Blog

I was lucky enough to be spending 2 whole weeks in Scotland hiking, two weeks, in Scotland, in May, you know you are going to rely heavily on your waterproofs, and the unpredictable nature of the Scottish weather meant that I could definitely predict rain. So, I was after something robust, light, and capable of shielding me from some truly awful weather. So, when Rab’s newly updated  Firewall jacket was made available for me to give a test drive, I jumped at the chance. Rab’s Classic; hard-working, hard-wearing, 3-Layered Pertex shell ticked all of the boxes for me, so when a very wet 2 weeks was forecast, I was thankful to have this in my pack, and I’m pleased to say it performed brilliantly.

The 3-Layer Pertex Shield membrane provides excellent waterproofing while maintaining a high level of breathability, rare in such a hard-wearing shell. One of the key features for me was the incredibly long pit zips. They are duel zipped, so can be opened as much, or as little as you wish and provide a lot of ventilation, and are brilliant for regulating heat quickly. Especially useful in a month like May, when the wind and rain can blow cold, but the actual temperature is mild. Like all the external zips, they are YKK® Aquaguarded, so you can be confident they won’t let water in. Large loops have been attached to the zips so that they can be used easily with large gloves on.

The hood is excellent and has a good amount of customization, the wired peak keeps the rain out of your eyes and rolls away to form a collar when you aren’t using it. The 3 pockets are all of a generous size, but elongate up, into the garment rather than down so, if you are using a rucksack, as I was, or a climbing harness, you have full access to your pockets, with no interference. Which is a really nice touch that you can tell someone put a lot of consideration into. The main front zip is 2-way, meaning you could still belay in the jacket, it also has a storm flap behind the Aquaguard zip, for additional security.

One thing to take into consideration is weight, at only 478g (for the medium) this is in no way a heavy jacket, but it’s also not the most ultralight jacket in the world either, yet Rab’s Firewall has the added bonus of more coverage, pit zips, an improved hood and an overall feeling of being better protected. I think when weighing up a decision regarding the pros and cons of heavier bits of gear, it sometimes boils down to; how long the trip will be, how extreme the weather is likely to be, and your personal comfort limits, so with all of those taken in to account I’m glad I took the heavier Rab. 

Overall, this is a tough jacket that will protect you from whatever the weather can throw at you. I used this exclusively with a heavy 60l pack and the jacket shows no signs of wear from the pack. If I was to liement on what I’d like to see improved in this jacket, I’m a big fan of  Rab’s new Kinetic Ultra, which has a “storm flap snap fastener”, so that the shell can be closed, yet the zip is open ventilating heat quickly, but I’m nit-picking. If you’re looking for an all-encompassing, reliable jacket, that you will get years of use out of, this could be the jacket you’re looking for. 

Andy Neil
Andy has been a keen long-distance hiker and wild camping enthusiast since he completed the Cleveland Way in 2015. Since then, he has walked thousands of trail miles all over the UK and is an active member of the Wild Camping UK community, being an admin of the largest wild camping community on Facebook. He strongly advocates for responsible wild camping and believes it is important to leave no trace when camping in the wilderness. He joined the UOG team in 2021 and works as a website developer and content creator. Read more from Andy Neil