Belstaff Tamar jacket review

Let us be up front about this. The Belstaff Tamar is a pretty direct copy of the Klim Marrakesh jacket. It really is as simple as that. And like that jacket it’s going to flow air through every single panel. In hot weather it's going to be very cool to ride in but, exactly as with the Marrakesh, you’re going to need layers when it’s chillier.

What we know about the chassis of the Marrakesh is that it starts out with a 1000 denier Cordura that is then infused with Elastane to give it its stretchability. Belstaff is slightly less forthcoming. They tell us that the Tamar also employs a 1000 denier material that is woven with stretch fibres to endow it with 4-way stretch. If anything the Tamar feels even stretchier than the Marrakesh, although we’re not sure whether that’s necessarily a good thing. The Tamar feels a tad less robust than the Marrakesh, and if we have a fear it would be that the outer fabric might, with time, relax too much. Right now that’s an unknown. But certainly the Tamar’s outer chassis makes for a jacket that’s supremely comfortable.

Anyway, despite its stretch the Belstaff Tamar still rates AA under EN17092; that’s better than lots of high-airflow jackets, and really as much as one could ever expect of such a jacket. And of course its AA rating is the same as the Marrakesh. Now, as we have intimated, the Tamar is a very direct copy of the Marrakesh, but actually it betters it in a number of respects.

The first is that it comes, as standard, with Level 2 D3O Diablo armour in the elbows and shoulders. In the Marrakesh you get Level 1 Ghost, and these days most people would prefer Level 2. And with Level 2 Diablo there’s absolutely no trade off in terms of comfort, even though it clearly offers a higher level of protection than Level 1 armour. By contrast, the Marrakesh comes with a Level 1 back protector, whereas the Tamar comes with no back protector at all. If you want a level 2 back protector for the Tamar, we’d go with the one from Rheon.

The other way in which the Tamar scores over the Marrakesh is in the number of sizes it comes in.

And frankly, for us, this is a big, big deal. Of course, as a rider, a wider range of sizes might make no difference; especially if the Marrakesh fits you, but for us as a retailer it signals a significant benefit. The problem with the Marrakesh is that it comes in only six sizes. That’s simply not enough; especially given that Klim’s sizing goes from six-stone weakling to a size that we have only ever once had to reach for in the shop! It’s simply huge.

The Belstaff jacket comes in eight sizes; but those sizes span a much narrower spectrum. And what that means is that it may fit a lot of those people who found that a small Marrakesh was too tight whilst a medium was too generous, that a medium was too tight whereas a large was simply huge, and so on.

The rest, as they say, is just detail. So elasticated loops that allow you to attach the jacket to a trouser belt. An external pocket on the chest. Two zipped slash pockets. An inside zipped pocket. Poppers at the waist to adjust the fit. A zipped cuff with a gusset. A silicone-coated bottom snap to protect the bike’s tank. And some reflective detailing.

Like the Marrakesh, the Tamar comes in a specific ladies fit too.

There’s one last thing. The Tamar apparently comes with a waterproof coating. But don’t get the wrong idea here. The waterproof coating will do virtually nothing. This is an airflow jacket. After ten minutes in the rain you will still end up very wet.

So what do we think?

The Marrakesh has long been our favourite motorcycle jacket.

By combining it with the Klim Zephyr windproof layer, a Klim Maverick down jacket and a stretchy waterproof jacket we succeeded in creating a ‘system’ that allowed you ride comfortably in any climatic condition anywhere in the world. The jacket on its own over a thin base layer in hot weather. The Zephyr windproof to take the chill out of the oncoming air on a cooler morning. A Maverick down jacket to insulate body heat. And a waterproof for when the heavens opened.

Even Klim acknowledges that we made the Marrakesh famous. And not just here in the UK, but all around the world. We have sold lots of them; and we have customers who won’t ride in anything else. It is indeed, or certainly has been until now, the most comfortable motorcycle jacket ever.

But the nature of the competitive market dictates that if a company starts to enjoy excessive levels of business in a given endeavour, competitors will come in to rebalance the supply side of the equation. And that is what we are seeing.

Rukka came out with the Vihti that encompassed the same idea, but packaged differently.

The Tamar, by contrast, embodies the same idea but delivers it in a near-identical package!

It’s hard to imagine a jacket that is more similar to the Marrakesh. From 10 paces the two pieces are virtually indistinguishable.

The adventure boys will perhaps still go for the Marrakesh if it fits, because Klim is the badge they want to be seen in. The style crowd, though, may be more attracted by the Belstaff jacket’s more fashionable credentials.

The Tamar, though, only comes in two colours: green and black. The Marrakesh comes in five: black, brown, green, blue and light grey.

What cannot be denied, however, is that the Marrakesh is starting to show its age. It is, in our view, somewhat in need of a revamp. Level 1 armour no longer really cuts it. And even we are starting to get frustrated by the lack of a more comprehensive sizing matrix.

Right now jackets like the Rukka Vihti and the the Belstaff Tamar appear to better the Klim Marrakesh in some regards. And Klim really does need to take note.

In terms of pricing, the Tamar costs £450. The Marrakesh is £430, but only has Level 1 armour. To upgrade to Level 2 Diablo armour we offer an exchange scheme that would set you back another £70. That would take the price to £500. But if you wanted a Level 2 Rheon back protector for the Tamar the cost would be £50. So, on a pari pasu basis, both jackets would come in at exactly £500.

But that is to ignore the emotional pull of the Klim brand. Klim is the cool adventure brand. Klim is a trusted name in this market. And the Marrakesh is a proven entity in the way that the Tamar isn’t.

Yet the Belstaff brand name and badge also have a lot of pull.

We’re just going to have to see!

For more information and to buy online, click Belstaff Tamar jacket.