Rab
Rab Xenair Alpine Insulated Jacket (hooded, men's)
- Warmth: 9/10 How warm it keeps you standing still at camp.
- Weight: 5/10 How much it adds to your pack.
Winter hill walking and mountaineering, as a jacket you can wear on the move and at rests
- Weight
- 553 g (M)
- Insulation
- Synthetic
- Hood
- Yes
Where to buy
Rab £230 In stock. Free delivery. Size M in stock in Black, Dark Army, Oak and Tempest Blue.
View at shop: RabCotswold Outdoor £230 Out of stock. Oak, size M available, page offer 'limited availability'. The page has 9 customer reviews, too few to count. Free next-day delivery from £125.
View at shop: Cotswold OutdoorPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Warmth
From reviews 9/10How warm it keeps you standing still at camp. 9: Among the best you can buy for this.
Average of three independent tests of this version (4, 4 and 5 out of 5, so 9 out of 10) (133 g/m² insulation). UKC (Dan Bailey, 21 November 2023) calls it quite warm for a midweight jacket, best for winter or colder autumn and spring days, with good warmth in low single-digit temperatures: 4. OutdoorGearLab (Travis Reddinger, 10 April 2024) found it quite warm even when the temperature really dropped, and warm standing still: 4. The Great Outdoors (David Lintern, 4 July 2024) calls it incredibly warm after about 18 months of use down to minus double digits in the Cairngorms, and a deep winter camp jacket when worn over slimmer insulation: 5. The earlier Xenair Alpine (100 g/m², reviewed by UKC in winter 2021/22) is a different jacket and isn't used.
Weight
From maker's figures 5/10How much it adds to your pack. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Rab lists 553 g in size M, in the 450-599 g band. UKC weighed a size L at 570 g, OutdoorGearLab measured 519 g for a size S/M and The Great Outdoors lists 528 g for a men's medium, all in the same band.
In short
Good for
- Winter hill walking and mountaineering, as a jacket you can wear on the move and at rests
- Cold camps and belays, thanks to the helmet-compatible hood and long body
- Cold, damp days when you don't want to baby a down jacket
Strengths
- 133 g/m² of PrimaLoft Gold Active+, up from 100 g/m² on the earlier version
- Breathable 20D Pertex Quantum Air outer: reviewers could wear it on the move without getting sweaty
- Long body with full bottom coverage, 2-way zip and an insulated, helmet-compatible hood
- Four zipped pockets, two of them on the chest, usable under a rucksack belt
- Synthetic fill keeps working if it gets damp
Weaknesses
- 553 g is heavy for an insulated jacket (the 450-599 g band scores 5), and UKC says it pushes towards the top of the midweight category
- No packed size published, and OutdoorGearLab notes it has no stuff pocket; The Great Outdoors finds it quite bulky packed and worn
- UKC found a lot of hem lift with arms raised, so it suits walking better than climbing
- A heavy shower soaks through the outer into the insulation (OutdoorGearLab), and The Great Outdoors says air passes through it, so it is susceptible to wind chill
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.