Looks nice. How protective of your face is the hood? I remember Rab's other lightweight offering the Drillium left your cheeks rather exposed. From the piccies this one looks rather better.
One the face of it it seems similar to Montane's SuperFly, but maybe a bit more robust if you use a full pack a lot? How would you say they compare?
thanks,
D
Pants! Should have gone into the gear section. Oh well.
I have tried one of these on. Nice light, well fitting jacket, but I was disappointed to see that on the body it uses the very light fabric that you can see the membrane through, similar to a Montane Quickfire. The sleeves appeared plenty tough, but I would be concerned about the durability of the body fabric. Any comments Jon? I would have preferred to see a more conventional face fabric and some mesh in the pockets for better ventilation.
I have tried one of these on a few times now as I'm sorely tempted to buy it, my only nigges with it would be that there arent outser storm flaps over the pockets, so in driving rain some water may get into the pockets, however the pockets are fully lined with e-vent so should stay waterproof. This could cause puddles to form in the pockets though. The inner storm flap of the main zip is great, nothing getting in there. Great hood, great cut, arms, colour, everything is great on it. I am just a lsight bit worried about the durability of it, but then it is tough where it needs to be and after all, if designed for motnaineering a good company like rab arent going to make a stupid mistake by making their supposedly best mountaineering jacket out of the wrong materials? Are they?
Trying this jacket on in the shop the other day, with a pack on, the pack waist strap is half on, and half off the patches of more durable fabric around the hips. You see this fabric rests below the hips, and thsi was me wearing a medium coat, wheras in fact I should wear a large really being 6'2" if I hope to fit any layers under the coat. So this seems to be a majour design floor, and really its putting weight where its not needed without adding to the durability because its in the wrong place!
Well that would work against it wouldent it, as it would hang even lower on me. Thus the protective band would be lower down and the belt would be more so on the unprotected fabric. I know the band of protective stuff would be widder but not significantly
Just got mine, so not much 'real world' testing yet, but it fits like a glove. A word of warning though - if buying off the internet, be careful to pay heed to the hip measurements on the sizing chart as the fit is pretty snug to stop it riding up under a harness.
The reinforced patches coincide perfectly on my 'large' jacket with the hip belt of my rucksack. As for the fabrics, they are feather-light but nothing like as flimsy feeling as Paclite (it's also not all weird and 'slimy' which really put me off alternatives) so I'm relatively confident of reasonable longevity.
As for the pockets, I've always found that they collect water regardless of their design, so you're not really losing anything. (Would have liked to have seen a mesh map pocket inside like on the Latok Alpine - but trade off for better hood etc)
The hood is work of art. Was previously fully committed to the ME 'stealth', but I think this may even better it - lots of helmet room (can even get my 'boarding lid under it) but can be cinched down tight on your head. No exposed cheeks here - better than the SuperFly's too. Having tested both, I'd get the Super Dru, rather than the SuperFly (well I would, 'cos I did) as it is better cut, probably tougher, generally better designed and is, dare I say, a little more stylish if that matters.
£180 from the Climbers Shop online, free next-day delivery. Sweet.
Thanks for the review Stephen, keep posted on here how it performs. I'm sorely tempted to get one, do you wear your pack straps on top of your hips then, resting on the hip bone? I'm goign to have to try to get hold of a large to try on, oh and also does the Climbers shop offer BMC discount? I can get it for £180 from Joe Browns but if the climbers shop price is £180 before BMC discount that would be sweet. Though the guy at Joe Browns has been so helpfull I would feel pretty bad buying it from somewhere else.
I jsut got one too, from the same place. In Large now, not had an oppertunity to actually try it on jsut yet as I only got it this morning before work but might go out and try to get soaked later, see how it does.
The hood on the Super Dru is much better than the one on the Drilium ime, I found it worked very well with and without a helmet.
The reinforced patches work well for me, there's always going to be some variation in fit simply because different people have different proportions, so if your trunk is longer or shorter than Rab's notional ideal consumer, it may not be in the right place.
The cut is quite close because it's part of Rab's technical range, all of which is badged 'Rab Extrem', their 'Active' garments are more for all-round use and have a more generous cut.
I can't really comment on long-term durability, the design is aimed at making the jacket light, but by using strategic reinforcement, keeping it tough. If you were climbing a lot, I suspect the front panel might be vulnerable and Rab actually has a jacket with a reinforced front section coming out this autumn as a response to their sponsored climbers wearing the fronts of their jackets.
That should be a more 'bombproof' jacket. If you want something that's all-round tough from Rab, the Suilven uses a heavier fabric throughout and weighs 660 grammes as a consequence. Looser cut as well, if that's a concern.
Just had my first serious soaking with the Super Dru - it hung in there really well and didn't wet out at all (although I suspect the DWR's days are numbered) - way better than my Goretex breeks.
Gregory - after spending a bit more time with the jacket, and my regular pack, that the reinforcement is a bit more 'bum-centric' and is kind of half and half with a properly adjusted belt (gripping the hipbone, rather than sitting on top). It's not something that I'd worry overly about, as if the belt is cinched up tight it's not going to move around and abrade too much. Does give you something more solid to sit on for eating your sarnies and squeezing up chimneys and the like. The front panel will take a beating if you're climbing a lot, as John suggests, but you trade that off against greater breathability and lighter weight.
Pretty pleased so far - am definately an eVent convert as I am a sweaty monster. Did notice that I was noticeable colder at the top, as eVent lets the fug out quicker than my old XCR number so remember to pack an extra warm layer! Pockets held out well too - I think the greatest problem was from vapour passing through!
I have already got one Steven! And I'm equally impressed. Did Ampatheatre buttress on sat in pouring rain and high wind, did up the hem, sleeves and closed the hood tight around my head and not a drop got in, and I was the only one of us not cold, and not wet. Very impressed. DWR is great at the moment and every drop is like a little pearl on the surface, with every stem in the rain you get a shower of water shaken off with the vibration. I climbed in it yesterday too and it was great. Another bloke I met on a climb had a Latok Alpine and said he came off his bike in it and no damage at all done so the fabric is pretty tough. Yeah it’s a really good coat. The reinforcement doesn’t line up great with the pack but if you put a pack on, reach up high so it pulls to as high as it will it seems to rest about right and that way no matter what movement you do its not going to move any further and it wont get in the way anyway. The pockets did get a bit of damp inside them so I wouldn’t keep anything easily damaged by water in there.
