Klim Baja S4 review 2025

This is the new Baja S4. It's been billed as an upgrade on its predecessor that's been around for quite a few years now, but let's get this out there from the off. There isn't a huge amount of difference between the old Baja S4 and the new one. The design of the jacket itself is basically unchanged. What Klim has done is move the panels around a little so as to make the jacket a little more comfortable, and to allow it to flow a little more air. But put it like this; if you've got the old version, there's very little reason to rush down to the shops to buy the new one.

Anyway, even though the new Baja S4 is substantively the same as the old one, we're going to take a step back and look at what the Baja S4 suit is, where it sits in the Klim firmament, what it's intended for, who it's aimed at, and so on.

What makes an adventure suit?

Everybody knows Klim as the adventure brand. Every maker of motorcycle wear wants their slice of the adventure market, but it has to be acknowledged that Klim, probably more than any other brand, owns the adventure space. There are many pretenders to this crown, but when it comes to adventure riding Klim is the name everyone thinks of.

Now we have always been a little at odds with Klim about what constitutes the perfect adventure suit. Klim is of the view that the ideal adventure suit comes with a laminated membrane and lots of vents.

We fundamentally disagree. And that's because, for us, adventure riding connotes hot and exotic locations; and perhaps even working up a sweat in the gnarly stuff. And in any of these scenarios you don't want to be wearing anything with a waterproof membrane. However well vented your jacket is, a membrane will get in the way of the sweating process. And sweating is how we stay cool.

Now in America there are lots of off-road trails. You might be riding them for hours on end. It won't always be blisteringly hot. And the riding is not necessarily massively technical. And in such a scenario a laminated suit might conceivably make sense, but for us in Europe, and what we think of as 'adventure' riding, a waterproof, adventure suit is perhaps somewhat less appropriate.

In Europe a classic adventure suit will normally have a removable, waterproof liner. In an ideal world, this liner would also be wearable on the outside. But the important thing is that when the going gets tough you can remove the waterproof element to make the garment more breathable.

Now Klim doesn't actually have a suit in its range that has a removable membrane, but they do have a number of outfits with no membrane at all. Suits like the Marrakesh, the Induction Pro and the Baja S4. And in our view any of these would work well when the going gets tough..

Anyway, let's look at the full range of Klim outfits in an attempt to understand where the Baja S4 sits.

Understanding the Klim range

Klim divides its range into 'road' and 'adventure' categories.

On the road side, the Kodiak suit sits at the top of the tree. It’s a heck of a suit, at which Klim has thrown everything. Below it, and in some ways perhaps an easier suit to live with, is the Latitude. Both of these are Gore-Tex laminated outfits. The Induction Pro suit, which is in many ways very similar to the Baja S4, also sits in the road section. Like the Baja it has no waterproof membrane; it's all about airflow.

Then there's the Marrakesh, which again Klim classify as a road get up. And we can see this, even though we think it can work really well off-road too. The issue with the Marrakesh as a suit, however, is that the leg is so narrow you can hardly get them over anything larger than an ankle boot. Klim moved to this narrower leg a few years ago, and we feel they probably did this to prevent it cannibalising sales from their off-road collection. But of course nobody is ever going to admit that!

When it comes to Klim's off-road range, there are two laminated suits. The Badlands and the Carlsbad. The Badlands is their top-of-the-line outfit. It’s a feat of engineering but, truth be told, it doesn't really work for us. It's too cumbersome and too heavy to ride off road in, in our view. In fact, in a meeting with some of Klim's product designers last year I noticed that they were now starting to refer to the Badlands as the suit for the 'world traveller'. And I could buy into that. If you wanted to travel around the world, be protected from the worst the elements could throw at you, and ride in something that could stand up to sustained abuse for many years, the Badlands would be a great option. But it's still too much jacket for most of us, I would contend.

One below the Badlands sits the Carlsbad. It's undoubtedly easier to live with than the Badlands, but it's still laminated, so still not the perfect adventure suit in our book.

The other key outfit in Klim's adventure collection is the suit that's the subject of today's review: the Baja S4.

The Baja S4 jacket

The Baja S4 in concept is very similar to the company's more road focussed Induction Pro jacket.

The chassis of the jacket comprises a number of materials. A large part of the chassis is constructed from the same stretch-infused 1000 denier Cordura that is used throughout on the Marrakesh. And it is this that gives the Baja S4 its comfort.

Now this material is highly breathable in its own right, but it doesn't flow anywhere near as much air as the Schoeller-Dynatec mesh material that runs all the way down the front of the jacket. It's the sheer volume of this mesh that marks the biggest difference between the old Baja S4 and the new one.

There's more of this mesh on the biceps and the forearms. And across the back. No two ways about it; this jacket is going to flow a lot of air; as much air as any jacket certainly we have ever come across.

In a few areas, in and around the collar, at the cuffs and at the hem there's durable 750 denier Cordura.

In terms of protection, the jacket rates AA for abrasion resistance under EN17092. For impact protection, the jacket is equipped with Level 1, D3O XTR armour in the elbows and shoulders. There's a Level 1 back protector included as standard.

Now when you’re riding off-road the abrasion resistance rating of a jacket or pant is rarely an issue. And that’s because sliding is not what you tend to do if you part company with the bike. When things go wrong off-road, what causes problems is hitting stuff. And that’s where the armour comes in. So whilst the AA abrasion-resistance rating in the Baja S4 is not unimpressive, the Level 1 armour is less so. And so if that’s where we were bound in the Baja S4 the first thing we would do is upgrade to Level 2 armour. Or elect to ride in a body-armour jacket. None, by the way, being better than the one produced by Rukka that comes complete with Rukka’s bespoke and huge, Level 2 D3O.

On the elbows and shoulders you get panels of SuperFabric. This is a highly abrasion-resistant material made from small, ceramic balls. It's what Rukka used to use on its high-end suits until it became too expensive for them. It's impressive stuff. And undoubtedly makes a contribution to the jacket's AA accreditation.

In some ways, the Baja S4 is a fairly simple bit of kit, so there aren't loads of fancy bells and whistles. You get hooks to hold the collar of the jacket open. There are adjuster straps on the biceps. The sleeves fasten with Velcro flaps, but you don't get zips.

There are two lower pockets. These double up, so they have a zip compartment or can be used as hand warmer pockets. There are no upper pockets; and that's because, quite rightly, Klim didn't want anything to interrupt the flow of air through the jacket's mesh panels. But some people will bemoan the loss of the top-entry, flap pockets on the previous jacket. They're a bit more 'adventure' I suppose.

There are two more zip pockets in the jacket's mesh lining. You also get a couple of mesh pouches on the inside; perfect for a phone, for example. There's a credit card pocket on the sleeve. Whilst on the back there's a large, map pocket. Behind the back protector there's a pocket for a bladder, where you'll also find one of Klim's famous 'hidden’ pockets.

In the hem there's an elasticated adjuster cord to enable the waist to be cinched in a little, and that is going to come in handy because, as with the Marrakesh, the Baja doesn't come in enough sizes. In fact, just six. If this jacket came from somebody like Rukka it would be available in at least eleven sizes. What six sizes means is that the Baja is not infrequently going to be a bit too big for somebody, aided of course by the fact that the fit is quite boxy. And in such circumstances cinching in the hem may be of some help to disguise the fit issue.

There's a lot of 3M Carbon Black reflective material on the jacket. And you get a short zip to allow the jacket to be connected to the matching pant.

The matching Baja S4 pant

f it's the case that there's not a whole deal of difference between the new Baja S4 jacket and the old one, there's perhaps even less between the new pant and the old one.

The fabrics used for the various panels have again been moved around, meaning that once more the new trousers should be a little more comfortable, and should flow a little more air.

In terms of construction, you get areas of the 1000 denier, stretch-Cordura used on the Marrakesh, panels of Schoeller Dynatec mesh that flow even more air, some 750 denier Cordura in the seat, the waist belt and the hem, and SuperFabric for extra abrasion resistance on the knees.

This combination delivers almost unparalleled levels of airflow whilst still maintaining an AA rating for abrasion resistance. The armour in the knees and hips is D3O XTR; again in Level 1 configuration. Obviously, this can be upgraded to Level 2; and for off-road riding you should give this serious consideration. Or, as with the jacket, wear something like Rukka’s AFT pants.

You get an adjuster mechanism at the waist, and a connecting zip. There's leather running up the inside of the legs; largely for extra grip on the tank.

The flap pockets on the thighs on the old pant have been replaced by billows pockets with zips. Not everybody will see this as an upgrade, however.

There are adjuster straps on the calfs; and these will enable you to compensate for the size of your adventure boots. The pants have been designed to be worn over even the largest off-road boots. These are very much off-road pants. They are going to look daft worn over a pair of Daytonas. They are going to look even more daft worn over a pair of ankle boots. If you're not wearing a proper adventure or off-road boot, these are probably not the pants for you. Oh, and because the pants are designed to go over large boots you get long zips and an adjustable flap at the hem.

As with the jacket, there's lots of Carbon Black reflective stuff for nighttime visibility.

So, where do we get to?

The Baja S4 suit is a very specialist bit of kit. For what it does it's without doubt the best on the market, but it's pretty extreme; it's not for everybody.

I had a guy in the shop recently who had purchased the new Baja S4 from another retailer. He told me that he had bought it for commuting. I said nothing. I didn’t want to upset him, but he had almost certainly got over excited, and bought the wrong bit of kit.

The Baja S4 is about two things. Riding off road. And airflow. And it's only going to work for you if you want both of these.

If you want airflow, but do most of your riding on the road you'd almost certainly be better off with the Induction Pro or the Marrakesh. The Induction Pro pants may not work with a pair of Tech 7s, but they will be fine with most adventure boots.

The difference between the Baja and Induction jackets is going to be the fit. The Baja will be looser and boxier, to make it easier to move around on the bike. The Induction Pro jacket probably flows as much air as the Baja S4. It's just as protective and just as comfortable; but it's designed more for the road.

The problem with both outfits, however, is that they are simply going to flow too much air for regular riding. Even on a nice summer's day here in the UK, the Baja S4 jacket is probably going to be too cold to ride in. Obviously, you can layer up with the Zephyr and Maverick, but even they may not be able to combat the amount of air flowing into the jacket.

The Baja S4 is not the jacket you buy just because you've got an adventure bike. Or because the colours go with your bike. This is the jacket you want in the Sahara, in the jungle, or when you're tearing up the roadways on the TET in the middle of the summer.

But if there's a danger that the Baja jacket will flow too much air, it's even more of an issue with the pants. And that's because there's no Zephyr windproof layer for the legs. Nor is there a Maverick, although Rukka does do a down inner pant called the Down-X.

But this is where we get to.

Adventure bike riders are no different to sportsbike riders or retro bike riders. Everybody wants to be part of the gang. And wear the right gear. Be that a one-piece, leather suit, a leather jacket, a wax cotton jacket, or an outfit that shouts ‘international globetrotter’.

But much as we think the Baja S4 is a wonderful bit of kit, it is not for everybody. We'd even go so far as to suggest that it will almost never be the right suit for wearing in the UK. And that's because you will get colder in this suit than you will in other any outfit that you've ever worn.

The Induction Pro suit won’t be any warmer; it just works better on the road.

Perhaps this is predictable given that this is coming from Motolegends, but we still think that most bikers over here would be better off in a Marrakesh. It's still going to flow a lot of air. It looks much more casual. It's more comfortable than the Baja, yet just as protective. The pants won't work with big boots, but you could always go for Klim's Switchback or Outrider pants.

Finally, waterproofing. If it rains, you're going to get very wet, very quickly in the Baja S4. Now Klim recommends their Enduro S4 waterproof outers. And yes, even they're not Gore-Tex like they used to be, we have no doubt they will work well. But you'll pay £800 for a top and bottoms. And so we cannot see why anybody wouldn't go for a set of Scotts at £170. You could buy almost five sets of Scotts for the price of the Klim waterproofs. And to us that simply doesn't add up!

You can buy Klim Baja S4 jacket with free next day UK delivery online, or visit our store in Guildford to try one on.