New M50?

[Dustin Short]

So I checked thru-hiker and noticed they have new colors for M50. They also seem to have dropped M55 from their catalogue.

There's a lot of marketing speak (teflon DWR) and mention that it's higher wind/water resistance and lower breathability. When they had both M50 and M55 the M55 had this description and M50 was labeled as less wind/water resistant and higher breathability.

So what gives? Looks like they got rid of M50, renamed M55 as M50 and got a bunch of new colors.

Also, and probably most importantly, they really lowered the price! $13/yd is so much more affordable than the before. At this price it could be "crappy" but still light and cheap enough to not be a disappointment!

Anyone played with it yet?

[. .]

I don't know about 'cheap' but it is half the price of Cuben :)

[Dan Johnson]

Dustin, why must you feed my MYOG addiction!!! That's great the price dropped, but now how do I hide a roll of M50 from my wife…

[. .]

Duh, you make her a new bivy, quilt, windbreaker and hiking skirt out of it and give it to her for valentines (2013)

[Dustin Short]

@A Gould: Considering the M5x used to be priced over $20/yd and Ti-goat's SevenD is $22/yd (their KG-8D is considerably cheaper but a hideous green ;) it is a pretty good price. OWfinc offers a 1.1oz/yd finished weight for $13/yd as well, so thru-hiker has finally hit a competitive price point on their fabrics that I'm happy to see.

@D Johnson: I feed your addiction so that you can be the guinea pigs! That way if it sucks I'll hear all about it in the forums and won't have invested my own money. I'm a poor college student, I've got to game the system somehow!

[Daryl and Daryl]

Dustin,

Thanks for the update.

I just ordered 2 yards to make the next edition of my frame pack.

I've gone from pack cloth, to 1.9 ounce uncoated, to 1.1 ounce uncoated and had no failures yet. Next step will be the new/old M50.

I figure I'll eventually reach the failure point or run out of options. I prefer uncoated pack fabric so this might be my last iteration, fabric wise.

Daryl

[Andy Duncan]

Thanks for the info on the new M50. I just ordered 3 yards of the Aegean Blue and 3 of the black for a winter quilt. At only 0.04 oz/sqyd heavier than SevenD it's worth giving it a try. Will it ever end?

[Rob E]

We are hoping to build a MYOG two-person quilt and are looking for materials and I was thinking about going with the new moment 50 for both the inside and the outside of the quilt. Is this material going to be breathable enough for a quilt with two person? Or should we look at uncoated nylon? I should add that this is for spring/summer/fall use, not winter, so a general 40F/+5C quilt.

[Mark Dijkstra]

Thanks for the info! I'm going to make a sleeping bag and I was planning on using M90, but now that they lowered the price I might use M50 instead. The only reason I still hesitate is because the old M50 had a reputation of leaking down. It may be too soon for this, but has anyone tested the downproofness of the new M50 yet?

[Brendan Swihart]

I'd say go for it. I have a quilt made from the old M50 that I've used 100+ nights and yeah, it leaks a litte bit, but not much. I don't find it to be a problem at all. If they new is even a little bit improved I'd say it's fine.

[Tim Marshall]

I have 10yds inbound, will update once i get something built

-Tim

[Ryan Smith]

"900FP Downproof; not tested for down < 900FP"

Kind of an odd statement to me. I interpret this to mean either it's not very downproof for higher feather count down, or a subtle advertisement for Thru-Hiker's 900fp down since that's the only place to buy it(for the most part). We'll find out eventually I suppose.

Either way, pretty happy about the price and weight reduction.

Ryan

[Jamie Shortt]

Great news from thru-hiker. I was just on the website on tuesday pondering a purchase of M55, the new stuff wasn't up yet. I was struggling with the price and what I wanted to do with it. I'm excited to see the new price and equally excited to see the new colors.

As far as downproofness goes I found the old M50 to be fine so I suspect the new stuff to be good as well. I use my M50 down jacket on almost a daily basis and it rarely ever looses a feather. It is just as downproof, if not more, than my Montbell UL inner. I think the "reputation" was completely unwarranted. I have noticed the internet community can be quick to put down something new to only be found later singing its praise. Let the praise begin! M50 for $12.95/yd.

Jamie

ps and all the kits are now available in M50 as an option!

[John West]

Awesome to see that Thru-Hiker is getting competitive with their prices. 6 yards are on their way to me now. I'll update with how well it works.

[John West]

Well, I received the M50 I ordered from thru-hiker, and have put it to use in a couple of bivys.

I have to say overall, I am very impressed. I was a little apprehensive about the fabric, but I can honestly say I like it better than the M90.

There's very little of the annoying fraying edges that have to be singed with a lighter (compared to M90) . The DWR rolls water right off it coming from a faucet, so I have no doubt it will work well for repelling splashes.
Its not quite as obvious as the M90 for which side is coated. I had to run the pieces under some water to figure out which side to place upwards. With the M90 there is a dull side and a shiny side, and as far as I can tell, the M50 doesn't have that. I have the black color, maybe the others have a more obvious difference?

Breathability is quite good as well, much more then I expected.

It's a little harder to work with then M90, but once I got my machine's tension adjusted correctly, it wasn't too bad at all.

[Colin Krusor]

John, thanks for the report. The properties of the new M50 seem comparable to TiGoat's SevenD, but at half the price.

[Tim Marshall]

I am building 4 quilts to compare some fabric 7d 8d m50 and old m50

Just from handling the material I will say the m50 seems most similar to 8d but with an obviously heavier DWR. I don't know if if has been said yet but this isn't ripstop which makes me a little sad but I'll know a lot more once these are done

-Tim

[Dustin Short]

Tim,

is ripstop really that useful at these weights? I rarely have torn any garment, but if I do tear it it's usually due to high forces/speeds and I'll blow through any ripstop regardless. At such light weight I can't imagine that the "ripstop" threads provide much added benefit.

I will be looking forward to what you conclude after your tests, however!

[Daryl and Daryl]

John,

"With the M90 there is a dull side and a shiny side, and as far as I can tell, the M50 doesn't have that"

I also bought black M50. Mine has a sticker on one side (near an edge) saying which side goes out.

Daryl

[Tim Marshall]

I agree that there might not be much function for ripstop but it does make the fabric look higher quality to me. The DWR is going to have to be a lot better than the 8d to be my choice at almost twice the cost. It looks like it might be so I am excited to find out.

[Dustin Short]

Excellent Tim.

I'm rather happy, there finally seems to be enough quality choices for the MYOG community to drive prices down to reasonable!

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