Rab Evolute Hoody Review

Rab Evolute Hoody Review

In my decades of climbing, walking and working in the outdoors I’ve been lucky enough to witness and also be part of a revolution in outdoor clothing and equipment. When I began climbing and mountaineering as a teenager the age of thick woolly jumpers, breeches and heavy cotton canvas smocks was just coming to an end. Gore-tex and fabric boots was just appearing and pile and fleece clothing was replacing wool.

One of my first purchases was a Helly Hansen pile jacket; absolutely de rigour as a young climber living in Llanberis. I wore it for everything; including my mountain leader assessment at the tender age of 19.  Then fleece appeared and pile became less fashionable. Pile was still available but often hidden under windproof fabric like the excellent pile and pertex combination from Buffalo Systems.

However pile been making a quiet comeback, the trend for lighter and warmer mid layers has created a new market. While browsing in my favourite outdoor shop; Outside in Hathersage I spotted the Rab Evolute Hoody and the blue fleece lining reminded me of my beloved Helly Hansen and I bought one immediately. It was obvious this would make an excellent mid layer.

Over the last six months I’ve worn it for everything I do in the outdoors; while training and assessing Mountain Training course, wild camps, for teaching rock climbing and for my own walks and climbs.

Rab Evolute Hoody

The lovely thing about this jacket is the instant warmth; this is the advantage of pile fabric, our body heat gets trapped very efficiently amongst the fibres. This type of fabric works best as close to the skin as possible. Wear it with a thin base layer to allow the fluffy pile to trap the warmth. This Rab jacket is also great for sleeping in next to the skin as a cosy warmth booster in a sleeping bag.

It’s a simple and well fitting garment with two zipped hand warmer pockets, a stretchy hood and a thin breathable outer layer that adds a bit of warmth and helps with the breathability and wicking. The pile inner fabric dries very quickly but also provides a decent level of warmth when damp.

Rab say the hood is designed to fit under a helmet but I’ve never really liked this technique; it gets too hot and you can’t ventilate without taking your helmet off and it restricts hearing. I prefer to pull the stretchy hood over the top of a helmet.

The fit is excellent and the stretchiness helps with enabling the effective trapping of body heat. The collar is nice and high for cosy warmth. The sleeves can be pushed up for ventilation and quickly shedding a bit of warmth.

I like this jacket so much I’m tempted to buy another one in blue.

Rab Evolute Jacket

The Rab website says –

• Traps warm air in the cosy, fast-drying PrimaLoft® Evolve lining.
• A drop liner and a specially selected combination of fabrics optimise warmth and wicking performance.
• Sweat moves from the inside out thanks to the soft, high-wicking Motiv™ Aero fabric.
• YKK® VISLON® centre front zip.
• We’ve cut down on loose fabric by seaming the layers together in strategic areas.
• Flatlock seam construction for comfort and easy layering.
• Elasticated hood provides a comfortable close fit under a helmet.
• Elasticated binding at the cuffs and hem for fit and comfort.
• Open the two mesh hand pockets to provide extra ventilation, without the need for pit zips.

Conclusion

The Rab Evolute Hoody is a warm and breathable mid layer that is very warm for it’s weight. This jacket works particularly well over a thin base layer. It’s also very cosy under a windproof or a hard shell waterproof in wet and windy conditions. 

Buy it here

Alex

Beyond the Edge Ltd is based in Sheffield: two hours by train from London and within easy travelling distance from Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham and other Northern towns and cities.

We are one of the UKs most experienced providers of climbing, walking, scrambling, mountaineering and navigation training courses. 

Most of our courses are run in the nearby Peak District National Park which has some of the finest climbing, bouldering, walking and hiking in the world.