Adam Booth | September 15, 2016
The second annual Klim Cow Tag off-road ride was a smashing success and it’s got us itching to get back to Idaho ASAP. The event went down at the Kelly Canyon Ski Resort just a few miles from Klim’s impressive headquarters in Rigby, Idaho—a farming community that just happens to be home base for a powersport-apparel giant.
Photography by Stephen Clark and Booth
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The Cow Tag event raises money for organizations that fight tirelessly for land-use rights, and those who attend enjoy pristine Idaho trail riding with added prize perks. The premise of the event is simple: it’s a one-day ride that puts participants on the Big Hole Mountain trail system, guided by maps and GPS tracks, in search for valuable cow tags hidden along the way.
Riders are challenged to collect as many or the most challenging (depending on strategy) cow tags as possible, earning points that then earn valuable raffle tickets. The raffle tickets are used to enter a huge prize drawing at the end of the day. There is a ridiculous amount of product up for grabs. And factory Beta racer and Klim-backed rider Max Gerston was on hand to draw a separate raffle (open to a nationwide audience) for a Beta 300 RR Race Edition.
The Cow Tag is limited to 250 riders and is definitely one to mark on the calendar for next year, especially if you’ve never experience Idaho trail riding. Plus, you’ll be helping fund organizations that work to keep trails open so we can all continue to ride and have fun.
KLIM
Part of our plan while attending the Cow Tag event was spending a little time at the Klim headquarters, checking out their plethora of new off-road gear for 2017 and even trying out some of their latest products, which they were eager for us to put to use. The crew at Klim walked us through some demonstrations, showing off cool technical features of their gear and materials. We left Klim decked out in new 2017 product and ready to ride the Cow Tag event, looking like full factory Klim riders.
We rode in the all-new Klim F3 off-road helmet ($299.99), which replaces the F4, and is constructed of a composite shell to save weight while maintaining strength. It uses an all-new comfort liner system, intelligent ventilation and meets DOT and ECE safety standards. Even more off-road helmets are due out soon from Klim. The color choices are quite good and our blue and yellow helmet matched up with our Mojave gear, making us look much faster and cooler than we really are. The light weight was welcomed after a full day on the trails.
One very cool (literally) product new to the Klim lineup is the Aggressor Cool -1.0 cooling base layers. We were able to wear the short sleeve shirt ($49.99) and were very impressed with how well it cools the body on hot days. There are no chemicals; it cools by simply having air pass over it when wet with sweat. We’ve spent more time in the shirt and full-length pant (they have shorts and long-sleeve shirts as well) since the event and it is a must-have for hot weather. Anytime you have air moving over the body, the cooling effect is impressive.
As a guy who loves off-road riding vests, Klim’s new Arsenal vest ($189.99) offers up some cool features not found on any others. The vest packs a punch with three main storage areas, three chest pockets, two large waist pockets, a removable integrated Klim tool pack, three-liter hydration capacity (bladder included) and webbing throughout to aid in keeping the rider cool.
For those riders in states where carrying a sidearm isn’t a problem, the Arsenal vest has an ambidextrous holster. Plenty of adjustment lets the Arsenal fit a wide range of riders. This is my new go-to off-road riding cargo accessory.
We didn’t ride in it, but we got to manhandle the new Krios adventure helmet. The Krios, according to Klim, is the lightest ADV helmet on the market. It features a quick-change visor and shield, Klimatek fabric liner and has a great field of vision. It looks pretty futuristic.
TX 300
During our time in Idaho we used our 2017 Husqvarna TX 300 test bike, and just as we expected, loved it. Since Rekluse is only a few hours from Klim, they came out for the Cow Tag event and offered to install a Core EXP auto clutch for our second day of trail riding, making sure fitment of its new 2017 product was perfect. We’ve put a lot of hours on the TX 300, loving every minute so far, so we really didn’t think it would benefit that much from a Rekluse Core EXP auto. That thought couldn’t have been more wrong. The Rekluse transformed the already trail-worthy TX 300 into an absolute single-track weapon. It made navigating the sweet single-track much easier and tractoring up rocky hill climbs was effortless, Rekluse let the clutch do the work, putting down smooth power and ample traction.
My three days in Idaho went by way too quickly and now the Cow Tag is on my list of yearly events I must attend. Touring Klim, getting to ride in quality new Klim gear and ripping the trusty two-stroke Husqvarna TX 300 has me feverously scheming to find an excuse to get back to Idaho before winter hits.
You don’t have to attend the Cow Tag (although it is amazing) to help keep trails open. Support www.sharetrails.org and follow what the Klim crew is doing on social media to be in-the-know for some great riding opportunities.
GEAR ID’D
JERSEY: Klim Mojave
PANTS: Klim Mojave In The Boot Pant
HELMET: Klim F3
GOGGLES: Radius Pro Moto Goggles
VEST: Arsenal vest
BOOTS: Sidi Crossfire Pro 2
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