chwebb03
FNG
So I went on my first backpacking trip into the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama this past weekend. It was a great trip an introduced me to the backpacking world. We expected rain all three days so I knew my Patagonia (not sure the model) lifestyle jacket wouldn't hold up. So at last minute I had to choose a jacket that I knew I could get sent in short notice and probably still serve as a great piece of gear. I narrowed it down to the Stone Glacier M5 and the Sitka Cloudburst. The Stone Glacier was going to cost me a little more but getting it in a solid was the factor so I could use it more everyday.
Customer Service
I have dealt with Sitka before and they are great. The guys at Stone Glacier have done an excellent job answering my questions on social media as well as emails about sizing and information most notably Andrew and Peter. The 2 day shipping process worked great and the jacket showed up on time. Just bummed I forgot to enter the code to get a free hat with 1st order.
Sizing
I am 5'11, 185. Pretty normal build and the Large fit is perfect. When I was wearing just a smart wool t-shirt underneath the fit did not feel bulky or baggy. The last day when we experienced pretty good rain and cold I wore the t-shirt and then a Sitka Core Heavyweight hoody underneath and the fit was great. There was no tightness or restraint in movement while hiking with a pack on. The hood fits nice whether wearing a hat or not. Sight was great with no restrictions.
Material feels durable enough to walk through brush without worrying about rips or tears. It was pretty quiet for being so durable and soft enough on the inside next to skin to not be annoying. Not sure on weight but packability was great. Folded it up into the hood like their video shows and it rode in my water bottle pocket the whole time.
Performance
Like I said above, I am not experienced in backpacking or in top notch rain gear. The first night we walked in two miles with spitting rain. I had the t-shirt on and core heavyweight hoody on underneath. About 50 degrees. To tell how repellent it was i ended up slipping it into my sleeping bag pillow pouch with no worries. Breathability was great. I opened up the pit zips mainly to see how it would change my temperature. The last day we hiked out in a solid rain for about 2 and half hours and I had everything on with it being about 40 degrees. The jacket shed rain everywhere with the exception of some build up around the waist straps and shoulder straps of the backpack. When we started I had my phone in a pocket but after about 45 minutes I had to remove it because I could feel water in the pocket that had built up form the waist straps of the backpack. Other than that the arms and rest of the jacket shed water great. After about 30 minutes in the car ride back the top portion of the jacket was dry and after a 2 hour car ride the whole jacket was dry.
Again I had no experience with rain jackets before other than my Patagonia lifestyle jacket. I was pleased with this jackets performance. My buddy had a Marmot Precip and wetted out about 10 minutes into the hike. Hope this helps anyone looking into the Stone Glacier jacket
