Stone Glacier M5 Rain Gear, User Reviews.

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I'm starting a thread for anyone who has the new Stone Glacier rain gear to post photos and leave reviews.
I was able to look at and try both the jacket and pants on at Barney's in Anchorage. My first impression is that the fit and design are spot on. However I wonder how their 3 layer laminate and DWR actually holds up in extended wet weather conditions, as compared to Gore-Tex and Toray laminates.

 

[Kotaman]

Mine came yesterday, but I doubt it will see much use until summer/fall...

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I got mine today. I did the shower test for about 10 minutes with 2 heads spraying from either side. I stayed completely dry, even around the zippers. However the face fabric did start to wet out fairly quickly, especially around all the taped seams. 20 minutes later, you can still see the darker areas of wetted out fabric. I kind of expected this, due to the soft hand of the exterior face fabric. It will never bead continually like a real crinkly, harder Gore Tex Pro Shell. I’m going to treat the garments with a better DWR finish just to bump up the water repellency a bit. The fit is really good. I got a size small in everything and I am 5’6 140 lbs. I would say that these pieces are comparable to the Kuiu Chugach and Sitka Dewpoint, maybe the Cloudburst as well. However the Hydra Shield laminate has a lot to live up to compared to Gore Tex, especially long term.


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

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[AK Troutbum]

I was down at Barney's checking out the M5 a couple days ago, and it felt very comfortable for sure, and the hood stayed nice and tight to the head when moving around and what not. I'm really interested to hear how it performs over the long term.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I was down at Barney's checking out the M5 a couple days ago, and it felt very comfortable for sure, and the hood stayed nice and tight to the head when moving around and what not. I'm really interested to hear how it performs over the long term.

I’ll be using the jacket in the mountains all spring for Splitboarding, so the jacket will see lots of high alpine use and possibly some stormy conditions. Should be a good initial test.


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[Rommy]

I got mine today. I did the shower test for about 10 minutes with 2 heads spraying from either side. I stayed completely dry, even around the zippers. However the face fabric did start to wet out fairly quickly, especially around all the taped seams. 20 minutes later, you can still see the darker areas of wetted out fabric. I kind of expected this, due to the soft hand of the exterior face fabric. It will never bead continually like a real crinkly, harder Gore Tex Pro Shell. I’m going to treat the garments with a better DWR finish just to bump up the water repellency a bit. The fit is really good. I got a size small in everything and I am 5’6 140 lbs. I would say that these pieces are comparable to the Kuiu Chugach and Sitka Dewpoint, maybe the Cloudburst as well. However the Hydra Shield laminate has a lot to live up to compared to Gore Tex, especially long term.


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Do you have a scale to weigh it?

Also, what do you use to add DWR? Spray or wash in? What brand do you recommend?

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[Rommy]

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How do you like the helio? Do you have any other hunting midlayers to compare it to?


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

Weight of Small Jacket: 16 oz
Small Pants: 14 oz

I used Nikwax TX Direct DWR finish in my front load washer, dripped dry hanging in shower and then tumble dry on low to activate the Nikwax for about 15 minutes.

The Helio is just ok. The fabric is similiar to Polartec Powerstretch, but it is not very stretchy. The quality of the material is not too great in my opinion. No grid backer, just a basic fleece. I can tell that the material will pill fairly quick. The sleeves also widen up near the hand, rather than tapering down like normal. This make the cuffs kind of floppy and due to the non stretch of the fabric and slim forearms, you cant really pull them up comfortably either. My Sitka Core Midweight Zip T for example uses a material that is more comfortable, more stretch and the seams on the inside are less scratchy.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I posted a couple videos on the Facebook group, Sheep Hunters Faction to show the breathability of the M5 set, which I found to be fantastic!

 

[Firemedic710]

Mine came yesterday, but I doubt it will see much use until summer/fall...

What are your first impressions compared to the Kryptek takur set you’ve been running?

 

[Benjblt]

Weight of Small Jacket: 16 oz
Small Pants: 14 oz

I used Nikwax TX Direct DWR finish in my front load washer, dripped dry hanging in shower and then tumble dry on low to activate the Nikwax for about 15 minutes.

The Helio is just ok. The fabric is similiar to Polartec Powerstretch, but it is not very stretchy. The quality of the material is not too great in my opinion. No grid backer, just a basic fleece. I can tell that the material will pill fairly quick. The sleeves also widen up near the hand, rather than tapering down like normal. This make the cuffs kind of floppy and due to the non stretch of the fabric and slim forearms, you cant really pull them up comfortably either. My Sitka Core Midweight Zip T for example uses a material that is more comfortable, more stretch and the seams on the inside are less scratchy.

Did you have a chance to try out the rain jacket in the weather much?

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[B_Reynolds_AK]

Did you have a chance to try out the rain jacket in the weather much?

I actually havn't encountered any extended wet weather at all yet. It has been a really nice spring in Alaska.

 

[Wapiti16]

Does anyone have or has anyone seen the "coyote" colored raingear in person? I like the dark gray, but I kinda want to pick up a set of the coyote raingear. However, I'm a little scared I'll be too "elk/deer-colored" walking around on the mountain haha.

 

[chwebb03]

I had it in a pretty good rain for 2 hours or so. Fabric did wet out around straps and belt of backpack but stayed dry. Fit is perfect. Large I'm 5"11 185 and had shirt and sitka heavyweight underneath. Dried pretty quick

 

[Wildwillalaska]

How stretchy is the material--and is it 2-way or 4-way?

 

[Adammn]

Does anyone have or has anyone seen the "coyote" colored raingear in person? I like the dark gray, but I kinda want to pick up a set of the coyote raingear. However, I'm a little scared I'll be too "elk/deer-colored" walking around on the mountain haha.

I am wondering the same. I already have some brown FL rain pants that I like. I'm thinking the granite grey M5 may be the ticket to break up the brown. The coyote color also looks a bit odd to me in some of the pictures. Almost a banana yellow, lol.

 

[Wapiti16]

I am wondering the same. I already have some brown FL rain pants that I like. I'm thinking the granite grey M5 may be the ticket to break up the brown. The coyote color also looks a bit odd to me in some of the pictures. Almost a banana yellow, lol.

Yes, that was my complaint as well. Seems like SG does some weird color-grading on their marketing photos that honestly make the colors look undesirable. I've seen some photos of them in person and the colors look much better in real life. Not sure why they edit them that way. I'm not really a huge fan of the SG color options in general. I prefer using solids over camo alot of the time for versatilty, but I would rather they had gone with some really muted earth tones. Maybe its just me being picky, I don't know. I'm still planning on picking up some of the pieces this summer, no doubt the quality is fantastic.

 

[Benjblt]

Yes, that was my complaint as well. Seems like SG does some weird color-grading on their marketing photos that honestly make the colors look undesirable. I've seen some photos of them in person and the colors look much better in real life. Not sure why they edit them that way. I'm not really a huge fan of the SG color options in general. I prefer using solids over camo alot of the time for versatilty, but I would rather they had gone with some really muted earth tones. Maybe its just me being picky, I don't know. I'm still planning on picking up some of the pieces this summer, no doubt the quality is fantastic.

I almost didn't buy their pack. . Nothing against Gray but what's wrong with some ranger green?

 

[Benjblt]

Does the jacket feel like it's durable?