KLIM ARTEMIS SUIT – EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW
Ladies, are you Passionate about Motorcycle Riding or Adventure Riding? Do you feel like you are at a serious disadvantage compared to men when it comes to finding the right gear for your riding adventures? Don’t worry, we understand your struggles and have got you covered! Here is a MotoBirds review of the Klim Artemis suit. Is it the ultimate gear for all your motorcycle adventures, or just another expensive piece of kit sold with clever marketing?
Why did I do this review?
I run a motorcycle tour company MotoBirds. This means I spend a lot of time on the motorbike. Either exploring for new tours or guiding tours. I hope my experience will help other ladies make educated choices when it comes to riding gear.
How long was this test?
In this article, I will be reviewing the Klim Artemis suit after using it extensively for four years and at least 100,000km. I will be sharing my experience and what I found after using the suit in every possible condition: from snow to pouring monsoon rain to 45-degree heat. I rode with this suit on 5 continents, in every possible weather.
Why Klim?
We decided to buy Klim, because we had read that it was reportedly a good brand and very durable. It was also full Gore Tex, and the claim (and our hope) was that we would not need to haul rain gear any more on tours.
We also thought their web site explanations looked convincing. Finally, tastes vary, but we thought the Artemis looked really good for an adventure motorbike suit!
What are Klim saying ?
They claim that the Artemis suit (recently upgraded) is the most complete women adventure jacket available.
Let’s find out!
Comfort
One of the most important factors when it comes to motorcycle gear is comfort. You will be spending a lot of time on your bike, and you don’t want to be uncomfortable. The Klim Artemis suit scores high in terms of comfort: The vents are well placed, and it is also easy to open and close them if the weather changes.
When you try it on for the first time, the suit feels a bit stiff. However, this goes away very quickly as you wear it. Be it on the bike or off the bike, the Artemis is very comfortable to wear.
Protection
The protection level must be understood a bit better. Let us go back to some definitions of what the protection level means:
Level 1 – suitable for most types of riding, Level 1 can be used by urban, commuter, and touring motorcyclists offering them a great level of all-around protection.
Level 2 – best suited to bikers racing on tracks, riding more extreme off-road, or stunt riding. Level 2 can provide up to 50% more impact protection than level 1.
The Artemis has level 1 protections only. Which in our view is on the low side for an adventure suit. To compare, the Scott Priority GTX Women jacket has level 2 protections, for instance.
Waterproofing
Another crucial factor when it comes to motorcycle gear is waterproofing. You don’t want to be caught in a rainstorm without proper gear. The Klim Artemis suit is made of Gore Tex, a fabric that has water repellent properties – provided you follow the care instructions of the manufacturer! If you take any shortcuts here, you will get wet.
We are very strict on how we clean and prepare our riding gear after each tour, and our experience is that the Artemis suit is water resistant, even in pouring rain and tears of intensive use. The outer layer will be humid though. However, you won’t be wet inside the suit.
No Inner Liners or Rain Suits Needed
Many motorbiking suit brands rely on two pillars to keep you warm and/or dry: an inner liner, and a rain suit.
The inner liner: An inner liner can sometimes be waterproof as well. What you’d do is zip that inner liner inside the suit if it gets cold.
The rain suit: A rain suit is some kind of raincoat that goes on top of whatever you are wearing, to keep the rain away from your suit.
In my view, both of these layers come with overwhelming disadvantages: first, you have to haul these things with you. Secondly, if it rains, you have to stop, get off the bike and wiggle yourself in some plastic bag. There is no other way to describe this but to say it is a giant hassle. And when it stops raining, you have to go through the same gymnastics to remove it.
Why it matters
If you happen to rely on the inner liner system to keep you warm, you could be in for a nasty surprise: here’s why: I was riding in Bolivia when it started to rain. It was not the kind of heavy rain that would convince me to stop and fight with a rain suit. It was enough to get the suit wet though. I had inner liners zipped inside my jacket and pants, so I remained dry. As we gained altitude, the temperatures dropped and we were riding in minus temperatures. The wet jacket started to freeze and before long, I was trapped in an ice jacket that made me feel like a medieval knight in full armor. It was one of the coldest, miserable and uncomfortable experiences I can remember.
To manage different temperatures with the Klim Artemis, I add or remove thermal underlayers and open or close some vents (if the weather allows it). This is all. The suit keeps me dry. So, this is definitely a big plus for Klim. I’ll never go back to suits with inner liners and rain suits.
With the Klim Artemis suit, you don’t have to worry about inner liners or rain suits. The suit is designed to keep you warm and dry.
Durability
I’ve put the Klim Artemis suit to serious test, and it has held up well over the years. We’ve used it on tours all over the world, and it has been worn in every possible condition: in pouring monsoon rain, in snow, in scorching African heat, etc. I’ve also had a few spills in this suit, on asphalt, gravel, mud, and certainly other circumstances I have forgotten. The only thing that changed is the color faded a little over the years. For the rest, the functionality of the Artemis suit is the same as on the first day.
The zippers are good
If you ride a lot, you know how annoying it can be to have zippers fail on tour. All in all, I had one pocket zipper break. But that was most probably my fault: I forced it when it was very dusty and damaged it. I try to be more disciplined with maintaining the zippers (a small quantity of WD40 on a piece of cloth does magic, or a candle). Great quality and durability.
Does it survive a fall ?
I’ll start with some words of caution. Every fall is different. I am not claiming that what I experienced will have the same result if you happen to fall.
All I can do is share what my experience is: after falling in gravel, on asphalt, etc. I never damaged the suit. It had some marks, yes. But after cleaning they mostly disappeared.
The armor inside the suit is, in my opinion, sufficient and I never had more than a bruise after a fall. However, Klim could do better in this area in my view.
So, yes: my experience is that it will protect you in case of a fall. Most probably yes and you can still wear it after a fall.
The Pockets
The pockets on the Klim Artemis suit are convenient but not so well-located. They also may not be completely waterproof. In my experience, every time it rained heavily, the stuff in the outer pockets got wet. However, the inner pockets remained dry.
The repairs
This is a problem for most Europeans. Klim has, generally speaking, a generous warranty system. But to get repairs done is complicated. You have to bring the suit to your local dealer. They will fill in some paperwork and ship the suit to Austria for repair.
Then starts a long wait of no less than 4 weeks, more like 5 – or more. In our case, in a warranty case it has been 5 weeks and we still have no idea when it will be returned. Secondly, as it is laminated Gore Tex, you can’t really give it to any repair shop for repair.
Is it Worth the Money?
I won’t sugar coat it: Klim riding gear is (shockingly for me) expensive. But in exchange for the high price, you get extremely durable gear that will protect you for years to come. It also looks good! If you ride a lot, and have this kind of money to spend on riding gear, the Klim Artemis is absolutely a good investment.
Klim has pushed the envelope in terms of price we feel. But the suit never let me down and it is a great option for ladies. The Artemis suit has been recently upgraded. I did not have the chance to wear the latest model. Some of our female clients have it already and are happy. The changes Klim introduced are sensible. My opinion is that these changes make the Artemis an even better suit.
What’s next ?
We will soon publish a review of the Scott Priority GTX Women adventure suit, and compare it with what we know about the Klim Artemis. Stay tuned!
Klim does not sponsor me or MotoBirds. We (unfortunately) paid for the riding gear.
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