100 miles or so. The Badlands flowed enough to get good evaporative effect without letting the furnace blast get to you. Very good and effective compromise!! It also spent a day in torrential rain without a leak..

+1 to this, except in Texas.

[bigdon]

If buying gear for hot weather riding DO NOT BUY BLACK GEAR !

For highway riding in Hot Weather I find that my loose fitting Darien Jacket with the sleeves and all the vents open works as good as anything that I have tried. Charge up your Camelback with ice water and wear under the Darien and on top of a wet LD Comfort Long sleeve shirt. I get the best cooling from keeping the sleeves wet the torso not so much.

If not on highway when dual sporting a pressure suit over a long sleeve synthetic shirt works for me.

I live in Texas and will not use Black Gear!

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by zenjen

The Chinook pants are basically an in-boot version of the Dakars. The PowerXross that Jonah wore was a custom version with the high collar cut off and the liner removed.

I was just trying to point out that in 2011 Jonah wore the Adventure suit in the Dakar, but the next year he chose to wear something much lighter.

.

thank you... we both are saying the same thing... heavy two layer Goretex for temps 95-110f+ are HOT... in those type temps.. lighter is better, even if one had to reload your cooling vest multiple times.

those of you that think a Goretex suit is better under those conditions because ... suit reduces rate of evaporation... well that's true, until you have to stop. then you will bake...

I'd rather have to stop multiple times to reload my cooling vest under a mesh kevlar suit vs a heavy two layer goretex suit.

[_cy_]

Originally Posted by zenjen

The Chinook pants are basically an in-boot version of the Dakars. The PowerXross that Jonah wore was a custom version with the high collar cut off and the liner removed.

I was just trying to point out that in 2011 Jonah wore the Adventure suit in the Dakar, but the next year he chose to wear something much lighter.

.

thank you... we both are saying the same thing... heavy two layer Goretex for temps 95-110f+ is HOT... in those type temps.. lighter is better, even if one had to reload your cooling vest multiple times.

those of you that think a Goretex suit is better under those conditions because ... suit reduces rate of evaporation... well that's true, until you have to stop. then you will bake...

I'd rather have to stop multiple times to reload my cooling vest under a mesh kevlar suit vs a heavy two layer goretex suit.