Badlands Vs. Latitude 840 Review

[bloodline]

A few folks have asked so here is my review:

Badlands Jacket:

The Pros-
1. Collar is softer, has tabs to hold open both sides towards the shoulders. The tabs are important because the softer collar flaps more than the open Latitude.
2. A lot more armor and it feels like it would be more likely to stay in place in a crash.
3. the pockets are pleated and MUCH easier to deal with. While the zipper closure is annoying, it's pretty easy to manipulate.
4. the kidney belt. It's quite comfortable but I suspect it's going to make the badlands very HOT compared to the Latitude. So a Pro? Not sure, yet.
5. Rear vent/s are vertical and easy to reach and manipulate while seated on the bike.
6. Arm vents are easier to manipulate but do not work as well.
7. the arms are pretty snug and don't flap in the breeze at speed.
8. Goretex Pro is tried and true.

The cons-
1. The cuff things at the wrist suck. There, I said it. I'll probably cut them out of the jacket.
2. The venting does not work as well as the latitude.
3. Supposedly one can use a hydration with this jacket. It was certainly not given the thought that the rest of the jacket received.
4. It's an ordeal to suit up. The kidney belt, the chest armor and the horrible cuff thingys make it a production to put this gear on. In all fairness, those items could be removed and it's not likely that I will.
5. Price.
6. Snug fit.

Latitude 840 jacket:

Pros-
1. Easy on/off.
2. excellent ventilation. The stiffness of the jacket seems to help this.
3. Price.
4. durability? Only real concern is the goretex to cordura bond. It's not the multi layer goretex pro system. The cordura is wicked tough. Impressive.
5. Roomy cut. the bottom of the jacket has adjustable gussets that the Badlands lacks.
6. Exterior waist adjustment. My wife uses it like handles when we ride 2 up. It's great to snug up the jacket or make it "balloon" for more airflow.

Cons-
1. The collar. I got used to it, but it's stiff and if your neck is short and fat, you aren't gonna like it.
2. the pockets. It's very difficult to put anything of any thickness (wallet, sunglasses, etc) in the pockets. The cordura is stiff and there is not much extra material.
3. difficult to manipulate the vents one handed. The bicep area is huge and I'm not. Even those vents give me some trouble on the bike.

Badlands Pants:

Pros-
1. Comfort. VERY comfortable both on and off the bike.
2. the pockets. Smarty placed and easy to use.
3. Ventilation- while it's almost identical to the Latitude, it's easier to manipulate for some reason.

Cons-
1. Maybe this is not a con but if you are coming from the latitude, it is. I owned 36 tall in both pants. The Badlands tall is a lot "taller" than the latitude. Probably too tall for me, actually. I'm 6'1.5" with a 33inch inseam. I considered the Latitude tall to be perfect for me.
2. I think the material around the boots/shins could have been thicker.
3. Huge amount of material at the knees. I suspect it was designed to be worn over separate knee armor and I'm concerned the knee pads in the pants would shift and do very little in a crash.


Latitude 840 pants:

Pros-
1. TOUGH!
2. Perfect fit over boots and perfect placement of the snaps to control ventilation up your pant leg.

Cons-
1. Pockets are almost worthless.
2. Not as comfortable off the bike. Looks and feels like you are carrying a loaded diaper in the back.

some thoughts:

I suspect the Latitude Misano would address most of what I don't like about the Latitude 840. I wish they made the Latitude with the Badlands material at the Latitude price. The badlands pants are a LOT more comfortable when off the bike. I have no complaints with the latitude pants ON the bike.

I can feel more radiant heat thru the badlands pants and even though I bought grey, I suspect the black latitude pants may actually be cooler.

I feel torn regarding the kidney belt. It's very comfortable on the bike, pretty miserable off the bike, and hot. It's removable and I'll likely pull it out when it warms up.

The liner with the thumb hole deal in the badlands cuffs is just not working for me. I intend to cut them out.

I've done a 2 week trip in my latitude gear and it was fantastic. I'm looking forward to doing the same in the Badlands and perhaps I can offer some additional info after that.

 

[klunsford]

Great review Bloodline. ::008::

 

[Karson]

I like my Traverse stuff, which is about as cheap as Klim makes outerwear and plan on upgrading it at the end of the year or beginning of next year. I'm not real well versed on there new release timelines, but is it around March every year they come out with their new/updated lines?

Also - GREAT REVIEW ::008:: ::008::

 

[BUGKILLER]

Thanks for the review. I wear the Traverse pants with the lattitude jacket I like the combo. It works well for me. I wear the 38 reg. At 6' 32 in. Inseam should have gotten the tall But the lattitude jacket XL fits perfect. Based on your inpressions I would not upgrade. ::008::

 

[creggur]

Have had the Latitude set for about a year and love it. The collar on the jacket (finally) broke in after about 4 months of constant use and is comfortable now. At 6' with a 32" inseam I wish I'd gotten the tall version of the pants, but they work fine - I need taller boots anyway...

 

[bloodline]

I like my Traverse stuff, which is about as cheap as Klim makes outerwear and plan on upgrading it at the end of the year or beginning of next year. I'm not real well versed on there new release timelines, but is it around March every year they come out with their new/updated lines?

Also - GREAT REVIEW ::008:: ::008::

It is around March. They are coming out with a women's Latitude next march. Right now, it's black with much discussion over trim colors. I was told they would NOT be making a womens suit in grey.

The new Overland is like a slightly thicker Traverse and it comes with armor for around the same money. i suspect they will sell a TON of them.

 

[True Grip]

Spot on review of the 840 latitude down to the loaded diaper. I thought it was just me. I suffer from noassatol. I've wondered who their models were for their patterns. 32 inch inseam also and by their chart reg. pants should fit but seem a tad short. Overall though happy with my suit seems very durable and comfortable enough for me on the bike not as much off the bike either. My wife bought Rev It as they have a suit tailored for women. Not near as heavy, needs a rain liner but probably vents better than the gore-tex stuff. I actually like the heavier weight cordura for protection. Lots of good choices out there although none are cheap. I like the saying "I'd rather sweat than bleed"

 

[klunsford]

I have the Fieldsheer Motomorph jacket and pants. When I lived in Colorado, they called it the Colorado Jacket because it had the outer shell, inner mesh jacket (with the armor) and a water proof inside liner (very warm). Some days I would use it all when riding the moutains.. Start out in the mesh in Denver and add as I went up in elevation. I really like this set, but I will need to replace it in the next year. Keep the reviews coming.

 

[bloodline]

Spot on review of the 840 latitude down to the loaded diaper. I thought it was just me. I suffer from noassatol. I've wondered who their models were for their patterns. 32 inch inseam also and by their chart reg. pants should fit but seem a tad short. Overall though happy with my suit seems very durable and comfortable enough for me on the bike not as much off the bike either. My wife bought Rev It as they have a suit tailored for women. Not near as heavy, needs a rain liner but probably vents better than the gore-tex stuff. I actually like the heavier weight cordura for protection. Lots of good choices out there although none are cheap. I like the saying "I'd rather sweat than cry"

My wife is in Rev it stuff. With the rain liners in, she describes it as wearing a ziplock bag. sounds kinky, but not exactly what you want on a motorcycle. The thermal liners just hang in the closet. Junk.

In my opinion, the stopping to put in a liner is just not practical and therefore, she's usually cold and wet. We've ordered mens lattitude misano (the only latitude for 2013) for her to try.

We tried to get her in badlands, but it wouldn't fit.

 

[RogerJ]

Thanks Bloodline.....Excellent review of the Badlands. Agree with everything that you found.
Haven't tried the Latitude but have had a long tour in the Klim Adventure Rally suit in CA. The latter suit is built like a tank. It's internal harness is great. Tons of pockets if that is what you need. Hydration system integration is much better and less fussy to change than on the Badlands. But the Adventure Rally suit was just too hot above 30 degrees C. Sent my suggestions for improvement including ventilation improvements in to their design folks. Klim makes the best stuff I have ever ridden in overall.

 

[EricV]

FWIW, the new Lattitude Misano solves most of your issues with the jacket. No stupid cuffs at the sleeves, better, softer collar, all the non-contact areas in the chest are a softer, lower count cordura so the jacket fits better and is not so stiff. Vents are about the same, pockets are still a little thin for depth. I'd prefer the arm pocket to be a little larger too. I haven't ridden with this yet, the vendor sent the wrong color, so waiting for an exchange. Coming off a Darien for 10 years, I think I'll be ok with the Lattitude Misano jacket. Very similar fit/feel/pockets/vents. The Klim has waterproof zippers, which my old Darien did not. (new ones do now)

 

[greg the pole]

I have the badlands pants and jacket.
I agree with the sleeve cuffs, not really sure of the point of them, a bit of a pain when putting on summer gloves.
I love the kidney belt, it holds in my ab ::025:: nicely.
No complaints about the chest protector.

Pants are very comfortable, and worth the price.
so far 1.5 happy years in them both, hopefully more to come.

PS: if it's raining hard, the little bag that comes with one of the outside pockets, actually keeps all your shit dry. both my passport and wallet were dry. the phone was inside one of the inner pockets and stayed dry. We rode through 400 km of rain, and I got soaked. Upon arrival, I noticed that both of my vents in the right arm were open ::010::