Staff Review - Rab Neutrino Endurance Down Jacket

White water, sunny alpine valleys, red wine, saucisson, down jacket?  Not really something that instantly comes to mind is it.  30 degree weather and the need for goose feathers… I don’t think so.  But having said that I was relieved I had my down jacket packed in my bag.

I have recently returned from the gnarliest kayaking trip yet, travelling through the most beautiful regions of Italy, France, Austria and Switzerland.  Dropping waterfalls, launching down slides and paddling through 400 foot gorges.  All in a day’s work filming for my upcoming kayaking film.  But other than a top team, your bro’s and a stout stomping kayak, you need the best kit to back you up.

Adventure Peaks and Rab teamed up and gave me some expedition gear to test out.  The first bit of amour they gave me was a Rab Neutrino Endurance down Jacket.  Now you might think, was there any need for an item of clothing, of that nature, on your trip?

In Italy and Austria the nights got cold, in Austria the water was a mere 5 degrees and the higher we went in the mountains the more the temperature plummeted.  So having a light down jacket in my kit was essential.  Therefore the answer was yes!

The Rab Neutrino Down Jacket has 225g of white goose down, packing a punchy fill power of 800.  I was dead chuffed as all those feathers kept me warm straight from a few of the colder rivers in the Tirol valley and on some of the colder nights in Valsesia.  After one late night and a hard scary paddle on the Upper Venterache in Austria, I dove straight into my down jacket and hid there for about 20 minutes.

The Neutrino has a Pertex Endurance weatherproof outer layer which works brilliantly in wind and rain and the Quantum inner means its light weight and allows improved lofting.  It packs down small and comes with a stuff sack which allowed it to double up as my pillow in the tent every night!

Other features included a warm hood, wire rim peak, draw cords on the hem and Velcro wrists.  It has water resistant zips, two hand warmer pockets and an inner pocket.  The cut and length are just perfect, not too short or long.  And it was great around our various base camps in Capertogno, Landeck, Briancon and Ubaye.

We paddled over 200km of white water, hucked a 60 foot slide in Switzerland, filmed and shot over 70 hours of footage, drove 3000km  and experience some of the most awesome rivers the Alps has to offer.  With my Neutrino, right there by my side, I felt perfectly equipped for short snaps of cold weather, frosty mornings and staying up late in my camp chair shooting time lapse photography.

The Neutrino Endurance is perfect companion on any hiking, biking, or kayaking trip and a jacket I would thoroughly recommend having in your kit bag.  Big thanks to Adventure Peaks and Rab for your generosity.