Rab Belay Jacket Tested
We check out Rab's rather neat-looking Primaloft-filled insulated jacket and ask whether it's functionally as effective as it is aesthetically.
Posted: 2 February 2006
by Jon
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Rab Belay Jacket
Tested
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Price:
£130
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Weight: 635 grammes
(medium)
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Features:
Primaloft filled jacket with 133g weight insulation in body
and 100g weight in arms, full hem draw cord, full-length zip
and insulated tab-down hood, four outer pockets and one
inner, water-resistant zips throughout, wired peak,
fleece-lined chinguard, elasticated cuffs. Pertex lining,
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Looks good, works well in UYK conditions.
You may need to size up.
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The Concept Belay jackets are aimed at climbers but also work
well for winter walking and even mountain biking. The idea is that
you generate heat when moving, so you can dress light, but when you
stop, you throw on your insulated belay jacket over your normal
layers for instant warmth and no fiddling with layers of fleece and
shell. It works really well with soft shell.
Features Essentially it's a simple idea, you get two grades of
water-resistant Primaloft, one in the body and a lighter grade in the
arms for easier movement. There's an oversized hood with a wired
peak, loads of pockets and neat, water-resistant zips everywhere. The
outer is windproof and water resistant and the liner is a fine
Pertex.
In Action The Rab Belay Jacket looks great on a hanger - slick
and black with neat water-resistant zips, which is great, but it
works just as well as it looks. We've used it for walking,
mountaineering and biking and it's superb.
 Bang
it in a stuff sac and it takes up relatively little space and at just
over 500 grammes it's ligtht too. But it's also deceptively warm once
you do throw it on with extra protection from the windproof
outer.
Because Primaloft is water repellant, it's ideal for UK conditions
as well giving a down-like performance without the same vulnerability
to damp. In other words, it's much more knockabout and if it happens
to pour with rain when you're wearing it, it's no great problem as
it'll dry quickly and still retain a decent level of insulation. We
even wore it for active use in serious sub-zero temperatures and found it practical and unrestrictive. The
Pertex Endurance outer also helps when things get gnarly.
The hood is a boon as well, especially as it fits over a climbing
helmet, meaning it is a truly useful jacket when used for climbing.
One thing to watch out for here is that it uses Rab's standard
'Active' cut which means it's quite close fitting. If you intend to
layer it over bulky clothing, you may need to go up a size. What
else? Er, the zip garages on the pockets are slightly under-sized,
but really that's just nit-picking.
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