Klim Dakar Pro Jersey

What it is

• Jacket like protection and durability with a jersey fit and ventilation.

KLIM’s Dakar Pro Jersey is claimed to be the world’s most durable riding  jersey. Made of tough 840D Cordura (the same fabric in KLIM’s off-road pant series) with hexagonal EVA foam mixed with heavy nylon and polyester mesh fabrics. There are reflective highlights sewn in as well. This brings the claimed highest abrasion, tear and snagging resistance to a very vented jersey, like combining jacket protection and durability with jersey fit and maneuverability. Strategically placed padding  is located in the areas you get slapped by brush or branches and often where you fall and hit the ground. It is available in Black or Grey sized from small to 3XL and includes a small breast zippered pocket with a goggle wipe on a key clip inside.

How it works

• Fit runs about a size large.
• Vented like a jersey, protection like a jacket.
• The safest jersey out there.
• One of the few where elbow abrasion protection isn't just a joke.

A $140 for a jersey? Are you out of your mind? Well then so is the price of quality, fresh innovation and function that is basically above anything else that is out there. It won’t take long for a rider who tears sleeves on a normal jersey, let alone a vented one, to be ahead in the long run and not look like a Zombie Apocalypse at the end of each ride. (Yes, we all know that guy.) The Dakar Pro is about three times the weight of a good quality jersey and feels a little stiff and abrasive directly on your skin when you first put it on. Mostly from the weight as the fabric is actually not abrasive, it just isn't soft. Not the best “showroom bounce.” But once riding most of that sensation goes away, wearing a light technical fabric shirt or tanktop can eliminate most of all the heavy jersey feel for those with sensitive skin.

The fit is loose and sizing does run a bit on the large side so be aware you may be better off a size smaller than usual.  The next very strange sensation is that it is so vented it feels like you are not wearing a jersey at all, especially one that has protective qualities built into it. And speaking about the protection, the foam padding is some of the best blow deadening material which you will find out there the first time a nice green branch gets slapped against your arm or even worse the side of your belly up under your arm. Sometimes we wish there were more padding but after wearing the jersey for a long time it is obvious Klim did the math and got the spots you really need padding in and left the rest open to keep you cool and not make the jersey too heavy. The mesh material is not the softest against the skin and the sewn seams inside tend to be pretty thick so you feel them. Especially under the strap or weight of a backpack or chest protector, more so than a typical jersey. Related to the sizing, the end of the sleeves are not that elasticized and can come down onto your hands for those with short arms.

Durability on the Dakar Pro is off the scale when compared to a normal jersey and more like a jacket--just a lot less stuff to unstitch or rip open. In over a year of use (mostly in the summertime) I have yet to tear, rip or otherwise damage one of these jerseys. It laughs at being washed and seems to resist stains better than most, even red dirt. Well, nothing totally resists red dirt, get the black jersey then!

On the protection side one of the excellent qualities was on poking sticks. On a couple of occasions stuff that would have easily stabbed through a lighter fabric was deflected, or heavily slowed and on one occasion I was peeled off the bike hooked to a sharp Manzanita branch near my belly. I expected a puncture wound and had only a scrape. At that point, with a intact jersey and not needing a stitch or five the price tag wasn't such a shock. For years I wore a jacket all year long for the additional protection the heavier material provided and suffered with the heat and temperature. Not any more.

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