to infinity and beyond with rab

Fri, Jan 7, 2011

The other day I nipped up the hill at lunch time to stretch the old festive legs which hadn’t seen much action lately and I took the Rab Infinity down jacket up with me. It was a fairly typical day gearwise. Medium weight base layer and Buffalo Windshirt, which I seem to be able to get away with most of the winter, at least on the uphills anyway. There was a stiff and scouringly cold breeze from the north on top so I whipped out the Infinity and sheltered behind the big cairn at 300m.

Well, this couldn’t be right. I was transported to the shores of the Caribbean with the wind transformed to the singing of dusky, reed clad maidens. How could I have missed this for so long? Normally it’s a case of pulling a goretex over a damp fleece but this was just something else entirely. This jacket is warm! Very warm! Instantly warm! And it packs down to the size of two baked bean tins side by side. It’s tiny and warm! It’s transformed my winter walking. Plus I got it from Cotswolds where I get a 20% discount. I was seriously impressed with this jacket. Prior to this I’d been lugging around a big winter Paramo which weighs a ton but the Infinity will now take its place I should think.

There are a few things to consider though. It’s not waterproof and if it gets wet enough it’ll be as much use as a bin liner. There are no toggely things to tighten down the neck and hood so a strong breeze can work its way into the hood and round the back of your neck but a buff will cure that. However the lycra stuff on the front of the hood works surprisingly well and the hood wasn’t pushed off my head facing into the strong wind.

However and this could be a big however. Dawn noticed it’s made in China. Her Rab is made in Sheffield and has lasted her years. I’ve had direct experience of gear companies switching to China and it wasn’t good. I had a pair of Karrimor KSB boots, made in Britain, which I wore in the Cuillin and the jaggy Aa lava fields in Hawai’i. They lasted me 6 years which is not bad for fabric boots and they never leaked once. The pair I replaced them with lasted one month, leaked and fell apart. The difference? The new KSBs were made in China. I’ve also had a Mountain Hardwear windproof fleece, made in America, which lasted the best part of a decade, including rock and ice climbing. When I bought a pair of Mountain Hardwear gaiters a couple of years ago they were made in China and they fell apart after one week. One week.

So the Infinity is a superb jacket. I’m just curious how long it will last.