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Klim Apex Adventure Jacket (review)


djdiddles

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So I don't do very many reviews but felt the need to post one for this jacket. I've taken my FZ07 from Austin to the Grand Canyon using a summer time Alpine Stars mesh jacket. That was/is a great jacket for cruising around town but I quickly realized I needed something I could use in case of a rain storm *which happened at altitude*, that can breathe in the summer heat, and help keep the wind off me when it's cool / cold out.
 
Solution? Klim's Apex jacket. Now, this is in a whole different ball park than a lot of your normal waterproof jackets or suits. This jacket is designed for all weather riding. Here in south Texas, we kind of get a little bit of everything and since I plan on riding this fall/winter, this jacket made the most sense
 
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First off, I'm 6ft 1in tall, 210 with a 44inch chest and 35-36 in waist. I order the large jacket which fits with room to spare. That's a great thing because if I want to wear a heated vest or thick thermals, it has room for that. You can also adjust it to fit your waist with the bungee at the base of the jacket and neck. It comes with the ability to zip into you riding pants as well *which is pretty standard*. 
 
Honestly, the feature set on this jacket is pretty ridiculous and there is no way I could cover the whole jacket in a reasonable amount of words so I'm just going to cover the main points that matter to me.
 
The feel of the jacket reminds me a lot of some of my Burton jackets I've used *beside the leather* when I go snowboarding. It has the double zipper design but has a double flap over it to make sure that it doesn't leak / seep water along with Velcro to keep those flaps down. I really really like that design because the main zipper can make or break a jacket in an instant with wind coming in or leaking water especially at high way speeds.
 
The armor in the jacket feels nice and of a high quality. It's not over bearing or super stiff like my Alpine Stars leather racing jacket, but you do notice that your forearms, shoulders and back have a fair bit of protection. Considering this is a "sporty" version of an adventure jacket, the armor contour definitely hugs you and just sticks there. No sliding or shifting. Once you're all geared up, you feel solid and not all flappy.
 
last thing I really care about are vents. I want to know that if it's 90 degrees outside, that if I'm moving, that the jacket will flow enough air to keep me nice a cool. I am impressed by how many vents you can open and close for the forearms, biceps, shoulders, chest, and flank. These aren't tiny and I suspect they are going to flow a huge amount of air to keep me cool. Considering it's in the the 60's outside right now, I wont be able to test this feature till it warms up. Never the less, it is a very encouraging sign and can't wait to see how it does perform in the Texas heat. Will it flow more air than a pure summer time jacket? more than likely not, but if it can come close, I would be pretty happy.
 
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Ok, so I actually got the ability to test the jacket out today, and if you are in Texas right now, you know that we are having some major storms / flooding going on right now. I figured, you know what, lets give this puppy a shot. Water proof? I've heard that before...
 
I started by leaving my house and getting caught in a rain shower, in a school zone, as school was letting out. As the rain came down, I braced myself for the cold soaked chill to ensue. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Not one drop of the down pour touched my skin. It was pretty unnerving standing there waiting, and just having the rain just roll off. Totally not use to that. Once I made it past the school zone, I was doing about 35 - 45 mph, and I will say, it keeps you dry, but you still feel the dull sting of the rain drops. I guess you can't win at everything but considering it was a good down pour, it's kind of to be expected with rain drops that big.
 
I then put this thing to the ultimate test: highway speeds with wet roads = tons of water mist from cars. This jacket worked like a champ. I did have some water creep down my neck, but that was because I didn't adjust the bungee at the neck to basically give me a better seal. Other than that, which was a simple fix at a gas station, I had no problem riding around and enjoying the time on the road. Not only did it block the water, but I had no problem with wind blast.
 
I will say, the one down side to this jacket is the price. At $800 bucks, this is a premium product for the select few that want an all weather motorcycle jacket. It's honestly the only drawback I have found. Granted, I've only had this jacket for a few days. That being said, I've already done about 400 miles with it and can pretty much see this being my main jacket for going to work *60 miles round trip* and longer trips *like my trip to the Grand Canyon*. Sport riding? I'll probably stick to my Alpine Star leathers but there again, those are two completely different products. A solid 9/10 and the only ding being the price.
 
 
 

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