Klim Marrakesh Jacket Review

As you can imagine, I own a variety of motorcycle jackets for every style of riding. So last thing I need is another one. I really thought so until I tried KLIM Marrakesh and it followed me home.

One of the annoying things about motorcycle riding is that moment you have to dress up before the ride. It's even harder decision when you are riding short distance. Hey, I'm only going a couple of miles, what could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately we see the effects of these poor decisions daily, so for any of us here at Beach Moto it's not really a dilemma. More like a chore.

The second I tried the Marrakesh jacket on it felt nothing short of amazing. This must be what nice pair of Yoga pants from Lululemon feels like, barely-there and unrestrictive. Was I really wearing a motorcycle jacket or it's just a lightweight trainer? It sure feels like one.

It turns out the Marrakesh is a lot more protective than what it feels like. Besides having full CE1 D3O armor (which I promptly upgraded to slightly heavier Level 2 armor all around) it's made from 1000D CORDURA® Stretch so it passes AA CE rating with flying colors. Already good abrasion resistance is further helped by the stretch of the fabric. Instead of tearing like traditional Cordura would, it stretches, resisting the tear. So despite the fact that it's extremely comfortable, the safety is not compromised.

Another strong point of this jacket is ventilation. Or rather breathability. It doesn't really have any vents that you can open or close, but the weave of the fabric is very open, so it bleeds a ton of air. In fact it vents so much that I got cold cruising on the highway in 67 degree weather. Good thing I packed good windbreaker with me so it saved the day.

In colder conditions it definitely needs layering, but thanks to it's stretchy nature, it doesn't feel any more restrictive or uncomfortable. A rare feature for a jacket, usually you feel like you can't move once layers get thicker.

There are plenty of pockets. Two lower pockets are the most handy, upper pockets are good for thinner items and there is even one pocket on the inside that fit my passport and an emergency stack of cash.

From the outside, it looks more like outdoors jacket than a motorcycle jacket. A positive in my book. Reflection panels are nicely integrated and don't scream "look at me". I went with Dark Grey color because my jeans are already black, otherwise I would definitely stick to classic Black for ease of maintenance. During our 3 day outing in Baja the Grey actually stayed surprisingly clean, unlike more silver finished I have used in the past.

In the end, I want to say that in my 20+ years of riding and 10+ years of selling gear professionally I have never seen a jacket that was more comfortable without major compromises.

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