We popped over to see Rab earlier this week and along with their new fabric preview, we also got to have
a look at the brand new clothing and sleeping bag ranges for this
spring 2010.
We'll cover the sleeping bags separately as the whole range has been
redesigned for 2010, but here's a look at what's new for this spring in
the clothing line. That means some new, lightweight eVent waterproofs,
revised VapourRise Light and a couple of other items.
New Lightweight eVent
Most of Rab's event line is unchanged for this year, so
there's the light but reinforced alpine shell (440 grammes) and the even
lighter, but not reinforced and more minimalist
- 340 grammes with helmet hood and the all-round Drillium with
roll-away hood (£375 grammes).
For 2010, there's now a
Women's
Momentum Jacket - like the men's version, it's a
lightweight eVent jacket wth helmet-sized hood, twin Napoleon pockets
and water-resistant YKK zips all round.
Rab uses narrow tape on non-critical seams to save weight and at 310
grammes, it's one of the lightest women's alpine shells out there.
The
Drillium
- below in men's and women's versions - remains basically the same as
before, but the fabric now has a discreet matt look to if rather than
the shiny, shiny look of the original jacket.
Last but not least, there's the new
Demand
Pull-On, esentially a stripped-down Momentum with a helmet
hood and half-zip and just a single chest pocket. Retailing for
£150, the
Demand has a claimed weight of just
280
grammes, around 60 grammes less than the jacket.
Other weight saving moves include a hem-cord that only acts on the rear
of the jacket and what Rab is calling an Exoskeletal hood system, with
the drawcord on the outside of the hood to eliminate the weight of a
cord channel - Haglofs uses a similar and effective system on some of
its LIM range. One of the lightest, if not the lightest, eVent jackets
out there.
Vapour-rise Lite Tweaked
When the
Vapour-rise
Lite jacket launched this year, it used a lighter, more
wind-resistant version of Pertex Equilibrium fabric combined with a
Polartec PowerDry liner. We liked it and it got a lot of hammer this
winter for running and biking use. It wasn't that much lighter than
standard Vapur-rise however, but for this spring, it gets a
lighter-weight version of the brushed lining used on standard
Vapour-rise.
That means a more significant weight saving of approximately 200
grammes over the full Vapour-rise jacket - think 390 grammes compared
to 610 grammes. On top of that, there's a new
Women's Vapour-rise Lite jacket
- belwo - so lasses get a look in too. Price for both versions is
£100.
New Alpine Pull-On
We like the look of this, it's a simple, hooded pull-over made from
Pertex Equilibrium fabric. Equilibrium is what's used for the outer
shell of Vapour-rise and it's a denier-gradient fabric that uses the
structure of the material to wick moisture, so while it's not entirely
windproof, it wicks brilliantly and is also very, very breathable.
Effectively it's a very lightweight soft shell at a claimed
260 grammes,
arguably one of the lightest soft shells on the market. Or in Rab's
words: 'Arguably the world's lightest fully-featured soft-shell
pull-on'. The hood is helmet compatible and, like the Demand, uses
Rab's new Exoskeletal hood adjuster.
It also has a deep venting YKK chest zip , adjustable hem, elasticated
cuffs and two large, YKK-zipped mesh-lined, A-line pockets. Plus it's
cut long for increased protection. Looks like it should be a cracking
all-round, lightweight top. Price is
£70.
Cirrus Pull-On - New
Quantum Windshell
Also new in pull-on format is the
Cirrus,
a simple windproof top made from the current lightest Pertex fabric,
Quantum and weighing in at a claimed 75 grammes. That's around 25
grammes less than a Montane Featherlight Smock and The North Face
Hydrogen jacket... Price is
£50
and it feels light... choice of colour too.
Dihedral Pants -
£60
Last but not least, Rab's legwear tends to get overlooked,
but the Dihedral Pants are neat-looking, tough, stretchy all-rounders
made from Polyamide with a diamond crotch for mobility, articulated
knees, zipped hand pockets and three leg-length options, 30", 32" and
34". Should be good for all-round walking, trekking, climbing and
scrambling.
All available from
Rab stockists right about now or very shortly.
More details at
Read more:
