Part one of our look at the kit from Rab due in the shops in a matter of weeks, mostly insulation...
We popped over to see the nice people at
Rab yesterday with
the dual aims of eating cake and catching up with their new
winter 2009 range of clothing
which will be appearing in the shops in the next couple of weeks, think
early September, so it's imminent, albeit currently a tad unseasonal.
The cake was great, but here's a rapid run through of some of the new
clothing, there's lots of it and it looks really good...
Microlight Alpine eVent -
£250
Rab's taken its excellent micro-baffled, Microlight down
jacket and wrapped it in a fully-taped, waterproof and breathable eVent
shell. That means it's completely waterproof, but still weighs only 600
grammes, or as much as most normal alpine shell jackets.
You get a lined and helmet-compatible wired peak hood, 140g of 750+
fill power European down, big chest pockets, an internal security
pocket and a stuff sac. It looks lovely too and should be spot on for
lightweight alpine use and the odd Scottish winter outing too. We like
this one, test to follow.
Neutrino Plus Jacket -
£250
For the same price as the Microlight Alpine event, you
could have a new
Neutrino
Plus Jacket, it's warmer thanks to box-wall construction
and 275g of down compared to the 140g of the Alpine, but the outer is
Pertex Endurance, which is highly weather resistant, but not
waterproof.
Rab says it should be ideal for altitude, polar and winter alpine
climbing. Serious warmth in other words, but at 760 grammes, not that
heavy... The hood again is helmet compatible.
Neutrino Lite Endurance
jacket - £150
Another addition to the lightweight Neutrino range, the
Lite Endurance again
uses Pertex Endurance shell fabric for the outer, but with a Qunatum
inner and stitch-through rather than box-wall construction. It's filled
with 145 grammes of European 750+ goose down and has a new narrow
baffle construction.
It's not as narrow-baffled as the Microlight range, but is definitely
narrower in the baffle than the rest of the range. Total weight is just
420 grammes, just 60 grammes more than the Microlight Alpine and the
Endurance outer should give improved weather protection. And blimey is
that colour bright...
Women's Microlight Alpine
- £140
When the Microlight range launched last year, there was no
hooded version for the girls. The good news is that's been fixed and
it's available in the mad, but rather lovely bubblegum pink variant
too, or 'rose' as Rab call it.
The rest is standard issue - microbaffles, 130g of 750+ goose down,
Pertex Microlight shell fabric and a tiny pack size. Lovely.
Generator Alpine Jacket -
£140
Rab sells a lot more down than Primaloft, which is a bit
of a mystery given how well Primaloft works in damp UK conditions, and
for this autumn, they've expanded the lightweight Generator family with
a new hooded jacket, the
Generator
Alpine.
Great for stops and belays and happier in the wet than down, the
Generator Alpine has lighter 60g Primaloft One in the arms and hood and
a heavier grade 100g Primaloft One in the body for added warmth. One
chest pocket and a helmet-friendly hood. The total weight is 520
grammes, making it a lighter alternative to the Rab Belay jacket and
around the same as the Photon Hoodie, which it resembles in fabric,
fill and features. Fewer pockets mind.
Women's Generator Jacket
- £110
Also new in the Generator family is a women's hoodless
jacket, again with the differential Primaloft filling in arms and trunk
and Pertex Quantum inner and outer fabric. Great lightweight wind proof
and water resistant jacket that packs down tiny. Claimed weight is 295
grammes and colours are vibrant.
Cut is nicely tapered and girl friendly with some really neat panelling
so it looks good as well as being functional.
Latok Salopettes -
£240
At last Rab has salopettes to match its eVent Latok and
Latok Alpine shell jackets. Made from eVent, the salopettes have a
Schoeller Dynamic bib section for improved breathability and fit, there
are heavier weight reinforcements on knees and seat and Schoeller
Keptrotec crampon patches should minimise damage from clumsy point
placement.
There are full-length two-way zips for venting and articulated knees
and a diamond crotch should give good freedom of movement.
That's part one of our preview. Part two coming shortly including our
new favourite fleece...
