Rab Xenon Jacket Review

It was mid-July, but you would have never guessed from a close up view, as I was wearing a blue hooded jacket that appeared to be more suitable for a winter excursion than a mid-summer outing. Zoom out, and you’d have seen we were on the Direct South Ridge of Notchtop in Rocky Mountain Park, and a steady 30 mph wind was keeping things quite brisk above 11,500′. The opening pitches were mellow so I opted to keep my new Rab Xenon Jacket on while I worked up through the easier terrain to get to the meat of the route.

Lightweight synthetic jackets have become all the rage these days, and for good reason. New technologies mean you can have a piece that’s super lightweight and warm that also works well when wet, as opposed to down which goes to crap when the H2O starts to fly. In many ways, these new synthetics have even replaced fleece jackets, as they offer comparable warmth but with wind resistance as well, in a lightweight package.

Back to the Rab Xenon, as soon as you pick it up you can’t help but notice how light it is, weighing in at a scant 12oz. Your chalkbag probably weighs more than that. The warmth is provided by Primaloft One, a very light synthetic insulation which works well no matter what kind of conditions you encounter. As far as design goes, it’s a simple jacket, with two handwarmer pockets, a chest pocket that doubles as a stuff sack, and a low profile hood, which can be rolled up and snapped out of the way. The hood is also designed to fit under a helmet, another weight saving measure for the fast and light crowd (along with the absence of zippers on the pockets.)

I’ve been using this jacket since mid-summer, for everything from alpine climbing to sport cragging, and it quickly became the jacket that always gets thrown in my pack. It’s very warm for its weight, and is often the perfect solution for staying toasty in between climbs on chilly fall days. The outer material, Pertex Quantum 10d, is incredibly durable, and well suited to the abuses of alpine climbing. Unfortunately I didn’t get to suffer up any granite chimneys with this thing on, but my feeling is that it would stand up to the task.

Once you transition to winter, you’ll probably want something heavier to throw over it, but for the shoulder seasons it’s perfect. Usually I can find something I don’t like about a given piece of gear, but not so with Rab Xenon. Two chosses up, or however it is we rate stuff around here.

Retail is $224.95, available for purchase at prolitegear.com.

Disclaimer: The FTC wants you to know this product was provided to SplitterChoss.com for the purpose of reviewing. Like that makes a difference on how much we beat the crap out of it …