RAB – what’s the general consensus?

Rab kit is very good.

Their sleeping bags lack stitching quality and since taking over Integral Designs and moving manufacture to China, the products have gone downhill in quality.

Can't comment on their clothing apart from their ID gaiters which are garbage compared to the original ID versions.

Over the past couple of months I have purchased both the Rab Neutrino Endurance Plua and the Generator Alpine jackets.
Both are excellent in construction, fit and features. The Generator is a synthetic fill and the Neutrino is down. I recently took the Generator jacket on a five day trip on the Foothills Trail and it performed very well especially in keeping me reasonably warm on a 22 degree night in a hammock. I also had on several base layers. It was otherwise too warm for hiking, used it in the evenings and mornings.

All the review research I did prior to buying Rab indicated almost universal praise.

I do quite like my Rab products. The only caveat is the fit–it is a very narrow-shouldered European cut. Nothing wrong with that, except that I was genetically endowed with very broad shoulders, so I have to size up. So far, it's been worth it, even though I could be 50 pounds overweight in my XL Pulse jacket and still have room for layers in the midsection.

I love the stuff. It's one of my favorite clothing brands at this point, and I can almost always get their stuff at a great price. I have the Demand event jacket, the cirrus wind jacket, the boreas wind shirt, a pair of modular gloves for winter biking (phenomenal…best gloves I've ever used for Chicago winter bike commuting), and the pulse lightweight rain pull over. I also bought some aeon synthetic shirts and wow was I impressed. They are my go to running and hiking synthetic short sleeve shirts now.

I have nothing bad to say about them…but I will say their fit can be a bit odd. Their men's medium fits me very nicely, and the men's large allows me great layering. Their women's fit me very well too, but my point is that if you were a broad guy you might have a bit of trouble. Maybe. But for me it's sweet kit.

I've owned Rab clothing since Mr Carrington was operating in Sheffield. I can't comment about the equipment side of the business, but I have been very happy with both insulation (down and synthetic) and eVent waterproofs. Their Neoshell products look quite interesting. Sizing is generally athletic but not as slender as Montane, who I always have to size up with. The only piece I've been disappointed with was a 2010 model Microlight down hoody, which had a lot of loose threads. Everything else has been top notch.

Most forward major clothing company at the moment in terms of design and materials. Perhaps not the fanciest or most aesthetically pleasing, but they have quality where it counts. The medium tops might as well be custom built for me, so that helps as well.

I'm with David on that. They seem like a british version of old Arc'Teryx, ie high quality but understated design and lack of gimmicky features. I love their Aeon Tees, my gf has been drooling over an infinity for months and I just ordered some Neutrino Pluses to try out for fit. If the kinetic was just a tad bit lighter I would opt for it over the OR Helium since it has a better hood, I just live in the desert so an excellent hood isn't necessary for me.

I did just buy a rab solo tarp for all of $30 off campsaver a few weeks back. Haven't played with it yet but it's light enough and surprisingly came with light v-stakes!

For sizing I find their smalls are perfect if they have stretch to them, otherwise I size up (i'm s/m depending on brand). As another poster stated, I think their shoulders are a bit on the small side, or maybe I'm just too climber aped-out in shape these days. Either way their clothes are superb.

You can frequently find their gear on 25% off too and deeper clearances aren't rare. Great kit and if you're patient at a great price.

I love the RAB clothing I have so far. I agree everything seems top quality about construction and choice of materials. Like some others have mentioned, I do wish maybe they had a tad extra room in the shoulders and sleeves. I think their size medium only has a 34 inch sleeve. But, nice athletic cut otherwise.

one thing to be aware of is that the rab "lifetime" guarantee is the USABLE lifetime of the product ….

its not like OR, EB, MEC, LL bean. Lands end, etc … where lifetime means lifetime … period

that said i own a few pairs of rab event gloves that work well

;)

I have the Rab Strata with Polartec Alpha. It's very good. I've been using it for cycle-commuting to work and also for rock climbing before the ice sets in. The seams are all good, the fit is excellent, and the trim is very well done.

I'd put the quality of the manufacture right up there with Patagonia, Arc'teryx and the like, but I wish the patterning was just a bit more sophisticated — the cuffs are somewhat bulky and a bit floppy compared to the gold standard set by the Arc'teryx Atom LT, and the hood just BARELY fits over my climbing helmet, which is one of the slimmer ones available. Again, the Atom hood fits perfectly over a helmet and is still perfectly usable without. Finally, the armpit gusseting for angel-wing movement is good, but again not up to the Atom's design, where there's imperceptible hem lift when raising your arms.

Not one of the aforementioned complaints will trouble walkers, but will certainly be of minor irritation to climbers. All of that said and done, I'd buy Rab again.

Just validating what others have said: Rab is very good kit.

Most of my outdoor clothing is rab: Rab Demand (shell) Infinity (down puffy) Xenon (synthetic puffy), Alpine (wind shell), Varpour Rise Alpine (Pertex/Pile) and Boreas (Light softshell), Meco (merino blend base layers)

All of these peices have worked well for me both individually and for season/sport specific systems. Rab tends to fit me fairly well (thin, long arms), although the patterning is hit and miss and sometimes a bit awkward. Arc Teryx wins there by a long shot, but they lose by just as much on pricing. On a whole, I'd say I got around %40 discount on the items above, which brings them into the semi-affordable for a dirt bag realm. If money was no object, I'd probably have just as much arc teryx, but I've been more than happy with this rab stuff.

I tried on the rab continuum down jacket the other day at a local shop, and thats a nice piece too. Very warm for the weight, its basically a Jr. Infinity without the hood.

I have a bunch of their stuff, generally speaking I'd say the design and cut is good but the manufacturing quality can vary a lot! Check all the seams carefully before buying.

I'm a climber so I might look at different products and features than you but here is my take… Compared to most american brands the cut is very different, much slimmer/athletic and longer arms. I'm 183 cm, 78 kg with fairly broad shoulders and slim waist(29-30 inch), I'm wearing a large and it can be a bit tight over the shoulder and chest but very generous around my stomach. The hoods tend to be a bit too small for my liking but OK. But where they really shine is the cut around the shoulders and armpit. I can usually lift my arms up and don't have the waist pull up too much. On par with arc'teryx.

Some of the stuff I have:
Neo Stretch Pants – very good with a high slim waist, good range of movement, full length side-zips etc. Good production quality but dont fit over ski boots.

Alpine Pull-over. First generation of their current Alpine Jacket. A thicker windshirt. By far the best garment I've ever bought!

Neutrino Endurance Plus Jacket – Nice and really good thick-ish down jacket. Takes a helmet well but the waist is too narrow to easily go over a harness :( Works but not good enough.

Micro Light Alpine Jacket – Terrible seams, loose threads, not straight, too close to edges… bought it second hand but I would never have payed full price for it.

Any of you neutrino plus owners have some experience with temperature ranges for that piece? It was my black friday score and it just came today. I must say I like RAB even more now with the fit and feel of this kit. I can't wait to get it out in the field.

The only stuff I have from Rab, is some of the MeCo stuff which I like a lot. Re: fit, when you have a somewhat oddly proportioned body, you get used to lack of good fit and tend to pay it less attention overall.

"They seem like a british version of old Arc'Teryx, ie high quality but understated design and lack of gimmicky features."

Not close in any way to Arcteryx quality past or present. Not even close to Marmot.

"Not close in any way to Arcteryx quality past or present. Not even close to Marmot"

Care to back that statement up with some experience with RAB products?

I agree Arcteryx stuff can be quite nice and the 3 items I have fit me like I had them tailored. But, I would be more impressed with the company as a whole if they experimented a bit more with materials and weren't so married to Gore. Also, it would be nice if they let retailers apply coupons to their stuff. Ridiculously high prices doesn't automatically mean the gear is the best ever.

All the RAB stuff I've used so far has been great and, like a previous poster said, mostly universal praise when reading around the net. This is especially true of their garments such as jackets. Perhaps products outside their clothing line fair differently.

The only piece of Rab gear I have is a Momentum jacket. 3L eVent at 11oz in my size medium that I bought on sale for $150. It has survived 2 years of heavy use and the only thing I have had to do is refresh the dwr. I love the long, skinny fit as I am 130lbs and I appreciate the extra length since its a rain shell. Quality is great in my opinion

Love my Rab Demand. And I'll give a shout out to Rab Latok Event gloves. I'm not sure why these aren't more widely appreciated. But I'll stipulate that my winter activities are pretty lightweight, as in, day trip oriented–no climbing etc. The Latok gloves aren't terribly warm, so size up if you want to use liners.

Best hoods in the business (as good as Montane) but fit is definitely different: very long sleeves, tight underarm fit and shaped for the younger crowd (read thin). I have a cheap hooded softshell of theirs (maybe $60 on clearance) that is ideal for sking with a pack in crappy, snowy and windy weather- it breathes well, seals up nicely and keeps me comfortable with a few light layers underneath down to the low 20's ( but like all softshells, it's not good for much else).
I also have a neoshell jacket that breathes pretty well that I use as a warmer weather shell (fit is too tight for much insulation underneath). It has a very tailored fit, a nice hand and seals up like a duck's ass when the precip turns horizontal. Nice looking too. Neoshell didn't turn out to be the miracle fabric as it was touted but it's at least as effective as my new Theta AR (Pro Shell?).
I bought the matching neoshell gaiters just befor a recent 5 day rainy trip. They are held up with a draw string and toggle – at least in theory. I bent over every couple hundred yards to pull them back up. Absolute crap, they're going to make a nice present for my son in law (maybe then I'll be able to keep up with him). I'll never stray from my Crocodiles (I think my current pair is 27 years old).