I hosed myself down in the garden to test this Rab jacket – here’s why I rate it higher than GORE-TEX

When it comes to warm weather trekking, boating, festivals or simply getting around outside when the weather’s in an unreliable huff, you need something light on you to keep unexpected showers at bay and a barrier against blasts of chilly mountain air. That’s where the Rab Firewall Light comes into play.

This weatherproof two-season addition to Rab’s extensive range of outdoor garb is perfect defence against the unexpected and because it’s so light and thin, it can be crumpled up and stuffed into the smallest of spaces for unrivalled portability, and brought out just when you need it most.

Given the bewildering selection of similar jackets in the Rab range – and plenty more from other manufacturers in our guide to the best waterproof jackets – how will the Rab Firewall Light fair against the elements? Let’s slip it on and give it a whirl.

Rab Firewall Light Waterproof Jacket review

Price and availability

The Rab Firewall Light Waterproof Jacket is available direct from Rab, priced at £200. Alternatively, try the following stores which sell the same jacket at a variety of prices: Taunton Leisure (£150), Cotswold Outdoor (£178.50), Inglesport (£160) and BCH Camping (£149).

Unfortunately, there’s no sign of this jacket in the US but Rab still has a presence there. Visit the US Rab store to peruse its range of similar jackets.

Specifications

• Type: shell (men’s and women’s style)
• Weight: 313g/11oz (Size M)
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
• Waterproofing tech: 20D Proflex 3-layer stretch woven nylon
• Waterproofing (HH): 20,000mm
• Breathability: 20,000g/m²/24 hrs
• Pockets: 2 external, zipped
• Pit zips: no
• Hood: wired and stiffened peak
• Durability: 3-Layer construction
• Fit: regular
• Colours: Anthracite, Light Khaki, Tempest Blue, Tuscan Red

Sizing

This is the second Rab jacket I’ve reviewed, and I’ve now nailed the company’s sizing, at least from my point of view. For my review of the Rab Namche, I carefully followed Rab’s sizing chart and opted for size Medium, which turned out to be a little too large, though, in its favour, it does allow me to wear thicker base layers underneath, which has made it a great choice for winter use.

However, for the Firewall Light I took a chance on going down a size – Small – and it’s an absolutely perfect fit for my 5’5” frame, with ideal arm length for easy full-stretch movement without any restriction and a lower hem that sits just below the posterior. And yet it’s still spacious enough to accommodate some light base layers without it feeling tight and claustrophobic.

The upshot is that if your upper body dimensions straddle two different sizes, I would select the smaller size of the two. Of course, you can always return the jacket and exchange it for a different size, but getting it right the first time saves a lot of time and postage hassle.

Design and materials

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Available in four colourways – Anthracite, Light Khaki, Tempest Blue, and the gorgeous Tuscan Red we have here – Rab’s Firewall Light is a minimalist soft shell jacket that uses the brand’s own three-layer Proflex weatherproof fabric for impressive levels of waterproofness.

With an excellent hydrostatic head of 20,000mm, this jacket is suitably sealed to keep you dry in even the most voracious of downpours. Impressively, it feels far less crinkly and sounds a lot less noisy than most GORE-TEX jackets, which have a habit of rustling as you walk.

Moreover, the Firewall Light’s soft suppleness, coupled with the jacket’s knitted backer, feels amazingly soft when worn against bare areas of skin. There’s no rubbing when moving around, and it doesn’t feel clammy when the temperature rises. That said, a pair of pit zips wouldn’t go amiss for extra ventilation when the going gets tough.

Proflex is generally considered to be a little more breathable than GORE-TEX, and it’s usually found in lighter garments like the Firewall Light we’re looking at here. At 313g (11oz) for size M, this model is 124g lighter than the GORE-TEX Namche, and it’s a lot more supple, which means it can be bunched up into a tiny package for easy transport – and with zero creasing in the process.

Yes, really. You pull this jacket out from the bottom of a backpack, and it looks like you’ve just taken it off a coat hanger. It’s a tough material, too, that will easily withstand abrasion from pack straps, while stitching throughout the garment is exemplary.

Let’s take a look at some of the finer details, starting at the top. This jacket has a fixed rain hood with a lockable hood cinch that helps the crown firmly mould to the shape of your head for windy conditions. This head-hugging fit is combined with clever edge stitching on the sides that pulls in the fabric to provide excellent peripheral vision.

Likewise, when you turn your head to the side to check for traffic when crossing a road or to avoid a mountain bike coming up from behind, the whole hood fully articulates with the movement of your head, so you don’t have to swivel your whole body.

Nothing’s worse than a flappy hood when walking into driving rain, so it’s great to see that this jacket is fitted with an adjustable stiffened peak and forehead gaiter. Both do a sterling job of keeping rain from soaking more than just your face.

Heading downwards, the Firewall Light is equipped with a waterproof YKK AquaGuard centre front zip with a lined chin guard for comfort. When fully zipped up, this chin guard rests just below mouth height, and that means extra protection against rain and wind. The neck area, meanwhile, offers plenty of space to wear a buff or even a merino wool scarf without it feeling too tight and restrictive.

In terms of pocket space, you get just two here, but they’re large enough for a trail book and are perfectly positioned for easy access when wearing a backpack. The pockets themselves are lined on the inside with breathable mesh, so I would consider leaving them unzipped for extra ventilation in warmer weather.

Sleeve length is a major consideration when designing any hiking or trail jacket, since the last thing the user wants is any restriction when stretching the arms out on a climb or grabbing a tree branch on a steep descent. Thankfully, the Rab Firewall Light has slightly over-length arms with extended cuffs and hook-and-loop Velcro adjustments to protect your hands from chilly winds. I’m pleased to say that Rab has nailed the length of the arms so that they don’t bunch up too much when simply walking.

As mentioned above, this jacket sits just below the hips, where one’s bum meets the top of the legs. A single-sided rear hem cinch, meanwhile, gathers up the fabric to help seal out any spray in a shower and prevent any flapping in gale-force winds.

The Rab Firewall Light Jacket is available in two styles, a men’s cut and a women’s cut, with a tapered waistline and marginally wider hip. According to the product’s online entry, men have a choice of six sizes (Small to 3XL), though the 3XL size is greyed out for all colour options. Women are offered a choice of sizes from 8 to 20.

Performance

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First and foremost, this is a supremely comfortable jacket for any occasion, whether it’s hiking up a fell, hitting waves on a speedboat, cruising a canal in inclement weather, enjoying your favourite Glastonbury act while being pelted with summer rain, or simply heading out for the day when the weather forecast says ‘possible showers’.

It’s so easy to just bung in a day bag and take it along – just in case. And I adore the soft feel of the thin knitted backing, which vastly reduces any feeling of clamminess when used in warmer weather. When it’s started feeling a little too cosy, I’ve simply unzipped the front and both side pockets for extra ventilation.

I’ve been testing this jacket mostly during Britain’s recent sequence of heatwaves and somehow missed the opportunity to take advantage of two rare downpours. But that’s no problem because I got out the hosepipe and spray gun before the hosepipe ban came into force to give this jacket a very good dowsing indeed.

Roping in my wife as a camera operator, I stood in the garden wearing the jacket and let the sprinkler soak me for about two minutes. The results were hugely impressive.

In fact, I’m in a bit of a tizzy right now because, while the five-star GORE-TEX-clad Rab Namche repelled water just as well, it did show unsightly signs of water absorption around some of the seams and creases. The water never penetrated through to the other side, but it took a while for the ugly blemishes to disappear. By stark contrast, this Proflex-clad garment repelled and beaded all evidence of water with no signs of absorption into its outer layer.

I call that a huge success and, as a result, I am now a big fan of Proflex fabric and think that this jacket is at least one star better than the GORE-TEX Rab Namche I so glowingly reviewed last year. When seeking out my next rain-proof garment, I might forgo GORE-TEX altogether and opt for Proflex or even Pertex as my new go-to weatherproof fabrics of choice.

Verdict

The Rab Firewall Light is a brilliant, lightweight, two-season waterproof shell that delivers a soft, supple feel with excellent packability. With its adjustable hood, stiffened peak, articulated sleeves for long reach and amazing waterproof properties, this is the two-season jacket to pack when you’re on a day hike, on a boat, or just spending leisure time in fickle weather. Top buy.