In February, I had the chance to do some riding and put a full set of 509 gear to the test in the beautiful backcountry near Yellowstone National Park. The temperature ranged from -25 degrees Fahrenheit (-32 degrees Celsius) to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius). The test covered all types of riding, from high-speed trail riding to intense physical backcountry mountain riding.
509 gear tested
• Altitude 2.0 Hi-Flow helmet (Black Ops)
• Sinister X6 goggle (Carbon Fiber)
• Stoke Mono suit Shell (Black Ops)
• Range Insulated gloves (Black and Red)
• Velo Raid Crossover boot (Stealth)
Altitude 2.0 Hi-Flow helmet
The 509 Altitude 2.0 Hi-Flow helmet has a great overall look and feel when you put it on. Its fiberglass composite construction creates a strong, lightweight, and better fitting design that has a comfortable fit to your head. This lightweight helmet allows you to ride for days in a row and for hours at a time without getting a sore neck. Another amazing feature that 509 has incorporated into their helmets is the Fidlock magnetic chin strap. It sounds simple but once you’ve tried it and used it out in cold winter conditions, you’ll never want to go back to the old-style chin strap. Its simple design makes it easy to use: once you get the strap adjusted, you’re in and out of your helmet in seconds.
Even though I had a Hi-Flow version of the Altitude 2.0, it performed well when I used it on a -25 F (-32 C) day on the trails. From a heat regulation standpoint, the helmet is very versatile. It worked great in the warmer conditions with intense mountain riding and performed well for long trail rides with higher speeds and colder temps. It has a Pro-Series Breath box feature that really helped for warmer, more active mountain riding and added protection from the cold temps while hitting the trails. With the price of the helmet right at $300, it’s a great value considering all the additional features.
Sinister X6 goggles
The Sinister X6 goggles are lightweight and performed well in a wide range of temperatures. They had a unified fit to the 509 Altitude 2.0 helmet I used them with. The seamless fit that both the goggles and helmet had worked great and didn’t leave me with any cold spots while trail riding on colder days. I didn’t have any issues with fogging when the temperatures were frigid riding trails, or when I was riding intensely in the backcountry with warmer temperatures. Its silicone-lined rigger lock strap always stayed right where I wanted it on my helmet with no slipping off or movement. The contoured removable nose piece also worked great and deflected the wind on the cold trail days.
Stoked Mono suit Shell
The 509 Stoked Mono suit Shell was designed for hardcore mountain riding and it worked really well in those conditions. With it’s 5TECH Pro layer stretch material it was waterproof, windproof, and breathable—just what a mountain rider is looking for. Also, with its 5TECH Pro three-layer stretch material it absorbs impacts and recovers nicely reducing tearing and ripping. It will handle the abuse mountain riders will put it through in the tight tree sections, an important feature when buying any piece of snowmobiling gear.
Because it’s designed for mountain riding, this suit ran a little cooler, but that’s good because that’s what it was designed for. Even though it was designed for the mountain it handled the cold temperatures and lots of wind while we were blasting down the trails. I did have to add a few layers to keep my temperature where I wanted it but that’s to be expected with any shell. The suit handled the wind blast great and kept me warm, dry, and comfortable.
The Stoke Mono suit Shell also has some other cool features like Fusion Welded seams that are flat, less bulky, and seam-taped for a waterproof transition. I really appreciated the smooth, waterproof zippers with extra room in the collar. It also includes reinforced durability zones using 600 D Polyester reinforcement, built in knee pads, and pit and thigh venting to regulate air flow and temperature. An added bonus is an internal harness to keep the suit in place and situated correctly.
Range Insulated gloves
The Range Insulated gloves were comfortable and for the most part kept my hands warm. Now, when its -25 F (-32 C), no matter how good the gloves are you’re going to have to stop after a while and warm your hands up—that’s just snowmobiling. The Range gloves also gave me good grip and feel for the handlebars and controls. They seemed to be a nice combination of thin tactile gloves that maintained a good level of warmth even riding on some really cold days. I also like the longer style gloves so you can pull the draw strings and keep the cold and snow out if your trail riding or digging out a stuck buddy.
Velo Raid Crossover boot
The Velo Raid Crossover boot seemed to be built for the sledder and snow biker that’s a very active rider and looking for an extra level of protection. It looks and feels like you have a comfortable dirt bike boot on. With the added protection and support of this dirt bike inspired boot, the Velo Raid gives you extra confidence while riding. It also had nice ankle support and was more comfortable than what I was expecting—most dirt bike boots aren’t really all that comfortable, especially when you’re in the $275.00 range.
When I first put these boots on, they fit snug, but not tight. For sizing they run about a half size small, so if you want a little extra room for an extra or thicker pair of socks you might want to buy one size larger than normal, since 509 doesn’t have half sizes. This boot was comfortable and performed well considering it only has 200 grams of insulation. I thought my feet would get cold in a boot with only 200 grams of insulation on a trail riding day that when we started was -25 F (-32 C). My feet did get slightly chilled, but for a boot with that level of insulation it did surprisingly well. If you typically ride in colder temperatures, are a less active rider, or have cold feet you might want to look at a boot with more insulation. Not only will I be testing the limits with the Velo Raid Crossover boot with some of the more hardcore backcountry mountain riding days, but I’ll be using it as a dirt bike boot for the colder early spring and late fall riding days too. It seems like it’s a boot that will be very versatile in the snowmobile, snow bike, and dirt bike world, and I look forward to testing them out this coming season on the dirt.
Some other features of the Velo Raid boots are 3 buckle boot construction, 5TECH waterproof bladder, mountain lug sole, and shifter pads for maximum durability and a premium performance heel cup for ankle support.
The 509 gear performed well, even in the fairly extreme conditions I tested them in. It was comfortable and fit well, having an ample amount of room for layering without being too bulky. Even though the pieces I had were more mountain-inspired, they worked well over a wide range of temperatures and styles of riding and should be a consideration the next time you’re looking to purchase riding gear.
