Hardshell Jackets
Product 2022
Woman, Man
This jacket was tested with the corresponding RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex pants.
The RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex is both a shell and an insulated jacket. It has Primaloft Silver lining made from recycled plastic bottles. One of the best insulations on the market along with the Mimic Platinum from Häglofs. Primaloft is lightweight, doesn’t hold onto moisture and provides excellent thermal insulation.
This RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex, even if it’s also designed for the cold and is waterproof, it’s not very thick and still very comfortable. There is a slight characteristic rustling noise due to the Gore-Tex and/or Primaloft? You instantly feel the warmth, and if it’s extremely cold you can add underlayers such as a polar fleece, mid-layer, etc. The jacket is extremely comfortable as the fabrics are very soft and stretchy. It’s bizarre that RAB presents this jacket as not being very stretchy, we disagree after our field testing. Waterproof, warm, flexible, comfortable, it’s like a second skin, it’s a strong contrast with the usual shell/insulation jacket combination.
Your neck is very well protected, the hood can go over a helmet and all adjustments are easily accessible. Most of them can be handled with gloves on. What’s original? The neck adjustment allows you to vary the collar size.
You have wrist sleeves with a thumb hole. All the zips are waterproof. There’s a removable snow skirt. The pockets are huge and quickly accessible. The waist adjustment is done on either side of the waist, therefore avoiding having traditional surplus of elastic in the middle.
The RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex is quite compressible, useful for freeski touring or for summer (you can remove the snow skirt), to store it in your backpack.
The only possible criticism that could be made against this RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex would be the limited power of the Velcro on the cuffs, and again, another burning question, is the proposed Gore-Tex strong enough to withstand over time the onslaught of ski edges when you carry them on your shoulder? The long-term test will tell.
At any rate, this RAB Khroma Volition Gore-Tex is a best-seller because it combines both great general and thermal comfort, waterproofness, flexibility and lightness. It definitely deserves the Test4outside.com FIRST Award.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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