Rab Men's Firewall Jacket Waterproof Stretch Active Jacket All-Year-Round

Product Information

The fabric feels lovely and is pleasantly quiet in use too. No more sounding like a plastic bottle being blown down the street every time the wind gets up’ Testing the hood with a helmet on in the shower, we found the collar to be perhaps a bit too wide open, while the wire brim of the hood wasn't quite wide enough. More disconcerting was how little effect the DWR coating on the Firewall had. Plus the conventional PU-coated water-resistant YKK main-zip isn’t as smooth flowing as the swankier molded-tooth YKK Vislon type, but we can live with that. Rear adjuster cord grips the top of the head so the hood moves with your direction of gaze - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk) Classic Velcro-tabbed cuffs work over or under bulky winter gloves and characteristic longish sleeves don't ride up either - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

The downside to buying online is that you can’t actually get hold of the product to try it out first. Pertex® Shield 3-Layer construction waterproof technology with fluorocarbon free DWR (120gsm) HH: 20,000mm/MVTR: 20,000 g/m2/24hrs When it came to mobility, we loved how much the stretchy fabric did stretch, and the larger fit meant that we experienced no constrictions of any sort as we moved about. We also appreciated how quiet the fabric was as we moved, a nice contrast with the noisier Patagonia Pluma and Arc'teryx Alpha FL, which were both made using a Gore-Tex Pro membrane. Venting and BreathabilityAn updated classic, a hard-wearing, hard-working rain shell, you know you can rely on regardless of what the weather has in store for you. Rab says: A lightweight, versatile 3-layer Pertex® Shield hardshell. Waterproof and with a slight stretch, it has a helmet compatible, stowable hood, refined sleeve articulation and deep underarm vents, great for winter hillwalking and mountaineering. The length for me came down to around upper hips and the only thing I noticed was that the sleeves, in relation to the rest, were quite long. I actually quite like them to be like this because it allows good freedom of movement when reaching up and it also allows you to pull your hands up inside (which I often do when walking in the rain). The Firewall comes up in a regular fit, leaving plenty of room underneath for layering without being too baggy and oversized.

Outdoors Magic: Demon pit-zips, nice, quiet fabric with stretch, decent breathability, good cut and at a super-competitive price too. There was a time when that meant second-best performance, but developments in fabric technology mean that’s no longer the case.

Another factor that can be a great indication of product quality is the brand. Brands like Rab are of course extremely well known, especially for Waterproof.