UKH

So I have a Rab eVent waterproof jacket that I've owned for a little over a year, which was recently sent for warranty investigation via the retailer I bought it from because it's delaminated across the entire body and arms and is no longer waterproof.

Rab's response was that it has been caused by a "lack of regular maintenance". I knew eVent required more care than other fabrics so made sure to wash it regularly and reckon it's gone through the wash 5 or 6 times in the time I've had it. In fact it's seen more maintenance than any other single piece of outdoor clothing I've ever owned, all of which have lasted longer than this one so I'm pretty disappointed by their response and claim that I have not maintained it. I also have a pair of Rab eVent trousers that I have had about the same amount of time as the jacket and which have always been washed together with it, and these show no signs whatsoever of delamination.

Has anyone had a similar experience with Rab waterproofs? There do seem to be some older threads on here which are not particularly positive about eVent. Is there any point me pursuing this further with Rab directly? I don't really want to have to shell out on a new jacket after such a short run with the old one. Either way I will be avoiding Rab in future; in my mind a hardshell jacket that starts falling apart after a year of being used around twice a month simply isn't fit for purpose.

In reply to ChrisH89:

To me this sounds like a fabric issue which although nothing to do with Rab as far as the manufacturing goes should really be sorted by them in my opinion.

I have a Rab E-vent jacket and I've not been really pleased with the material, I'd probably buy buy Goretex or a cheap own brand material next time. I was however quite pleased with the service I got from them when a seam in the hood separated when the jacket was ~18 months old. The jacket was otherwise immaculate at this point which may have swayed their response to fix the hood for free.

Perhaps you could push this by stating the jacket not to be fit for purpose as described by the consumer rights act which gives you recourse long after the initial 12 months companies like to suggest.

I had a Rab event coat - expensive but the worst "waterproof" I've ever had it just seeped water from the start and got worse and worse - no amount of care made it any better. I persisted with it in the naive belief that it was "good" which was a mistake - I've gone elsewhere since. Rab used to have a solid reputation for customer service but since they were bought out this has slid badly.

In reply to ChrisH89:

Good luck Chris, I gave up on Rab years ago they are sh*te. My Rab latok alpine jacket pockets filled up with water, reponse.....oh its not meant for the UK its an alpine jacket for drier conditions! Dont market it in the UK then.

In reply to wheelo:


Seriously? A Latok isn't designed for wet conditions??? Why would you be wearing a hard shell in dry conditions? That is pathetic.

I like my Rab sleeping bag (few years old) but will avoid further purchases if that's the sort of expectation they have of their own kit's performance.

In reply to bouldery bits:

One other thing to look at if you're considering rab down filled products is the down:feather ratio they are using.
If you look through their website you'll be hard pressed to find any info about this. I'm pretty sure the reason for this is that they changed this a while back, increase the feather content.

Edit, for some reason they have multiple websites, the One starting equipuk.com has more information about down feather ratios showing that indeed they now use 90:10 for the cheaper end (still talking £400 neutrino range bags) rather than 95:5 as they used to. The rab.equipment.com site ignores all the technicalities.

In reply to ChrisH89:

I've just sent a neoshell jacket back to Rab, both sleeves were letting water in through the seams. I wonder if I'll get a similar response... Especially considering the jacket has only been worn down to the shops a handful of times.

In reply to ChrisH89:
Looks like I'm not the only one to have problems with their kit then. I'll try the fit for purpose line with them since I have nothing to lose, though I can't say I'm particularly hopeful based on their initial response. I also have the problem with the jacket pockets filling up with water and it's a different model to the Latok. Literally a pool of water swilling around inside the pockets! The pockets themselves weren't marketed as waterproof (they're "water resistant" apparently...) but that really is a bit far. I'll also be going back to Gore-Tex if I have to buy a new one and will be warning friends off from the Rab offerings!

shame to read this. I was going to commend them via Twitter after receiving my down jacket back today with replacement zipper and all the work done FoC. Quick turnaround too. Excellent warranty. Would be good if all got the same service.

In reply to ChrisH89:

V E N T I L e

In reply to ChrisH89:

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear you've been disappointed by your customer service experience with us. I've got an early meeting this morning, but I'll pop down and see the customer service team when it wraps up and look into this for you.

Hopefully have an answer for you later today. Feel free to PM me if you'd rather be contacted by phone, email...etc.

Best, Adam (Rab)

In reply to ChrisH89:


How strange. I've got a Montane eVent jacket that I've had for over 10 years. It hasn't ever been washed, but apart from a small hole that I can't be bothered to fix, is still as waterproof as when it was new.

In reply to Adam_42:






Translation:
"Oh sh*t look what's just come up on our Mention (https://mention.com/en/) feed. It's on UKC as well. Groan. I suppose someone had better respond quick before some other idiot tweets it. And make sure we take the conversation offline ASAP".

In reply to ChrisH89:

Similar experience with a Latok and a very poor customer service. I'd sent it for investigation and got nowhere fast. I asked for the jacket back (to use for gardening etc) - was told I'd have to pay for postage. Won't touch RAB ever again (nor recommend it, and I come into contact with lots of outdoor users).

In reply to Adam_42:

Thanks for your response. I'll wait to hear back from you (you can reach me by pm on here or I can provide my email address).

In reply to 99ster:

I knew someone was spying on the office! Better draw up the Rab blast shields again!

In reply to ChrisH89:

Cheers Chris. Have sent you a message.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Yes, I'm still happily wearing my 10 year old montane superfly event jacket...

In reply to 99ster:

I pointed out this thread to RAB via Twitter, I thought it was fair that they got to respond and rectify!

In reply to ablackett:
I guess it happens to any company which grows beyond a certain size, but I always liked being able to turn up at the factory in Sheffield and say 'The problem is this...' to somebody, who'd generally take it away and fix it.

It's good that it's now being followed up further for the OP.

In reply to Timmd:

I have recently bought a couple items of rab clothing from different retailers and both these items had defects. I contacted rab regarding this and they were nowhere near as helpful as other manufacturers I have dealt with in the past.
Due to the level of customer service and poor product quality I will not be buying rab again and will be sticking to the likes of m.e and montane.