Klim Kilmate and/or TekVest owners.

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mvedepo

Member
Klim Klimate and/or TekVest owners.

Looking at the Klimate and a Tek Vest this year and am wondering if this combo would be too warm. I currently wear a Columbia Titanium with the fleece liner and can get pretty warm. I am concerned about overheating in the Klimate.

What do you guys think? Keep this combo or go with a shell like the Vector or Valdez.

Thanks!
 
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freezinbevr

New member
I have that exact setup and it works well below 10degrees. I have a pullover which I where under the tec vest when it gets warmer or U can just open up the vents on the Klimate to breathe. Works good especially in the cold when it seems I do most of my riding.
 
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mvedepo

Member
Wonder how it would be with the Vector. Its a lightly insulated shell. Are you an aggressive rider? I drive a Yamaha so I get a workout on the trail. ;-)

2011-Klim-Vector-Parka.jpg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTeIJqhGLIk
 
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freezinbevr

New member
I ride mostly off-trail, the vents are priceless! The pullover would be great except for the subzero days. It always seems to be 10 below when I am on a trip?! It's expensive to have, but multiple setups are a blessing. And when ur out with the family/girlfriend, they get to wear good gear too....Happy wife...Happy Life! :)
 
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mvedepo

Member
Isn't your liner essentially just a fleece mid layer? So essentially if I am running a shell only parka and an Everest or Inferno midlayer I will have the same total insulation as a Keweenaw or Klimate?

Everest Jacket
Everest-Jacket-Black_L.jpg
 
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ezra

Well-known member
I wont buy a jacket that I cant unzip the liner and stuff it in my back pack.but any coat you get will be better for riding than your columbia with no vents.I base my coat buying on number of vents more the better,and if you can buy more than 1 thickness of liner. my cat coat has 3 liner's.and watter resistance.
I have never understood the pull over thing it is like why would I want to use chopsticks when I have a fork? zippers are real and they work and are very ez to use in fact so ez preschool kids clothes have them.what is not ez is taking off your helmet then pulling a snow covered shell over your head to cool off while cruising down a logging road on your way to a diff play ground
 
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mvedepo

Member
Definitely dont want a pullover. The Vector and Valdez have front zips. Also my Titanium has quite a few zippered vents. It's been awesome really. Just getting old (10 years) and though it's still in great shape I want something new.

I'm guessing doing a Vector and Everest jacket is equivalent to doing the Keweenaw with it's removable liner. Just not sure how well the Klim Tek Vest will fit under them.
 
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Hoosier

Well-known member
I would also look at the Keeweenaw jacket in addition to the Klimate. I think overall it's a better jacket - materials, features, etc. I was looking at that last year before I came across a great deal on a discontinued jacket.

I would get in contact with the Sled Solutions guy that posts and advertises on this site or someone else that sells Klim and knows and ins and outs of the various jackets.
 
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mjkaliszak

New member
I have one of those Klim liners and my FXR jackets have the zip out floatex liner , it's like a thinsulate liner , a little heavier than fleece which I have one of those also. We kind of decide of what layering on the fly, we also pull off the zip outs, I even ran down the trail with the jacket shell unzipped to cool off . I'm telling you the TV's get toasty... Especially in the spring , end of season when the snow killer comes out. Just my .02
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
Ok...... you chose Klim tekvest....good product. The tekvest stays on all the time then you layer on or off from there. If you don't have storage like saddlebags it gets tuff. I have sport bags on my Attak & all my dry gear & layers are in there. You really can't guess on sizing with bibs /pants /tekvest if buying a jacket you need to gear up & try jacket on. I think most of us have several jackets & layering setups & don't rely on just 1 jacket for all conditions. Temps & activities are too extreme for that. Start with a good high quality bib/pant use that all the time & build the rest off that. For me it is FXR team pants for all riding & use old doo bibs for wrenching &/or back up. For my upper body I use combinations of 3 jackets & their layering systems & vents are a must. The only time the cold really penterates is when I power cruise UP grades at high speed for many hours then all layers are on & vents are closed. Off trail & twisty riding to me is not a cold environment even when 20 below because you are out of the wind & working hard. Like someone else said if I get very warm just unzip & let jacket flap in breeze until I cool down. You are going to be quite warm most of the time with tekvest & don't need much on top of that. There will be a learning curve with tekvest & sounds like your 1st tekvest. I went with sixsixone core protector with spine protection because it does breath & tekvest can't really no matter what is said. You really need to touch feel & try all these combinations on to know what is right for you. Once geared up touch your toes go sit on a sled move around see what binds & what rides up & what stays in place. That is what I did & knew as soon as I sat on my sled moved around like riding that Klim tek vest was not for me because started to bind in my arm pits & thought would be bad & moved on to sixsixone core protector with spine protection no binding & perfect for me & RU Outside back thing wraps around that. That set up was perfect for me but I only knew by trying 1st.:)
 
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borderstaff

New member
tMy .02...
I hope this helps...its just what I wear:
I have a light poly t-shirt then wear a fleece sweathsirt over that on cold days (below 5 degrees) or a long sleeve poly shirt on warm days (over 5 degrees) then I have the Klim Klimate bibs. Over all these I have a Tek-vest SX pro-lite (http://www.tekrider.com/ps_01.html) chest protector that I wear. My outer shell is an HMK Voyager jacket (http://www.amazon.com/HMK-Voyager-B..._3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1323056814&sr=1-3).
I don't intend any of the links above to be taken as advertising for any particular website or seller - it just happened to be the top posts via a google search.

Personally I like my setup - I ride 90% out west and off-trail and have been very happy with the gear I've assembled. I do get pretty hot once the temp gets over 20 but unzipping my shell most of the way down and doing a couple of field runs takes care of that. I wear an ABS pack and I find that because it covers the back vent of the HMK shell it doesn't breathe as well as I'd like...but safety comes first.
 
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campertime

Member
I currently have a Klimate (no tekvest) and ride about 50/50 on and off trail. The jacket is great for trail riding but is way too warm for off trail. I'd think wearing a tekvest under it would make it even hotter. I'd go with a shell and layer under it accordingly. The klimate has 200 gram thinsulate front and back. The vector has 200 grams in front and 100 in the back, the kinetic has 100 front and back. It may be the better choice if adding a tekvest under it. You may also have to order one size up to fit the vest. Call Paul at SledSolutions he could help you decide.
 
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mvedepo

Member
Border that is pretty much what I am thinking. If need be I could swap my long sleeve poly or add the Inferno under the vest.

White, good point about the vest. The only one the dealer by me has is the Klim. My buddy has the Pro Lite - SX. I will see if I can snag his and use it to demo. Do you feel a lot of back support with the 661?
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
mvedepo said:
Border that is pretty much what I am thinking. If need be I could swap my long sleeve poly or add the Inferno under the vest.

White, good point about the vest. The only one the dealer by me has is the Klim. My buddy has the Pro Lite - SX. I will see if I can snag his and use it to demo. Do you feel a lot of back support with the 661?
Click to expand...

Both sixsixone & Tekvest give excellent back support. Key to tekvest back support is run it tight loose not so much just good front & rear protection. That is where I had trouble with tekvest sizing when worn tight can move up into pits for me. sixsixone core protector with spine protection can't do that has elastic type material in arm pits that breaths & lets moisture out plus comes with a back belt but I use back thing over standard belt nothing moves out of place & moves with me. Whatever jacket you buy make sure plenty of zipper vents zipout linings a must have to keep you comfy. I hardly ever run with anything more than fleece liner over sixsixone core protector with spine protection then jacket shell unless running grades for hours then thermal liner would go in. I don't zip in anything takes too long trailside & too difficult to take out quickly so just put on & slip next layer on. These jackets with all their layers are good products for sure but tekvest changes everything & all layering. You won't wear all the jacket layers with tekvest unless you intend to cook,boil & roast.lol
 
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mvedepo

Member
Thanks for all the input guys! After trying on 100 different combinations of bibs, jackets, and a couple different vest here is what I ended up going with.

  • Klim Storm Parka
  • Klim Keweenaw Bib
  • Klim Inferno mid layer
  • Klim Tek Vest

MyGear.jpg


Fully intended on going with the Vector parka and Klimate bibs. But the Vector, Inferno, and Tek Vest is going to be HOT! Very happy with Klim stuff. Very nice!
 
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