Klim Badlands GTX long gloves in black

Name: Klim Badlands GTX long gloves in black
Brand: Klim
SKU: KLM254
Price: 270.000000 GBP
Availability: InStock

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(KLM254)

£270.00

Klim Badlands GTX long gloves in black Product Information

Introduced for the 2024 season, this is the second iteration of Klim's Badlands glove.

It's a typically feature-laden Klim affair. The American brand has thrown everything at the glove; it seems to want for very little, but it's not going to be the very warmest winter glove out there, and whether it's comfortable or not will very much be a personal thing.

The chassis is a mix of goatskin and an assortment of textile materials. We like goat. It's thinner than cowhide, but stronger. The palm is entirely goat, and that's the best way to construct a glove. Ideally, leather on the palm, with textile fabrics on the back of the hand. And that's what you get with the Badlands.

The waterproofing comes courtesy of Gore-Tex. and what's more it's a laminated, Gore-grip membrane. That means that this is a glove that won't wet out. But the corollary is that this won't be the most comfortable winter glove you'll ever wear. That's the trade off with Gore-grip.

Another nice touch in terms of waterproofing is a Neoprene gasket inside the cuff. Now even though we would always tuck the cuff of a winter glove inside the sleeve of a jacket, the gasket should stop water getting into the glove even if the glove is worn on the outside. Heaven forfend!

There is no doubt that this is a winter glove, but we don't think it will be the very warmest. All the insulation is on the back of the hand. The insulation is 60g Thinsulate. That's not nothing, but it's not top end in terms of warmth. But as there's no insulation on the palm, we reckon it's going to work really well with heated grips.

In terms of protection you get a hard, knuckle protector, backed with XRD foam. The outer protector is largely about a look. It will be down to the XRD to absorb the energy of an impact. You get foam pads covered with an abrasion-resistant, ceramic material on all four fingers. You also get a ceramic slider on the palm, and another similarly constructed pad on the outside of the wrist.

As far as features are concerned, you get a visor wipe on the left forefinger. Whilst, on both hands, the forefinger and thumb are touchscreen sensitive. There's a bit of hi-viz banding on the back of the hand for nighttime visibility. You also get Klim's trademark easy-assist loop to help you pull the glove on. Frankly, every glove should have the same arrangement. It works so well.

Which brings us to one of the Badlands' cleverest features. Klim calls it a 'set and forget wrist closure system'; and we reckon it's brilliant. The strap around the wrist is adjustable, and it velcros on to the outside of the cuff strap. So, once it's set, you never need to adjust it again. Whenever you fasten the cuff strap, it will tighten the wrist strap at the same time. If the wrist strap was elasticated it would have been even better. But it's still very clever.

Our problem with the glove, if we have one, is that it's not quite as comfortable as some winter gloves. An open-back construction for the knuckle piece would have helped. As would have some stretch on the back of the cuff.

The spec. on the Badlands is top drawer. And that's what you'd expect of a glove at this price. It is, after all, mouth-wateringly expensive. There are warmer gloves out there. There are probably more comfortable gloves out there. But the Badlands does a lot of things very well. If the glove fits you nicely, and feels comfortable, the Badlands won't let you down.