The gearmakers at Klim have emerged from their lab with big news: The company has just launched the Badlands Pro A3 jacket and pants, the world’s first ADV riding gear to carry the CE AAA safety rating.
Although you don’t hear as much noise about it in North America, CE-rated gear is a big deal in Europe. Over there, moto gear is rated to CE’s A, AA, or AAA standard, with A being the least-protective (we’re talking the protection of a pair of Levis here, a pretty low bar). AA-rated gear is intended to stand up to a worse crash, and AAA-rated gear, the highest standard of all, is pro-level protection. Typically, the only gear that meets AAA rating is heavy-duty leather, like a roadracing suit.
Race suits aren’t suitable for adventure riding, though, so ADVers had to make do with AA-rated gear. Most textiles don’t have the same crash resistance as leather, and that’s what most ADV gear is made of.
To earn an AAA rating, Klim developed a new textile. As per the press release,
KLIM’s fabric sourcing and development team worked on creating a new fabric, in partnership with GORE-TEX and Vectran™. The Vectran™ fibers are made from liquid-crystal polymers, and have been used in Mars rover landings, sailcloth, bowstrings, medical devices and other highly specialized applications – but never before in motorcycle apparel. The Vectran™ fiber fabric in the Badlands Pro A3 is made of Vectran™ fibers and high tenacity twisted-yarn Cordura® nylon, creating exceptional abrasion protection and cut resistance. When comparing the main body fabric in the Badlands Pro and the new Vectran™ fiber fabric, there is a significant 17% increase in strength and 10% decrease in weight for those materials. Working with Gore to meet their stringent quality and performance standards, they used GORE-TEX Pro shell technology to build a three-layer laminate to guarantee waterproofness and breathability.
Klim integrated this fabric into its existing Badland jacket and pants design, allowing the company to sell a breathable, ventilated design with lots of of pockets. The Badlands jacket already has D3O Aero Pro armour in shoulders and elbows, a D3O Viper Pro backpad, and Superfabric overlays in key areas for tough road rash resistance. The jacket has 12 vents, 14 pockets (including hydration bladder-compatible pocket) and of course, Gore-Tex shell for waterproofing. Klim says the Badlands Pro A3 Jacket and pants are the first CE AAA-rated Gore-Tex gear on the market.
The Badland Pro A3 pants have similar Gore-Tex Pro shell,, with Klim’s Aero Pro Level 2 D3O hip, knee and tailbone armor. They have Superfabric on the knees, and heat-resistant leather inside the knee panels for grip and protection. There’s four vents on the pants, and two thigh pockets.
The Badland Pro A3 pants have a $1,499 MSRP; the pants have an $899 MSRP. Both come in Ventran Sage colours only. More details on Klim’s websitehereandhere.
