The Best Rab Outdoor Gear in 2026: Our 6 Picks

The Microlight Alpine is the jacket people picture when they hear the name. The current version uses recycled 700-fill down with a hydrophobic finish (152g in a medium) inside 30D Pertex Quantum made partly from recycled fishing nets, with zoned baffles, a wired hood peak, a chest pocket and two zipped hand pockets. It weighs 428g. Rab scores it three out of five for insulation, lightness and durability, which is honest: it is a cold-weather layer, not an expedition parka.

The reviews on Rab’s site are few and mostly delighted, but the lowest one says simply that feathers are coming out. A Trustpilot reviewer who bought this jacket and the matching gilet in 2026 said the same of both, with down escaping through the seams. Some loss of down is normal; a steady stream is worth a warranty claim.

The Downpour is Rab’s everyday hill waterproof. It uses 50D Pertex Shield in a 2.5-layer construction with a PFAS-free water repellent, lists a 20,000mm hydrostatic head and the same figure for breathability, and adds underarm vents, a stiffened hood peak, hook-and-loop cuffs and two hand pockets. It weighs 377g in a medium. Rab rates it four out of five for waterproofing and five for wind.

Most reviewers are pleased. The single one-star review says the jacket stopped keeping water out after limited use, and a Trustpilot reviewer described the membrane on an older Downpour Eco wearing through. Another owner found the main zip jams in the fabric behind it. A 2.5-layer shell trades long-term toughness for weight and price.

The Nexus is a plain, useful midlayer: a slim half-zip in Thermic G, a recycled polyester fleece with a grid-like backer, with a deep venting zip, a close collar, double cuffs and a zipped chest pocket. It weighs 252g and is meant for hikes, climbs and scrambles where you warm up and cool down repeatedly. At £70 it is one of the cheapest ways into Rab.

It has dozens of reviews and very few complaints, but those few agree. Two three-star reviewers say the fabric pilled within weeks, one of them in two colours, and a four-star owner noticed bobbling after two weeks of wear and two washes. Others say it fits small compared with earlier Rab tops. If you like room underneath, go up a size.

Down loses its warmth when it gets wet, which is why many British walkers prefer synthetic insulation. The Cirrus Flex uses recycled PrimaLoft Silver RISE in a 20D Pertex Quantum shell, with Thermic stretch fleece side panels that breathe on climbs, a hood designed to fit under a helmet and two zipped hand pockets. It weighs 446g in a medium and is cut slim.

Owners rate it highly. The criticisms are specific: one returned it because the fleece side panels let rain in, and another found the hand pockets stretch out of shape with anything heavier than a packet of tissues. A French reviewer found the upper arms too roomy. Wear a shell over it in rain, and keep the phone elsewhere.

The Neutrino bags are still hand-filled in Derbyshire, and this one carries 200g of 800-fill European goose down in a 10D and 20D Pertex Quantum shell, with helix-shaped baffles to stop the down shifting, sidewall baffles for side sleepers and a two-way zip. It weighs 700g and packs to 16 by 30cm. The regular is £370; the second size listed costs £390.

Read the temperature carefully. Under the ISO standard it is rated comfort 5°C, limit 0°C, so the 0°C in the name is the point at which a warm sleeper is merely bearable. Rab scores it one out of five for the range of environments it suits. The only review on its page found it flimsy-feeling, if as light as expected. Treat it as a spring-to-autumn bag.

The women’s Microlight Alpine has the same build as the men’s: recycled 700-fill down with a hydrophobic finish, a 30D Pertex Quantum shell, zoned baffles, a wired hood peak, a chest pocket and two zipped hand pockets, one of which doubles as a storage pocket. In a size 10 it weighs 375g with 137g of down, and has a 66cm back length.

There are only a few reviews so far and they are positive about warmth and weight. The reservations are about shape and colour. One reviewer found the straight cut puffs up above wider hips, and another, on her second, said the colours look paler or browner in person than on screen. If you have a curvier figure, check the size guide or try one on at a stockist.