REVIEW: Rab Kinetic Plus Jacket

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 UKC/UKH Gear 03 May 2017
It's breathable enough to wear as a windproof layer when you're on the go, 3 kbWith the waterproofness of a shell and the breathability of a softshell, the Kinetic Plus is an unusual and versatile summer jacket. An ultralight weight and tons of stretch make this a winner, from breezy crags to damp weather hillwalks, says Dan Bailey.

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 BnB 04 May 2017
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Thank for the review Dan. The question that comes to mind is how does it perform next to Neoshell both in terms of breathability and waterproofing? That would seem to be the obvious point of comparison.
 gneiss boots 05 May 2017
In reply to BnB:

Agreed. I was surprised to see Neoshell missing when looking at Rab waterproofs as part of the competition and wondered what I had missed. It had worked well for me and I wondered why more were not using it. Not used goretex for many years but Neoshell seemed much better than old gore of my experience .
 BnB 05 May 2017
In reply to gneiss boots:
> Agreed. I was surprised to see Neoshell missing when looking at Rab waterproofs as part of the competition and wondered what I had missed. It had worked well for me and I wondered why more were not using it. Not used goretex for many years but Neoshell seemed much better than old gore of my experience .

Most of the majors seem to have dropped it, presumably owing to poor sales performance. Tommy at Jottnar tells me they are keeping on with it however. And a good thing too. It's by far the best waterproof membrane I've experienced as the only one that doesn't have me boiling in the bag.

Dan's review of the Kinetic is pretty positive but he does stop short of high praise. I guess that's the issue with a compromise garment. However a lot of UK summer weather involves mild to wsrm showery conditions and it seems a good item for those days out.
Post edited at 07:14
 TobyA 06 May 2017
In reply to BnB:

> Most of the majors seem to have dropped it, presumably owing to poor sales performance.

That's interesting - I wonder if that is really the case?

I think jackets like this suffer from people not really knowing what they are. I reckon in the UK we have it drummed into us from scouts/DofE/walking with family when kids etc. that a waterproof is a waterproof, and you are risking the lives of innocent volunteer mountain rescuers if you go for a summer stroll without one! With superlight shells available (I'm testing one at the moment which is well under 200 grams and not particularly expensive) there is even less reason not to have one 'just in case'. Going out with just a 'softshell' doesn't feel right - even if your softshell seems like this one actually to be waterproof.

This jacket actually sounds really good for summer rock climbing in the mountains or sea cliffs - would work like softshell most of the time but will keep you dry if the rain does start. But in which case why no helmet hood Rab?!

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