We finally have some snow and I have gotten a chance to test out some new 08 riding gear from HMK. http://www.hmksnowmobiling.com I get a lot of pm's on snowmobile related brands, performance, aftermarket parts, and apparel. Here are my experiences with some HMK products that I recently personally tested.
Conditions: McCall Idaho 12* to 20* wind gusting 20mph with intermittant snow and sunshine.
HMK Stealth Jacket: It's a lightweight shell style waterproof zip up with a removable insulated independant liner jacket. I removed the liner and wore it as a shell over my BWEAR body armor. One thin tek shirt as a base only. Sitting comfortable and warm, very aggressive trail riding comfortable and warm (accept a 2" section below my vest...adding one layer on the base will solve this), boondocking (while limited) comfortable and not at all over heated. Nice athletic semi blousy cut that fit great over my BWEAR and allowed excellent arm movement but wasn't too loose to hang up on the handlebars. A good assortment of sealed zippers in appropriate spots and overall an excellent built performance riding jacket. Much better fit and feel then my Factory Polaris Race Shell. I prefer it to the KLIM in that it fits slightly looser (as seen in the photo) for better mobility in performance riding. Did not test in rain or soggy snow but did flail around in the powder quite a bit but not a legit test for water resistancy.
HMK Stealth Pant Obviously matches the jacket nicely. Once again just like the jacket these fit nicely with a bit of looseness for mobility. Pockets and zippers all seemed appropriate and in place. Boot gaitors worked as designed and the lower leg of the pants stayed down in place from sitting to standing riding position. I removed the liner (too bulky for me) as well as the replaceable pads in the knees. These would be great for people in very cold environments or that don't wear additional protection. I didn't wear any long johns and was completely warm and comfortable. Both the pants and jacket are slightly more flexible and a softer over all feeling of fabric then my Klim XCR gear. I loved my free rides and was worried that these would be a step down. They aren't at all! No problem with full mobility when really getting after it!
HMK Pro BOA Focus II OK this one scared me a bit. I have every pair of production Klim boots ever made. I love my last set of GTX'rs. The HMK boots appear similar in design to the Radiums and are much stiffer and wider then the hiking boot like Klims. I wore them on this all day ride without ever breaking them in so that I could give a comfort report as well as performance. We did alot of walking around as we were testing three different sleds and I was helping a newbie get acclimated. Not long and my left ankle bone was aching. They hurt me in the exact same spot my GT Klim's do when walking around too much. Remember litterly new out of the box. I loosened the BOA system adjustment and magically they were fine. I really like the feel on the running boards and excellent support. I had no problem with sled mobility and performance even though they are slightly wider then what I am accustomed too. They turned out to be comfortable by the end of the day and I cannot say enough about the BOA lace system. It's just flat cool. Twist either of two knobs to tighten release to loosen. I ended up with an excellent custom comfortable fit. I was warm, dry, and comfortable once I got the lace system pressure set right. My only down grade was you can drive to the parking lot in them like you can with thin hiking style riding boots.
Factory Team Riding Gloves light performance riding glove not unsimilar in design to heavy mechanix wear or fox gloves. Good flex and grip with the different sleds we were trying. They fit a bit snug so if you want to try these gloves get a minimum of a size larger then you think you wear. Comfortable and warm behind roost protectors on two sleds until my finger tips got cold on the Yamaha without them at 60 plus for over ten minutes of ride time trail only. I ride one finger on the brake at all times and grip the bars only in the web of my palm so the danglers were getting windchilled. Free riding no problem and they were perfect. I felt like I had excellent riding control with these gloves.
HMK Tech Jacket This is a waterproof softshell lightweight zip up jacket. Once again we tried this over a BWEAR vest. Just loose enough for good mobility and no wind came through. It rode as warm as the Stealth without liner. I also wear this jacket around town and it's a great all around coat. It looks so good I spend all of my spare time fighting off the girls and posing for photo opps. (just kidding but I really do get comments about how nice it looks) Bought one for my girlfriend for XMAS!
Conditions: McCall Idaho 12* to 20* wind gusting 20mph with intermittant snow and sunshine.
HMK Stealth Jacket: It's a lightweight shell style waterproof zip up with a removable insulated independant liner jacket. I removed the liner and wore it as a shell over my BWEAR body armor. One thin tek shirt as a base only. Sitting comfortable and warm, very aggressive trail riding comfortable and warm (accept a 2" section below my vest...adding one layer on the base will solve this), boondocking (while limited) comfortable and not at all over heated. Nice athletic semi blousy cut that fit great over my BWEAR and allowed excellent arm movement but wasn't too loose to hang up on the handlebars. A good assortment of sealed zippers in appropriate spots and overall an excellent built performance riding jacket. Much better fit and feel then my Factory Polaris Race Shell. I prefer it to the KLIM in that it fits slightly looser (as seen in the photo) for better mobility in performance riding. Did not test in rain or soggy snow but did flail around in the powder quite a bit but not a legit test for water resistancy.
HMK Stealth Pant Obviously matches the jacket nicely. Once again just like the jacket these fit nicely with a bit of looseness for mobility. Pockets and zippers all seemed appropriate and in place. Boot gaitors worked as designed and the lower leg of the pants stayed down in place from sitting to standing riding position. I removed the liner (too bulky for me) as well as the replaceable pads in the knees. These would be great for people in very cold environments or that don't wear additional protection. I didn't wear any long johns and was completely warm and comfortable. Both the pants and jacket are slightly more flexible and a softer over all feeling of fabric then my Klim XCR gear. I loved my free rides and was worried that these would be a step down. They aren't at all! No problem with full mobility when really getting after it!
HMK Pro BOA Focus II OK this one scared me a bit. I have every pair of production Klim boots ever made. I love my last set of GTX'rs. The HMK boots appear similar in design to the Radiums and are much stiffer and wider then the hiking boot like Klims. I wore them on this all day ride without ever breaking them in so that I could give a comfort report as well as performance. We did alot of walking around as we were testing three different sleds and I was helping a newbie get acclimated. Not long and my left ankle bone was aching. They hurt me in the exact same spot my GT Klim's do when walking around too much. Remember litterly new out of the box. I loosened the BOA system adjustment and magically they were fine. I really like the feel on the running boards and excellent support. I had no problem with sled mobility and performance even though they are slightly wider then what I am accustomed too. They turned out to be comfortable by the end of the day and I cannot say enough about the BOA lace system. It's just flat cool. Twist either of two knobs to tighten release to loosen. I ended up with an excellent custom comfortable fit. I was warm, dry, and comfortable once I got the lace system pressure set right. My only down grade was you can drive to the parking lot in them like you can with thin hiking style riding boots.
Factory Team Riding Gloves light performance riding glove not unsimilar in design to heavy mechanix wear or fox gloves. Good flex and grip with the different sleds we were trying. They fit a bit snug so if you want to try these gloves get a minimum of a size larger then you think you wear. Comfortable and warm behind roost protectors on two sleds until my finger tips got cold on the Yamaha without them at 60 plus for over ten minutes of ride time trail only. I ride one finger on the brake at all times and grip the bars only in the web of my palm so the danglers were getting windchilled. Free riding no problem and they were perfect. I felt like I had excellent riding control with these gloves.
HMK Tech Jacket This is a waterproof softshell lightweight zip up jacket. Once again we tried this over a BWEAR vest. Just loose enough for good mobility and no wind came through. It rode as warm as the Stealth without liner. I also wear this jacket around town and it's a great all around coat. It looks so good I spend all of my spare time fighting off the girls and posing for photo opps. (just kidding but I really do get comments about how nice it looks) Bought one for my girlfriend for XMAS!
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