Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket - Women's Review

The Rab Microlight Alpine can do everything you need it to, from traveling to hitting the trails. It's made with recycled materials — recycled 700 fill down and recycled 30D ripstop Pertex nylon with a DWR finish. It's of average length with an exaggerated drop hem, weighs 13.5 ounces, and comes with a drawstring stuff sack.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The Microlight Alpine lands on the warmer side for a mid-weight jacket, especially considering the slightly lower fill than the competition. The latest version now features recycled 700 fill power down (previously 750 fill down), making this a medium-thick jacket rather than one built for seriously cold temperatures. Rab also used Pertex Quantum fabric, which is designed to keep the wind out and seal warmth in, translating to less heat loss and more efficient insulation (by stopping so much air from flowing into and out of the baffles). Adjustability around the hem and hood adds another layer of protection when the winds really pick up.

Given its slim appearance, this jacket surprised us with its warmth. It beat out several other contenders in this metric primarily due to its impermeability to the wind. Even among jackets with a similar loft, the heavier fabric of the Microlight Alpine keeps the wind chill at bay. Its shape also helps: a slight drop hem in the back of the jacket helps cover our waists from the cold, and the tapered waist leaves less space for wind to come up the hem and chill us. However, this added durability and warmth comes with a slight weight penalty, making this jacket a few ounces heavier than competitors--some of which manage to pack in more insulation.

Comfort

As with all of our favorite mountain-ready jackets, this one features an adjustable drawcord at the bottom hem to seal out any cold drafts and keep the jacket in place during movement. But Rab added one more finishing touch by extending the back panel; this extended coverage adds extra warmth and keeps our torsos and hips insulated even with arms raised.

One of the strong points of this jacket is the hood, which is comfortable with or without a helmet or hat. It cinches easily with a simple, lightweight stopper. Like most Rab jackets, the Microlight's hood also features a stiffened brim that acts as a mini visor, helping to keep falling snow out of your eyes. As the internal wire is flattened and not round, it's easy to adjust, and we never had any issues getting it to hold whatever shape we desired. The hood is also adjustable on both sides of your face, with elastic bungees and lightweight plastic stoppers that keep it neat and tidy, even as you pull it tight to protect against the wind. We appreciated the soft felt chin guard, another nice touch.

Though it sounds like a simple feature, we love the raglan sleeves, offering a full range of motion for your arms and a better fit for a variety of shoulder widths. This is a common weakness of other down jackets. An exterior zippered chest pocket comes in handy for keeping things close even as you wear a climbing harness or backpack. As it's on the outside of the jacket, you don't have to unzip yourself and lose precious body heat to access it. The chest pocket is one of our favorite (and often overlooked) features — it gives you a spot to keep your phone or snacks warm and accessible. There's nothing worse than a quickly drained cold phone battery or tooth-breaking frozen gummies.

Portability

Despite its name, the Microlight is not the most micro nor the lightest in this review. It's still plenty light enough to earn a spot in your backpack, especially given its strong performance against wind and abrasion. The size small we tested weighs 13.3 ounces without its (included) stuff sack.

The Microlight didn't steal the show for compressibility, either. However, it's still packable enough to be a logical choice for many outdoor adventures. It packs into a well-designed stuff sack that is easy to clip to a pack or harness and features a sturdy, reflective clipping strap.

Getting the jacket to pack into its stuff sack was quite easy. It has a large enough opening and enough space to fit without having to sit down and cram it. The hood's stiffened brim didn't present any problems when packing it away. While we appreciate how easy this process was, we prefer jackets that can pack into their own pockets. A small stuff sack like the one that comes with the Microlight can be easily lost, which leaves you with no way to pack your jacket effectively.

Weather Resistance

The Microlight's Pertex Quantum fabric is designed primarily to block the wind. While it's not specifically designed to repel rain, the same technology that rebuffs wind also helps to repel some water. In addition, Rab has treated this jacket with a DWR coating to help keep you dry if you do get caught outside without a shell.

The Microlight proved itself impressively water-resistant for a down jacket, never wetting out on melting ice climbs or when we got caught in a sudden flurry of wet snow. During fall and winter in the Pacific Northwest, we often find ourselves dashing from one place to the next through deluges, downpours, sprinkles, and mist. In every case, the Microlight repelled water and never let the down inside get wet. We could shake off the precipitation and carry on with our day. This is certainly a feature that will wear off as the DWR coating wears out, but it proved durable in our months of testing. This quickly became one of our favorite around-town jackets.

Breathability

As a mid-weight jacket, the Microlight Alpine is reasonably breathable. It's still warmer than average for its thickness, but isn't so warm we can't wear it on a moderate winter's day hike.

The Microlight Alpine doesn't have any specific features to aid in breathability. It has a reasonably roomy fit that can facilitate airflow with the hem completely loose — depending on how it fits on your body. It's not our top choice for seriously sweaty winter excursions, but it's not the worst choice, either. The same features that make it especially wind resistant work against it in the breathability category.

Should You Buy the Rab Microlight Alpine?

The Rab Microlight Alpine is a moderately priced, mid-weight down jacket. It has plenty of features that make it a great performance piece but is still comfortable and versatile enough for everyday wear. Given its high score overall, its impressive durability, and its impeccable versatility, this jacket is an excellent value for just about anyone.

What Other Down Jackets Should You Consider?

The Rab Microlight Alpine Hoody is a superb all-around medium-weight down jacket. If you need something a little thicker and warmer, the Rab Neutrino Pro has many of the same features and is one of the warmest jackets we tested. If low weight and packability are your number one goals in your down jacket, the ultralight Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer is among the best.