Gear Review: Rab Alpha Freak Hoody. My weirdest layer

Often I’m asked about clothing and layering systems for the outdoors, especially when it comes to camping out for several nights. And often I reply with the examples I’ve used over the years to offer an insight into the different options available, be that wool and Ventile for the woods, Down for dry-cold or synthetics for wet-cold etc. And yet when I look back over the last year at the layer I taken with me most, be that for a walk or for overnights, wearing through the day or packed in the rucksack…I find myself struggling to describe it.

The Alpha Freak Pull-on by Rab is a skeletal fleece with far reaching versatility.

I was given this fleece by Rab well over a year ago now, and at first I didn’t know what to make of it. The furry face fabric is the Polartec Alpha Direct 200 fleece, in it’s raw form. You typically find this material as a lining for shell layers or thicker fleeced jackets pair with a durable outer fabric, so it see it exposed is…well, out of the ordinary. If you think the finely furry fabric would let the wind cut through to you, you be spot on; and it’s delicate structure although fairly tough is certainly susceptible to snags and catches from brambles and branches. So, why do I find myself reaching for this top over so many others when I head outdoors?

The answer in a word: Layering.

In many ways this fleece is pretty damn close to the perfect multi function layer. What I mean by this is that a thin merino base-layer makes for a brilliant next-to-skin garment, but shed the outer layers on a hot day and often you find them either too thin or too close fitting for the conscious with a bushcraft-belly (just me?!) Equally, a typical mid layer fleece isn’t the sort of thing you’d wear with nothing underneath if your trying to layer down. I’ve found the Alpha Freak to be a mobile layer in my system when making adjustments in a few ways.

Orange Alpha Freak working as a base-layer under a wool shirt in the woods

Due to the open structure of the Alpha Direct fleece, it’s fantastic at wicking moisture from the skin as well as being soft. In this way the fleece works as a medium weight base-layer worn directly next to the skin or with in a thin base-layer underneath. The open fibre structure also makes for an extremely fast drying material, I’ve taken a few plunges into water while canoeing in this fleece and a light breeze has it dried off in minutes. I can confidently say it’s my fastest drying garment in this way, whether I keep wearing it or hang it up while it dries.

As the Alpha Freak is a light, fitted layer it pairs very well with a windproof shell over the top acting in my experience as an invisible layer trapping warmth in it’s fibres while either a shirt or jacket block the wind. But, ditch the jacket during activity and the Alpha dumps its heat instantly to cool down without having to keeping taking it off and on. In this way also when I’ve been hiking hard up a hill working up a sweat, 5 minutes in the wind at the top and I’ve dried off again making layer management easy. During these colder months I’ve worn it in this way often, layering it under my wool shirts or even a down jacket in snowy conditions; or worn as a single layer for running on cold mornings when the huge centre zip helps for a quicker cool down. In the summer I’ve worn the fleece as a single layer which is great to light activity like hiking the fells or paired with a short sleeve base-layer to work more like a classic fleece.

Plenty warm enough when working hard at -1C without needing to layer down.

The T-shirt here is our own Wilderness T-shirt design

The Aplha Freak is built with activity in mind, panelled with a Polartec Power Grid around the waist and under the arms. This fabric is thin yet slightly more durable than the Direct fabric for covering those high wear areas, and while Rab designed the waist panelling to sit under a rock climbing harness I’ve found if you’re tucking the fleece into your trousers like a base-layer this panelling works well to minimise bulk. This adds to it’s comfort as a baselayer or mid layer as you feel like you’re adding insulation only where you need it which makes a huge difference when you’re active all day navigating the hills.

The final but by no means least of the features this odd fleece boasts is a fitted hood which sits close to your head, acting more like a beanie with integrated neck warmer than a hood. It’s ideal to put up under a helmet when climbing or as I have when canoeing down river. The hood is lined with that Power Grid fleece for warmth without being too puffed up, and the outer fabric is a water-resistant wind-proof Pertex which is brilliant for added protection. I really like how the zip comes right up under the chin too, synching the hood close to the skin to keep the wind out but also when zipped up with the hood down you have a great neck-warmer for cold days.

Alpha Freak working as a mid-layer under a the Electron Jacket. Where did I put my gloves?…

So that’s my weirdest layer, and a solid favourite in my go-to outdoor gear!

I hope you found this useful, if you have any questions or comments do feel free to leave one below.

I hope to see you on a course one day soon.