bigoltool
Registered
I’ve been riding with my Firstgear Jaunt T2 Jacket for Several years now. This spring I had a wee “get off” and while my Jacket did a fantastic job of protecting me, it did sustain lots of abrasions and a few small tears. The bulk of the Damage was easily repaired with “Tenacious Tape” (which I can’t recommend highly enough for this type of repair!). While structurally still very sound, it is not as “Water resistant” as it once was , and I ride in the rain often. I started looking for a replacement at the end of the summer.
My requirements for a new jacket were fairly straightforward. I wanted a waterproof shell (have my own mid layer, so liner not needed), World class armor, Decent ventilation and a much more form fit than that provided by my Jaunt. Firstgear makes great stuff but the proportions for this jacket are a bit skewed towards the rotund. While the arms, neck and upper chest areas are fine, the Gut are is at least a few sizes too large for even me. I am 6’4” with a 52” in chest and usually am in a 2XL. I had made a short list of prospective replacements. From Firstgear the New Kilimajaro and the TPG Rainier jacket (already have the matching pants to the latter), the Revit Sand 2, and the one outlier was the Held Hakuna Jacket, which is not sold in the US, but is available through the Visor shop at a really nice price even delivered to the US.
I happened to be in a bike shop recently and found the new Kilimanjaro in my size and it fit perfectly! Then something surprised me and the dealer recommended that I also try on the Klim Overland Jacket in the same size and also to my surprise was at essentially the same ~$400 price point. It too fit me perfectly! I hadn’t previously looked at the Klim stuff as it is more ADV centric than the stuff I was looking at. I loved this jacket on the spot. A few months and a few bike shops later I tried on the TPG Rainier Jacket in 2XL and it wasn’t even close size wise. I would estimate it is at least 2 sizes smaller than the Kilimanjaro in the same size???
This weekend I was temporarily evicted from my house by my daughters 14th birthday party, so I of course ventured out to the bike shops. My first stop had me looking at the Klim Overland and also the Blade, Apex and Latitude jackets and I was able to confirm my first impression of the Overland jacket, which was the best fit of the bunch (with my go-to mid layer jacket under it! ) and to my surprise was also on sale for $350, which is $79 below MSRP. I left the dealer for another I had planned to visit but after an hour of Seattle traffic and a torrential downpour I talked myself into turning around and went back and bought the Overland Jacket. Far too good of a deal to pass up.
A few Highlights: 2 layer Guaranteed (!) waterproof Gore-Tex shell , 840D Cordura overlays in all impact areas, D3O T5 XT Armor in elbows, Shoulders and Back. Large Vents on the sides for the chest and the back. Additionally Klim Guarantees it for life against material and workmanship and they recently added crash damage to this, all you have to do is send them pictures and a copy of the accident report and they will replace it FOR FREE. Talk about standing behind your product. I chose the Black as I don’t really dig the grey and didn't want anything too flashy and I think this jacket will last me a long long time.
My requirements for a new jacket were fairly straightforward. I wanted a waterproof shell (have my own mid layer, so liner not needed), World class armor, Decent ventilation and a much more form fit than that provided by my Jaunt. Firstgear makes great stuff but the proportions for this jacket are a bit skewed towards the rotund. While the arms, neck and upper chest areas are fine, the Gut are is at least a few sizes too large for even me. I am 6’4” with a 52” in chest and usually am in a 2XL. I had made a short list of prospective replacements. From Firstgear the New Kilimajaro and the TPG Rainier jacket (already have the matching pants to the latter), the Revit Sand 2, and the one outlier was the Held Hakuna Jacket, which is not sold in the US, but is available through the Visor shop at a really nice price even delivered to the US.
I happened to be in a bike shop recently and found the new Kilimanjaro in my size and it fit perfectly! Then something surprised me and the dealer recommended that I also try on the Klim Overland Jacket in the same size and also to my surprise was at essentially the same ~$400 price point. It too fit me perfectly! I hadn’t previously looked at the Klim stuff as it is more ADV centric than the stuff I was looking at. I loved this jacket on the spot. A few months and a few bike shops later I tried on the TPG Rainier Jacket in 2XL and it wasn’t even close size wise. I would estimate it is at least 2 sizes smaller than the Kilimanjaro in the same size???
This weekend I was temporarily evicted from my house by my daughters 14th birthday party, so I of course ventured out to the bike shops. My first stop had me looking at the Klim Overland and also the Blade, Apex and Latitude jackets and I was able to confirm my first impression of the Overland jacket, which was the best fit of the bunch (with my go-to mid layer jacket under it! ) and to my surprise was also on sale for $350, which is $79 below MSRP. I left the dealer for another I had planned to visit but after an hour of Seattle traffic and a torrential downpour I talked myself into turning around and went back and bought the Overland Jacket. Far too good of a deal to pass up.
A few Highlights: 2 layer Guaranteed (!) waterproof Gore-Tex shell , 840D Cordura overlays in all impact areas, D3O T5 XT Armor in elbows, Shoulders and Back. Large Vents on the sides for the chest and the back. Additionally Klim Guarantees it for life against material and workmanship and they recently added crash damage to this, all you have to do is send them pictures and a copy of the accident report and they will replace it FOR FREE. Talk about standing behind your product. I chose the Black as I don’t really dig the grey and didn't want anything too flashy and I think this jacket will last me a long long time.
