RAB's waterproof jacket quality over the last 3-4 years

I have slowly bought more and more RAB outerwear and am quite happy with the quality and fit. Can anyone speak to their goretex softshells or hardshells (latok/latok-alpine/kinetic) that they've released in the last 3-4 years? Specifically in the application of ice/mixed and mountaineering. My 15 year old goretex REI shell is well... no longer that waterproof and I'm getting tired of snow melting and soaking me. If there is another brand/model you swear by feel free to recommend.

Thank you.

Goretex is goretex, its decent quality with an exceptional warranty. Feature set, fit, specific membrane choice, weight and price should be how you pick your jacket not brand. 

I've used the Kinetic 2.0 jacket (not Gore Tex) for the past two years, only for ice climbing. I love the stretch, cut, and fabric softness but it was not durable at all. My harness quickly cut several tiny holes in the fabric but more distressingly, the liner delaminated in the neck area very quickly. 

If waterproofness is critical, I wouldn't get the Kinetic.

Yo Matthias -- I have several Rab shells, both hard and soft ... 

For hard shells, as Rex says above, the hard shells made of "Kinetic" fabric are awesome because they're stretchy, quiet, comfortable ... I have one of 'em for skiing (Khroma Kinetic) and it has been great for my first season skiing in the Pacific Northwet -- I ended a day at the car looking like I'd climbed out of the deep end of the pool -- jacket (and pants, also Kinetic) were soaked on the outside, dry on the inside -- I also have their Latok shell, Gore materials -- Rab was one of the (if not the) first brands to convince Gore to let 'em use two different materials in the same jacket. The Latok is great -- but I actually prefer the Kinetic material for reasons above.

On the soft-shell side, I have the Torque now ... used a Sawtooth for years ... Torque is burly, very weather and abrasion resistant ... I haven't used it as much, now living in Seattle, but I spent dozens of days in the Sawtooth-then-Torque in Colorado ... Rab's soft-shell material, "Matrix," has proven super durable for me -- I have two pair of ski pants I've used with it ... the "Borealis" jacket is way lighter, breathes better, but its head isn't sized to go over a helmet if that's a concern. I tend to run hot, so I've been using the Borealis for ski-touring, though it's designed more for rock/etc. Stretchy, sheds a bit of snow, way more breathable than the Torque ...

Hope you get what you're looking for!

Rexford Nesakwatch wrote:

I've used the Kinetic 2.0 jacket (not Gore Tex) for the past two years, only for ice climbing. I love the stretch, cut, and fabric softness but it was not durable at all. My harness quickly cut several tiny holes in the fabric but more distressingly, the liner delaminated in the neck area very quickly. 

If waterproofness is critical, I wouldn't get the Kinetic.

Awesome thank for the info!

coppolillo wrote:

Yo Matthias -- I have several Rab shells, both hard and soft ... 

For hard shells, as Rex says above, the hard shells made of "Kinetic" fabric are awesome because they're stretchy, quiet, comfortable ... I have one of 'em for skiing (Khroma Kinetic) and it has been great for my first season skiing in the Pacific Northwet -- I ended a day at the car looking like I'd climbed out of the deep end of the pool -- jacket (and pants, also Kinetic) were soaked on the outside, dry on the inside -- I also have their Latok shell, Gore materials -- Rab was one of the (if not the) first brands to convince Gore to let 'em use two different materials in the same jacket. The Latok is great -- but I actually prefer the Kinetic material for reasons above.

On the soft-shell side, I have the Torque now ... used a Sawtooth for years ... Torque is burly, very weather and abrasion resistant ... I haven't used it as much, now living in Seattle, but I spent dozens of days in the Sawtooth-then-Torque in Colorado ... Rab's soft-shell material, "Matrix," has proven super durable for me -- I have two pair of ski pants I've used with it ... the "Borealis" jacket is way lighter, breathes better, but its head isn't sized to go over a helmet if that's a concern. I tend to run hot, so I've been using the Borealis for ski-touring, though it's designed more for rock/etc. Stretchy, sheds a bit of snow, way more breathable than the Torque ...

Hope you get what you're looking for!

Dude great info thank you. My only question would be in regards to what Rex was alluding too. Big difference in wear and tear you see between skiing and alpine/ice/climbing. Think you’re alluding to it but to confirm you’ve used the soft shells for those activities and have been impressed with its abrasion resistance and overall durability?

I second most of what Rex said. For the past two years, I used the Kinetic Alpine jacket and Kinetic 2.0 pants for ice climbing, mixed, and dry tooling in colder temps.

The stretch is awesome, never a hindrance. For the pants, I've ripped quite a few holes in them, but the jacket has held up well, even when squeezing into chimneys. With that said, I think both will be quite holey after another season. 

The DWR (if there ever was any) didn't last long, and it wets through. I don't wear these if it will rain or I'll be in running water; have worn them cycling in a downpour and didn't stay dry. On the plus side, I've found they dry out super quick just from my body heat. I wish there were underarm zips and longer sidezips, respectively, though, as I tend to run hot. 

Recently bought a Ladakh jacket, excited to see how that plays out. I'm interested in the Firewall as well (one was listed for sale in the forum).

Last fall I tossed a set of their Muztag shell pants that were only 2 seasons old and completely swiss-cheesed and the fabric was starting to delaminare.  

Matthias W wrote:

Dude great info thank you. My only question would be in regards to what Rex was alluding too. Big difference in wear and tear you see between skiing and alpine/ice/climbing. Think you’re alluding to it but to confirm you’ve used the soft shells for those activities and have been impressed with its abrasion resistance and overall durability?

I had two Sawtooths, one I gave to my brother (he's still rocking it) and my other is upstairs ... those are both 5+ years old, skiing, mixed, cold-weather rock climbing. My Torque is a couple years old, but I've climbed ice, alpine, skied in it ... doing great!

Aaron G wrote:

I second most of what Rex said. For the past two years, I used the Kinetic Alpine jacket and Kinetic 2.0 pants for ice climbing, mixed, and dry tooling in colder temps.

The stretch is awesome, never a hindrance. For the pants, I've ripped quite a few holes in them, but the jacket has held up well, even when squeezing into chimneys. With that said, I think both will be quite holey after another season. 

The DWR (if there ever was any) didn't last long, and it wets through. I don't wear these if it will rain or I'll be in running water; have worn them cycling in a downpour and didn't stay dry. On the plus side, I've found they dry out super quick just from my body heat. I wish there were underarm zips and longer sidezips, respectively, though, as I tend to run hot. 

Recently bought a Ladakh jacket, excited to see how that plays out. I'm interested in the Firewall as well (one was listed for sale in the forum).

My only gripe with the alpine kinetic 2.0 is that the pockets are pretty low and anything you put inside of the pockets will then hang out over your harness making you look like a fat ass.  Aside from that, it's 10/10

Another +1 for the kinetic alpine. I have put mine through the paces over three years and it is my go-to for skiing, ice and rock climbing. It's comfy in high output bad weather situations with just a baselayer underneath. No durability issues so far. Big fan.

Derek Ehrnschwender wrote:

Another +1 for the kinetic alpine. I have put mine through the paces over three years and it is my go-to for skiing, ice and rock climbing. It's comfy in high output bad weather situations with just a baselayer underneath. No durability issues so far. Big fan.

Agreed.  It breathes like a champ.