Quick recap of Roadcrafter 3 vs. Klim Badlands after 4,000 miles

[sagerat]

Greetings,
So last late fall I bought a Roadcrafter 3 and have put a couple of thousand miles on it. The suit is the best commuting gear I've ever used; very convenient and fantastic weather protection. I've been in cold, wind, rain, and temps from upper 30s to mid-80s. It's the latter where for me the R3 falls short. The venting just isn't there. I've run it wearing just LD riding shorts and wicking shirt underneath and still just roasted, even with armpit vents open and back vent open and without my Camel Bak. The chest vents on my old Rallye 3 suit spoiled me. The numerous pockets on the R3 are both boon and bane as it took me a while to settle in on a system of this also goes in this pocket, that always goes in that pocket, these go there... The R3 is very comfy both on and off bike. Drawback is when touring solo and making pit stops, it's either lug suit into bathroom or go into bathroom suited, unsuit to do business, then resuit, or leave suit on bike, which for paranoid me is not an option. Heck, I lug my helmet into the restroom as a Schuberth ain't cheap. For food stops, I just wear the 'Stich to my table and then zip out and pile suit onto the booth. I laughingly call it my semi-inconvenient convenient suit. Overall, I give the Roadcrafter 3 a solid B+; for me it's excellent for commuting, decent for day rides, and below average for touring. I've tried wearing my Camel Bak and it blocks the rear vent. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the purchase and have no regrets.

So three weeks ago I gulped and bought the Klim Badlands jacket and pants for a trip down to SoCal and back. In about 2,500 miles I had temps from upper 40s to low 90s as well as wind, more wind, high winds, and absurd winds, as well as rain and lots and lots of sun. Klim gear worked great in all conditions. The jacket and pants have enough pockets to cause me to lose track of things...again. The venting is fabulous. This is where the Klim really outshines the Roadcrafter 3 is its arm vents, back vents, chest vents, and then the excellent venting in the pants. Plus my Camel Bak does not crimp the airflow at all. The Klim wears lighter on the body than the 'Stich. Fit on the jacket is excellent, the pants are solid; neither the Klim nor the R3 knee pads caused any discomfort on long rides, although the Rally 3 pants would cause a bit. The Klim's jacket to pants zipper works very well. The Klim for me is a superior choice for touring, equals or slightly betters the R3 for day rides, and trails as commuting gear. The Klim is vastly superior for dual sporting, but then that's its primary purpose; I bought the R3 knowing I'd never use it for dual sporting.

In short the Klim and the R3 complement each other. If I had to pick one, knowing what I now know and after using both for several thousand miles, I'd go for the Klim Badlands jacket and pants, but luckily I don't have to make that choice.

YMMV.

 

[powwow]

Thanks for the review...very informative.

 

[195990]

Aerostich vs Klim vs Rallye 3 vs new Rallye (review)

Aerostich vs Klim vs Rallye 3 vs new Rallye (review)

Hopefully my review help someone else thinking about the same dilemmas as I was. After much online research reading forums, reviews, videos and trying on stuff at local dealers the following is my story.

I had a bit too large Rallye 3 (black and yellow) jacket for the past 5 years and many miles. Got it new on clearance for a steal, So I put up with their slightly too big jacket for years. My thoughts on it, I never remove the sleeves riding off road because when I fell I would usually land on my elbows and shoulder so I didn’t see the point of removing the only armor that was actually needed. When walking up hills to scout out lines, or picking up the bike after dropping it and getting too hot I would just quickly take off the jacket and put it on when I was ready to ride again.

I just picked up the brand new rally jacket today at my dealership when I was going to pick up some hand guards, (being impulsive with black Friday deals is not good for the pocketbook). My thoughts on the new jacket, it feels so much lighter and soft compared to the old rallye jacket I have. However I weighed them on the scale and they’re exactly the same weight, it must be the new Wooltech material that just feels more flexible and soft then cordura. I had an issue with the old jacket liner leaking in the rain, but I tried a trick from my old military days, of a damp towel with the vortex in the dryer and steaming the Gore-Tex to refresh it. And it seem to work, while trying to do a Butt burner gold (1500mi/24hrs) I ran into 13 hours of continuous rain on the tail end of my adventure, I had the old rally three jacket liner and underneath a heated jacket.

After 13 hours of continuous heavy rain stopping only for gas, at the end only a bit of my neck and my sleeve opening head where wet on my heated jacket, but no water have made it to my undershirt. That water had just came in through my neck and glove openings. However the jacket was extremely heavy and took a long trying to dry out once I finally completed my ride. (Was actually 75 miles short st my 24hr mark, so only qualified for a buttburner ironbutt ride 15000/36hrs)....damn rain. If I wasn’t committed to a goal, I definitely will not ride in heavy rain for 13 hours straight on purpose again!

After that I was convinced that going with a Gore-Tex combined shell was the way to go and bought a pair of Klim traverse pants. The pants breathe well when moving and definitely keep the rain out, but they are heavy and are constantly saggy when walking around off the bike. And as you know gortex only Breaths with positive pressure so just sitting in the pants you get pretty warm. The klim gear is tough stuff, but it doesn’t integrate to my jacket so the pants are always sagging which I fixed by buying a pair of big construction suspenders.

When buying the new jacket I figured I would try on the pants, and they feel like you’re wearing sweatpants they’re so comfortable and feel light walking around in them all day, you only realize thy’re motorcycle pants due do the knee armor. I like the fact I finally have pants that attach to the jacket so they don’t sag down while sitting, standing, sitting or walking as you ride around. They feel so much lighter and maneuverable then the Klim pants, The rally pants are much more dual sport riding oriented then the Klim traverse pants, It really is like having a pair of motorcross pants on that just happened to take a Gore-Tex liner if needed.

Living in Northern Nevada I deal with hot temperatures during the summer and spring and very cold temperatures in the fall and winter and try to ride the bike on trails and commute to work as long as there’s no ice or snow on the ground. Last year I ordered a custom tailored Aerostich R3 one piece suit after my frustrations with having to deal with a Gore-Tex liner.

the thing I love about Aerostich is they are very durable have great armor and you could wear your street clothes underneath and within 30 seconds your in an out. With the Rallye3 and Klim pants I found myself just riding in jeans and the jacket, most often (and wasn’t ATGATT). The thing I don’t like about the R3 is it’s hot (90+) and you’re not moving, it starts to heat up, as long as you’re moving they actually are pretty cool in the heat despite being wrapped in a full Gore-Tex plastic bag. Now they don’t look that sexy but now that I’m in my 40s, I’ve accepted I’m not as cool as I once thought I was. However taking my GSA on all the dirt trails Nevada has to offer me and occasionally dropping it (I’m still not good in soft sand, starting to think it’s mental) the one piece Gore-Tex encapsulation is not the best for physically exerting yourself (1 or 2 piece suits).

The thing I like about the new rally jacket is that the waterproof/windproof liner can be worn over the jacket if you had a rain storm. Even in my aero stitch one piece if it starts raining I still have to stop to zip up the air vents. No I haven’t timed it but I’m assuming putting a jacket liner over the top of a jacket your wearing isn’t that time consuming. You do lose some reflectivity as the jacket liner is only reflective on the shoulder sleeves and has no strip on the back. I think if I was heading out for a trip or is it going to experience a lot of rain I would wear my Aerostich one piece unless it was a dual sport trip like riding the BDR. For that I would take my rallye suit and deal with The pants not being waterproof. The wooltech rallye material seems like it dries out faster than the old cordura/nylon. I don’t think I would mess with trying to get the Gore-Tex pant liner on in the rain, and unless it’s gonna be raining for days at a time. In which case I would just bring my Klim pants (and suspenders) instead.

One good thing about the Gore-Tex liners however is there also wind proof; and when riding in cold temps with all the zippers and vents, even if they’re closed causes you to cool off quickly. But with a Gore-Tex liner you really don’t need to wear that many warming layers when writing in cold weather, it was 22 today and I felt fine on a short ride. Even my Aerostich one piece seems to leak air when zipped up. despite a 30 mile commute in the low 30s the 20s all I need is wind blocking layers underneath and I’ve been fine. I haven’t busted out any of my heated gear yet.

The new rally has tons of Vents. The whole back panel rolls down and there’s one big vent or you could just zip down the sides like other jackets and still put in the hydration bladder on your back in the jacket. The only downside I can see to the rally jacket is looking like a little bit of a fan boy, however as the guy that owns a one Aerostich suit; apparently I don’t care what other people think I look like . I really like that one piece aerostich suit for commuting, I even wore a suit underneath it for an interview and looked like I just got out of a nice car, after 30 seconds. However they are not cheap and neither is the rally gear and if I had to do it again I probably would’ve just gone with the rally gear and put the liners in during the winter to block the wind. I was really hoping the “ride More guarantee” of the Aerostich would make me love it, however it is not that comfortable off the bike, and not a great summer option and definitely sucks when working hard off road. However if I was going on Street trip and maybe camping along the way, the Aerostich would work great. Because it is great on the road and comes off so quickly, and you could be in your street clothes underneath and it’s off in seconds, all you Gotta do is figure out what to do with the suit, so it doesn’t walk away from the bike when you do.

I looked into and researched the Enduroguard suit, and on paper and in the videos it looks like the perfect solution to all the deficiencies in all my other gear. However after actually trying it on I learned it wasn’t the holy Grail . It does have some slick features, but it is not as stretchable or pliable as they make it seem. It is very similar to my 1000 weight cordura Aerostich. Now after several months and thousands of miles of riding the Aerostich, it has broken in a bit more, emphasis on a “bit”. However, the new rally jacket and pants felt broken in like a favorite jacket, off the hanger. I suspect the Enduroguard suit, Is much more Street oriented despite the advertising commercials, it was stiff to walk around in and didn’t flow that much air when you’re not moving fast, the great thing about it is it does have lots of Vents, And is waterproof without the need of a shell or liner. Which is why the Enduroguard needs more Vents, because it isn’t as breathable as the wooltech material is on the rallye jacket.

I am still very torn on what Gear I would have if I can only have one set, I think if I wasn’t an adventure rider (read wanna be off-road rider, on too big of a bike) the Aerostich one piece suit would be my choice if I could only choose one. However, I think a two piece is the way to go if you are doing any type of off-road riding.

Now I know there’s many other manufacturers out there, I was also on the fence about the revit’t Sand three suit; which I think is probably one of the best bangs for your buck out there for non-integrated gortex suit. After spending a few decades in the Marine Corps, I know even the new Gore-Tex stuff is not that breathable when walking around and exerting yourself.

Therefore after much research and trying on many different types and brands of suits, I think the BMW rallye Is one of the best all-around options out there. And with 20% off during Black Friday sales I pulled the trigger and I’m not regretting it. If my old rally three jacket was the right size for me I think I would’ve been wearing it for another 5 to 10 years and just bought some non-Gore-Tex pants to go along with it.

If I was going to be in a high-speed crash that Aerostich would be my choice to save my butt though.

Fortunately, or unfortunately however you look at it; I’m single and on my second career so I can afford two separate suits for riding. I am a firm believer of wearing all the gear, all the time. And the one piece or a stitch when commuting allows me to do that and in seconds be in my work clothes and ready to go.

However when riding for fun, on short trips, and longer adventures; I think there are few choices that are as good as the new BMW rallye suit!