Klim Adventure Suit

[YetiGS]

I wondered when it would happen. Glad (for you) to hear that you're going to be ok and glad (for me) to hear that the gear worked and held up well.

Heal fast mate!

[osteo]

Originally Posted by LC8TY

Well, 4 weeks ago I crash tested the Klim Adv suit.

I haven't posted anything about the performance of suit untill now because the crash happen in a remote area of Australia's NW (Mitchell Platue) and I was air lifted to hospital without it. Last weekend I went to retrive my bike and gear and now I've had a good look over it to see if there was any damage.

The Scene
I was riding around about 100k/hr on a rough dirt/rocky track, overtook a 4x4 and once I was past the dust I saw a washout across the track. I didn't have time to react at all, I couldn't slow down in time so I held the gas on. The rear wheel clipped the trailing edge of the washout, it swapped sides a few times and then spat me off.

The Gear
Apart from the Klim Adv suit I was also wearing an F4 helmet, MX boots, gloves and a Leatt neck brace. I wasn't wearing any other armour under the suit, just a T shirt and shorts.

Hitting the Dirt
I landed heavily on my left side, then bounced onto my right side before sliding down the track and into the bush.

The Injuries
Left collar bone broken in three places, servere bruising and swelling to both shoulders, upper back and chest. Internal damage to the chest ( I can't remember what the Doc called it, the result was spitting blood for a couple of days). Apart from that I had a large red mark on my right knee that looked suspiciously like the imprint of the d30 armour in the Klim pants.

The Suit
Apart from alot of ground in dirt there is no damage to the suit at all. I have no doubt about the d30 armour, it certainly works.

It could be argued that the Leatt may have saved me from neck damage , but it seems that most of my injuries are related to it. The major break in my collar bone is right where the brace sits (the other two are at the shoulder/arm end) and the worst bruising I suffered is an almost exact imprint of the brace. I remember sliding down the track on my back, the rear lip of the brace forced up against the helmet while the front part was trying to cave my chest in.

So, I'm happy with the protection that the suit provided, I've had only one crash like this before and lost a fair bit of skin as well as pain from impact at the knees, hip and elbows. The d30 armour has certainly done its job.

The Leatt? I'm not sure if I'll wear that again, if I do it maybe saved for racing only.

oohh... heal well and heal fast.

You are right we can discuss at nauseum (sp?) the benefits or if the Leatt caused more harm than good, but that would belong elsewhere (I do believe there is a Leatt thread somewhere that does just that) - but the fact remains:

Heal well, and heal fast.

D


p.s. - as much as I said I shouldn't write this... I mentioned what had happened to the wife and she said the same thing I was thinking, that it sounds like the impact of your helmet hitting the Leatt may have been what caused the clavicle fracturing (as well as all the bruising as you say) - I totally agree. But, had you not been wearing the Leatt - your helmet would not have stopped which quite possibly would have caused a compression fracture or some other crazy fracture of the vertebrae... as you said neck damage, more significant than a collar bone that is no longer S shaped.

[Wings]

Originally Posted by LC8TY

Well, 4 weeks ago I crash tested the Klim Adv suit.

I haven't posted anything about the performance of suit untill now because the crash happen in a remote area of Australia's NW (Mitchell Platue) and I was air lifted to hospital without it. Last weekend I went to retrive my bike and gear and now I've had a good look over it to see if there was any damage.

The Scene
I was riding around about 100k/hr on a rough dirt/rocky track, overtook a 4x4 and once I was past the dust I saw a washout across the track. I didn't have time to react at all, I couldn't slow down in time so I held the gas on. The rear wheel clipped the trailing edge of the washout, it swapped sides a few times and then spat me off.

The Gear
Apart from the Klim Adv suit I was also wearing an F4 helmet, MX boots, gloves and a Leatt neck brace. I wasn't wearing any other armour under the suit, just a T shirt and shorts.

Hitting the Dirt
I landed heavily on my left side, then bounced onto my right side before sliding down the track and into the bush.

The Injuries
Left collar bone broken in three places, servere bruising and swelling to both shoulders, upper back and chest. Internal damage to the chest ( I can't remember what the Doc called it, the result was spitting blood for a couple of days). Apart from that I had a large red mark on my right knee that looked suspiciously like the imprint of the d30 armour in the Klim pants.

The Suit
Apart from alot of ground in dirt there is no damage to the suit at all. I have no doubt about the d30 armour, it certainly works.

It could be argued that the Leatt may have saved me from neck damage , but it seems that most of my injuries are related to it. The major break in my collar bone is right where the brace sits (the other two are at the shoulder/arm end) and the worst bruising I suffered is an almost exact imprint of the brace. I remember sliding down the track on my back, the rear lip of the brace forced up against the helmet while the front part was trying to cave my chest in.

So, I'm happy with the protection that the suit provided, I've had only one crash like this before and lost a fair bit of skin as well as pain from impact at the knees, hip and elbows. The d30 armour has certainly done its job.

The Leatt? I'm not sure if I'll wear that again, if I do it maybe saved for racing only.

When I crashed the KRS, my gear did it's job as well. No Leatt. Among other things, I also busted my collar bone, broke the sternum and crushed the manubrium (the plate at the top end of the sternum) with the chin bar from the helmet. And a few compression fractures of the spine to boot. Tell you what though, I'm sure glad I had that helmet on and I sure as heck won't start riding without one, it most definitely prevented a heckuva lot worse inuries than it caused.
Hope you heal up quickly, great to hear it wasn't worse and that the suit held up so well!

[LC8TY]

Thanks everyone, Its good to know that the extended Klim Adv suit family cares.

Rossco - I'm certain the suit without any armour/protection underneath will provide the protection you need on your Canning Stock Route ride. I think it will be a bit warm if the pace is slow in the sand during the heat of the day but you'll be loving it when the temps drop at night. I also think you'll be going when you get into the thick scrub that overgrows the track.

Jim - I had all the vents open, even though it's winter in Aus the days around here are still warm.

Dennis - I agree on the Leatt debate, best left for the other thread.

Heres a few pics of the suit, although I landed on my left side I spent most of the time sliding along the track on my right side and back.
There is no doubt in my mind about the toughness of the Goretex outer shell, apart from some dirt there isn't a mark on it.





I'm more than impressed with the d30 armour, it maybe a bit small but in my case it did the job perfectly. Whatever I hit with my right knee, rock/tree/ground, I hit it hard enough to leave an imprint of the d30 but without any pain. Larger armour panels in the next generation suit wont be a waste, you can't have too much of a good thing.

[LC8TY]

I thought I add a couple of pics of the track I was riding at the time.

[Mav]

Thanks for the write up - really good to hear how well the kit and armour stands up to abuse.

Hope you heal fast

[wonky]

We've just issued these Edding 8150 silicone oil markers to all our Rally suit customers on recommendation from Gore.



The numbers for increased closure strength from Gore are impressive and on initial tests seem to be true.

The lube also increases the ease of opening and closing dramatically. I can now ride along and easily operate the under-arm vents on the move.

Im pretty sure all owners will be issued these in the not-so-distant future, but for the $5 (guess) or whatever they cost, i figured most people will buy one so they get the most out of the summer...

[F650Dakar_Norway]

Got the above shown silicone marker from Adv.Spec today.
Applied as instructed and the Gore-Locks improved instantly and are now smoother than ever. Improvement was dramatic and makes operation much easier with apparently better closure.

[Andreas240]

Originally Posted by F650Dakar_Norway

Got the above shown silicone marker from Adv.Spec today.
Applied as instructed and the Gore-Locks improved instantly and are now smoother than ever. Improvement was dramatic and makes operation much easier with apparently better closure.

+1 on that. Better than new and great service!

[OlyRider]

No real drama.

Rode to the BMW Rally in Redmond, OR last week. Went on a ride with the Alt-Rider folks led by Dave Wachs of Giant Loop fame. (There's a thread in "Day-Trippin')

Anyway, I whiskey-throttled the F800GS when I hit a rock I didn't see, and had to put the bike down on its right side to avoid a hill looming ahead. Face-planted 230# into a large table rock at about 10-15mph. The Klim Adventure jacket and Leatt brace worked perfect! Not a scratch, bump, or itch. Without the brace, I might have become 2 inches shorter...or worse. Woke up the next day with no pain anywhere. Excellent! And the jacket did great on a 90 degree day. (As long as we were moving!) Looked the jacket over closely, and I can't find a mark. One of the other riders works for Klim. He told me some history (and hints) about the thought behind what they've done, and what they are doing.

I'm a believer in the jacket AND the brace.

[NWBoarder]

Originally Posted by OlyRider

No real drama.

Rode to the BMW Rally in Redmond, OR last week. Went on a ride with the Alt-Rider folks led by Dave Wachs of Giant Loop fame. (There's a thread in "Day-Trippin')

Anyway, I whiskey-throttled the F800GS when I hit a rock I didn't see, and had to put the bike down on its right side to avoid a hill looming ahead. Face-planted 230# into a large table rock at about 10-15mph. The Klim Adventure jacket and Leatt brace worked perfect! Not a scratch, bump, or itch. Without the brace, I might have become 2 inches shorter...or worse. Woke up the next day with no pain anywhere. Excellent! And the jacket did great on a 90 degree day. (As long as we were moving!) Looked the jacket over closely, and I can't find a mark. One of the other riders works for Klim. He told me some history (and hints) about the thought behind what they've done, and what they are doing.

I'm a believer in the jacket AND the brace.

Glad you're ok! And the gear worked!
I went for a morning ride with Wachs, on friday of the rally, and hung out with Edward too. Great people! Wish I had the dough for this suit.

[chief_lee_visceral]

Originally Posted by wonky

We've just issued these Edding 8150 silicone oil markers to all our Rally suit customers on recommendation from Gore.



The numbers for increased closure strength from Gore are impressive and on initial tests seem to be true.

The lube also increases the ease of opening and closing dramatically. I can now ride along and easily operate the under-arm vents on the move.

Im pretty sure all owners will be issued these in the not-so-distant future, but for the $5 (guess) or whatever they cost, i figured most people will buy one so they get the most out of the summer...

Thanks for the post. Yeah man this is the only issue I have with the suit. I added tassel hangers to the zippers but still have to stop most times. A real drag in the PNW when you hit little bits of rain that you would rather just ride through.

It would be cool to get an issue from KLIM but I am going for it now.

PS Edit--- Hmmm a source in the USA is not jumping out on Google.

PSS... yep that is a UK/continent distributed production only. I am going to ask KLIM and post back. Sorry if this is redundant.

[Wallowa]

Originally Posted by chief_lee_visceral

Thanks for the post. Yeah man this is the only issue I have with the suit. I added tassel hangers to the zippers but still have to stop most times. A real drag in the PNW when you hit little bits of rain that you would rather just ride through.

It would be cool to get an issue from KLIM but I am going for it now.

PS Edit--- Hmmm a source in the USA is not jumping out on Google.

PSS... yep that is a UK/continent distributed production only. I am going to ask KLIM and post back. Sorry if this is redundant.

With the many different dry suits I used over the years [diving] I found that if you add an "extra" pull on a zipper/dry closure you can get into trouble very fast...if for whatever reason the fastener is misaligned, with a longer pull you can damage the fastener trying to close or open it...in short you can apply too much force, either by not paying attention or in frustration or being in a hurry...hope this helps.

Then again this advice may be totally useless...


Ps...As I remember the Viking dry suit came with a tube of bee's wax for lubing the closure

[chief_lee_visceral]

Thanks and I can pickup what you are laying down. I will see what KLIM says but in the mean time I will quit using the tassels.

I have some uber expensive lubricant from Mercedes made specifically to lube their sliding sunroofs. It is formulated to not attract dirt while doing its thing. Maybe I will try that.

[decka]

FWIW: I have the Rukka Armas suit which uses Gore Lockouts and yes, the silicone lubricant is absolutely critical. Without it, it's really hard to use a lockout closure and you can ruin it if you pull too hard. Once you add some silicone and run it into the channels a few times, it works like a dream and is a really cool gizmo. I find that the silicone lives in the little "tracks" of the zip for several months before I need to add more. I used the silicone that comes with Arai face-shields.