Rab Neutrino Professional Down Jacket Assessment

Backside Line

The Rab Neutrino Professional is a heat and versatile winter jacket that ranks close to the highest of our lineup of finest winter jackets and finest down jackets.

We love its hearty baffles filled with 800-fill energy down and outer shell resilient sufficient to deal with mild rain and frozen precipitation. It shortly entered our rotation of jackets and stays one we attain for sometimes on the coldest days.

The Neutrino Professional’s spectacular loft packs down small in a pack, making it a superb selection for carrying into the backcountry. Handled with Nikwax, the down insulation can be hydrophobic, which helps stop the down from soaking by.

Gear thrashers beware, the shell just isn’t as sturdy as others we examined. We discovered a number of feathers poking out of the seams after a number of months of repeated use, and it isn’t very resilient or protecting to encounters with brush or scraping previous rocks.

The Neutrino Professional is a wonderful selection for anybody on the lookout for a packable down jacket with a formidable weight-to-warmth ratio. When you may not want the technical efficiency for many in-town outings, this jacket is a wonderful backcountry puffy for stuffing right into a backpack and deploying for speedy heat when the temperatures plummet.

How We Examined

We examined the Rab Neutrino Professional in Alaska’s winter chilly over three months. From below-zero temperatures to snow and sleet, the Neutrino Professional was examined in quite a lot of situations skilled within the Alaskan backcountry.

Heat

The Rab Neutrino Professional is a masterclass in technical heat, making it a standout selection for these braving frigid situations. Full of 7.5 ounces of high-loft, 800-fill energy goose down, this jacket presents severe insulation, rivaling a few of the warmest parkas in the marketplace. The baffles of the jacket are effectively positioned by the torso and get rid of any chilly spots.

We discovered that this jacket is finest suited to low-output actions like sporting at camp, or throwing on when taking a break on a chilly climate hike. We used this in Alaska’s winter chilly from the one digits to above freezing and located it to be too heat to train in temperatures above twenty levels. Whereas this jacket could also be too heat to be a viable three-season possibility, it excels in chilly temperatures and is the right selection for a basecamp coat, or light-weight winter tenting puffy.

Climate Resistance

In keeping with most down jackets, we discovered the Rab Neutrino Professional to have lower than stellar climate resistance. Although not designed to protect in opposition to heavy precipitation, the Neutrino Professional was in a position to stand up to mild rain and average quantities of frozen precipitation. The Pertex Quantum Professional shell is handled with a DWR end that’s sufficient for fast publicity to moisture however is not any match for heavy rain.

We took this jacket out in a winter snowstorm and have been impressed with the way it dealt with frozen precipitation. It shortly shed snowflakes and labored effectively sufficient to maintain us dry. Nonetheless, attributable to this jacket’s size, layering a water-resistant shell excessive leaves the underside of the jacket uncovered to moisture. It shortly wetted by from water rolling off the shell. The Rab Neutrino Professional has its place as an insulating jacket and does that very effectively. Nonetheless, it’s very simple for winter storms to surpass this jacket’s climate resistance and we advise this jacket for occasions with out heavy precipitation or solely in dryer snow.

Consolation & Performance

Whereas the Rab Neutrino Professional lacks the trim and smooth match of different jackets, it isn’t overly massive or overbuilt like different parkas examined. We discovered that it strikes the steadiness between an athletic reduce whereas nonetheless being roomy sufficient to layer beneath comfortably. As talked about beforehand, the Rab Neutrino Professional doesn’t layer as effectively with a shell over high attributable to its size. This leaves the underside hanging out and uncovered to moisture.

The Neutrino Professional is a decidedly technical jacket. Most at house within the mountains and on the paths, it will not be the most effective match for metropolis put on. This jacket capabilities finest as an insulating layer on the path or at camp. Too heat for three-season use, that is undoubtedly a jacket for chilly winter months. We beloved throwing this jacket on for fast heat whether or not at camp, pausing for a hike, or earlier than a frigid backcountry ski descent.

Options

The Rab Neutrino Professional is a well-designed jacket constructed with consideration to element. The fleece lining within the pockets and alongside the collar is heat and comfy on the pores and skin. The artificial insulated baffle guarding the entrance zipper is a good addition to supply heat in an space ceaselessly uncovered to moisture.

With solely two hand pockets on the outside, we have been ceaselessly left wanting an exterior chest pocket. Nonetheless, the inside chest pocket is massive sufficient for a telephone along with different smaller gadgets like a hat or gloves.

The adjustment on the hood is tightened within the entrance with two cinch cords situated on the within of the collar. This meant unzipping the jacket and exposing us to the weather to tighten it down. The again of the hood has a easy velcro strap that doesn’t present the identical cinching energy as an elastic strap.

The left-handed major zipper could take some getting used to should you’re not used to European manufacturers. Whereas comparatively mild on options, the Rab Neutrino Professional fulfills its mission as a streamlined and technical jacket. For individuals who need the naked requirements, with not one of the weight and bulk of extra closely featured choices, the Neutrino Professional is a good match.

Ought to You Purchase the Rab Neutrino Professional?

You most likely can be psyched should you did. The Rab Neutrino Professional is a wonderful technical jacket for anybody trying to find a packable jacket that’s simply deployable for fast heat.

Its excessive quantity of loft is definitely compressed right into a small quantity, and we beloved throwing it in our pack on chilly climate hikes. With a technical look, the Neutrino Professional is extra at house within the backcountry than on metropolis streets. This jacket is decidedly a winter jacket and is just too heat for lively outings or high-output periods.

This puffy is a good basecamp coat, winter climbing insulative layer, or puffy emergency layer. We’ll proceed reaching for this jacket on days effectively under freezing, or whereas spending lengthy hours with out producing physique warmth. In the event you’re somebody trying to find a superb warmth-to-weight ratio in a light-weight platform, that is the jacket for you.

What Different Down Jackets Ought to You Take into account?

Try our different finest winter jackets for males if you would like much more choices or take a more in-depth take a look at these comparable fashions:

Out of doors Analysis Tremendous Alpine Down Parka Assessment: With a barely extra resilient shell, the Tremendous Alpine presents excessive heat in a barely extra sturdy platform.

Patagonia DAS Parka Assessment: In the event you love the warmth-to-weight ratio of the Neutrino Professional, however are on the lookout for the moist climate efficiency of artificial insulation, the DAS Parka would be the jacket to attempt subsequent.

Feathered Buddies Khumbu Parka Assessment: With much more insulation than the Neutrino Professional, the Khumbu is the king of chilly climate, expedition-level parkas match in your subsequent foray into the deep chilly.