This year, I’m lucky to be dressed by 509. I remember watching this company grow as I was starting off-trail snowmobiling. My best memory is the quality of the helmet and goggle sets they have been selling for so many years. I was thrilled when I unpacked my Allied Insulated Mono Suit; I couldn’t wait to continue my story with the 509 clothing.
Well, first, it’s just beautiful. The color selection is excellent, just enough green, and a combination of blue and black. Really wow! To my pleasure, there’s also a hood and a thumb hole in the sleeves.
The 509 Allied Insulated Mono Suit
When we take it in our hands, we see that it is made of high-quality fabric. Indeed, it is very heavy. Even though it is insulated, it seems heavier than average, to me. I thought this was since it would have had protections on the knees or elbows, but unfortunately, this is not the case. Another thing that quickly caught my attention was the length of the zippers to put the boots on. I also note that these zippers are of good quality and are waterproof, according to 509.
Putting on the Allied is not an easy task the first few times since the zipper is on the side. I found myself putting the straps on backwards more than once. However, once dressed, the suit is very comfortable. The inside fabric is super soft. Also, I can move easily without any difficulty. To put the boots on more quickly, there are gigantic zippers on each leg.
The zippers to put the boots go up to the top of the knees!
The kit includes four zippers: three on the outside and one on the inside. The first one is on the outside to put a phone, and it is complicated to access because of a big Velcro on top. Also, the two outside pockets at the thigh height are tiny. However, the inside phone pocket is great and has a hole for the headphones, if you want to use it for skiing. Overall, there are a limited number of pockets, and they are ok but could be easier to access and larger.
The zipper that disappointed me the most was the one for going to the bathroom standing up. As you may have noticed, the zipper to open the coat is far to the right. It is impossible to use it to go to the bathroom. 509 has added a small zipper at the height of the crotch. The problem is that it’s so tiny that my hand won’t fit to pull my pants down. It is, therefore, practically useless, considering the gymnastics that it implies to go to the toilet. To be clear, I don’t have oversized hands; the zipper is too small. I think it’s a shame because it’s very easy to see when testing prototypes.
The zipper that lacks a few inches to be appreciated to its full potential.
Once you’ve tried the Allied Insulated Mono Suit, you realize that it’s very easy to do your off-trail maneuvers. It didn’t bother me in any way throughout the test. As it’s insulated, it was quite warm on milder days, but it breathed well. Taking off a layer of clothing helped most of the time. Otherwise, several air vents are strategically placed at several locations. That said, I wouldn’t wear it in very cold conditions (below -20 degrees Celsius) unless I had several layers underneath.
One of the gigantic air vents
Falling in the snow has never been so pleasant, the snow never entered my outfit, I was dry from the beginning to the end of my ride!
The Allied Insulated Mono Suit is, in my opinion, a good snowmobile one-piece. It is very comfortable, warm, robust, and allows us to make our movements without any discomfort. It is not perfect: it is difficult to put on, the pockets are not super big, and some of them are not easy to access. However, it remains an excellent value, considering the materials used. I want to thank 509 for allowing me to try it all season long!
