Gear Review: Rab Shadow Hoody

During our recent attempt at the Longest Line we were proud to be supported by Rab, as they provided us with some critical items of clothing for the trek.

As we were to be very active in our trek, we required an outfit that could handle tough weather conditions and be robust enough to endure classic abseils and scrambles, and yet breathable and comfortable for the energetic assents: Rab supplied us with their new Shadow Hoodies.

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The Fabric

As a light soft-shell fleece with a brushed inner the Hoody works well to keep that all important micro layer of warm air close to the skin. When we were working hard climbing up valley sides the Hoodies were excellent at keeping our temperature regulated without getting sweaty, I had a short sleeve merino t-shirt under the Hoody for the whole trip and that combination worked very well. The full length zip giving you the option to dump a load of heat fast if you’re running hot, or needing to cool off half way up a climb.

The hoody has a smooth outer surface which gave it excellent wind resistance during exposed sections of our trek as we crossed the plateau to Glen Feshie in bracing winds. During the challenging weather we were consistently in and out of showers as the weather fronts rolled over us, often we’d not bother with the hard-shells as by the time we stopped to put them on the rain would pass; at these times the weather resistance of the Hoodies proved invaluable at throwing the showers without us getting wet. With persistent heavy rain and winds when we did have the waterproofs on the Hoodies formed part of the layering system to keep us protected while still allowing the system to breathe. At several sections though our waterproofs failed as we experienced horizontal rain and winds of 70mph at times, meaning we got wet through-out, but even so the Thermic Pro fabic kept us warm and dried out quickly when aired in the wind.

These hoodies quickly became a favourite within the team; we wore them constantly and have now become permanent fixtures in our mountain outfits.

The Features

The Shadow Hoody has been developed with a streamlined design, its performance clearly led by subtle features borne of a knowledge of the mountains. It has two hand-warmer pockets placed high on the torso to allow full access whilst wearing a rucksack waist strap or climbing harness, a pattern I love (I don’t understand why this isn’t the default on all outdoor jackets!) The zippers have a decently sized thumb loop so you can easily open the pockets while wearing gloves; the pockets themselves are spacious enough to pop your gloved hands into while pausing on the hill without having to squash them in.

A clever little feature I found very useful was that Rab have sewn the pocket in along the inside of the hoody to create a sleeve pocket on either side, essentially giving the hoody four pockets in total. I used these to dump my gloves into these while hiking meaning they kept warm ready to wear when I needed them. They’re easily big enough to take a map too, and again as you have full access while wearing a rucksack it meant we could quickly pull out the map and compass as needed without faffing about.

The integrated sleeve cuffs and drawstring hem mean you can cinch down the hoody to help trap that bubble of warm air. The cuffs also feature a thumb loop and a generous overlap with the sleeve, meaning when you couple a pair of trekking gloves like the Zenon’s we were using, you get a great seal around the wrist making for a surprisingly warm setup. My only niggle is that the cuff fabric isn’t as warm as the Thermic Pro of the main hoody, which you’ll notice on windy sections without the gloves. The payoff is that the cuff is very stretch and therefor comfortable around the thumb, and when paired with gloves you’d not notice anyway.

The hood is another example of simple design done right, a no frills affair that sits neatly to your head with a conforming fit. I actually found when the weather really came in hard that I could wear the hood under my beanie hat to create a highly effective buff around my neck to shield me from the wind, a similar effect can be achieved with the hood down as Rab has cut the collar high with a comfort strip over the zip.

Overview

Rab’s Shadow Hoody is a great option for a light layer either over a base layer when working hard or as a mid-layer during strenuous activity in wet weather. The slick design, lacking the technical panelling of so much outdoor gear these days, means it looks just as good during a run around the park as it does on the mountain or even down the pub after a days hike. I’ve worn mine pretty much none stop since it arrived in September, it’s one of those jackets that just get thrown on and does the job without having to think about it.