Reviews You Can Rely On

Rab Neutrino Pro Down Jacket - Women's Review

One of the warmest and most weather-resistant jackets for active outdoor pursuits
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Rab Neutrino Pro Down Jacket - Women's Review (While it's great to wear around town, this winter jacket really excels in the backcountry.)
While it's great to wear around town, this winter jacket really excels in the backcountry.
Credit: Clark Tate
Price:  $400 List
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Manufacturer:   Rab
By Clark Tate ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Mar 16, 2023
77
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Warmth - 30% 8.0
  • Weather Resistance - 25% 9.0
  • Comfort - 25% 8.0
  • Style - 10% 4.0
  • Durability - 10% 6.0

Our Verdict

What can we say? We freakin' love the Rab Neutrino Pro Down Jacket. It's impressively warm and highly compressible, with a roomy cut in the shoulders for maximum mobility. When we aren't wearing this jacket for wintery adventures, it gets stowed in our pack as an emergency layer. With 800-fill goose down, this is a go-to for a truly warming layer. But the true icing on the cake is how water-resistant the Neutrino Pro is — the Pertex fabric impressively shrugged off every drop of water in our 2.5-minute shower test. Add an incredibly protective hood and wind-blocking abilities, and you have yourself a lightweight winter fortress.
REASONS TO BUY
Warm
Packable
Excellent weather resistance
Highly-adjustable hood
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Narrow cut through the hips

Our Analysis and Test Results

Most of the winter jackets we test are parkas long enough to keep your bum and legs warm. They are often heavy and bulky since you're less likely to want to fit them in your backcountry ski pack. The Neutrino is a different beast. Insulated with 800-fill down, it is incredibly warm and also highly packable. It's short, which gives your legs the freedom to move but does leave them out in the cold. For these reasons, this jacket is an excellent choice for outdoor adventures where your legs will be bundled up or will be working hard enough to generate their own heat.

Performance Comparison


rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - this jacket kept us warm during a bitterly cold trip to the chic...
This jacket kept us warm during a bitterly cold trip to the Chic Choc mountain range in Canada.
Credit: Jacob Holmes


Warmth


The generous cut of the Neutrino Pro gives its 212 grams of lofty 800-fill goose down plenty of room to expand. Your body heat quickly warms the air pockets those feathers create, working wonders to transform your mood from chilly despair to winter wonderland bliss. Its warmth score reflects our appreciation, but it doesn't earn top marks due to its short length — 25" in front and 27" in back. Most of the jackets we tested are longer.

While the Neutrino is long enough to cover the hips and rear, it only works when standing still. The shoulders fit our testers well in their usual size small, but the hips did not, and the jacket often bunched around the waist. This is because the cut in the hips is narrow, which is our biggest complaint about this jacket. Body fat doesn't generate heat like muscles do. Since women have a higher percentage of body fat, and a higher portion of that fat is often found in our booties, this, my lady friends, is a bummer.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - it turns out that snow pits feel a lot like freezers. we stayed warm...
It turns out that snow pits feel a lot like freezers. We stayed warm testing snow layers while wearing the Neutrino Pro.
Credit: Jacob Holmes

What is not a bummer is how compressible this jacket is, making it very easy to pack. We always kept it with us when playing outside in the winter months in case of an emergency — it's that confidence-inspiring. We also found that it breathes reasonably well, and we never found ourselves sweating through our baselayers while wearing it. That said, moisture management is incredibly important in cold weather. Make sure you pay attention if you start sweating.

One of our favorite aspects of this jacket is its comfortable, protective, and fully-insulated hood, which lends considerably to its warmth. A wire-supported brim and velcro strap at the back work together to maintain impeccable visibility. Elastic pulls inside the neck cinch down to wrap the hood around your ears so tightly that it blocks out nearly every draft. Like many jackets these days, the clasps that release the elastic are sandwiched inside the fabric and take time to find. You get used to it.

This jacket doesn't have wrist cuffs to keep out drafts, but it does...
This jacket doesn't have wrist cuffs to keep out drafts, but it does have a velcro cinching strap.
Since we don't head into the backcountry with out protective winter...
Since we don't head into the backcountry with out protective winter gloves, we found that this worked fine.

The collar comes up high enough to hide most of the face, and with the hood up and a pair of goggles, you can pretty much block all wind and weather from your face. However, some of our testers with longer necks found their noses and mouths exposed. There are no wrist gaskets to keep out drafts, but you can tighten the cuffs with a velcro strap. Between that and a pair of protective winter gloves, we had no issues.

The Neutrino Pro doesn't have many pockets, but we like the ones it has. The hand-warming pockets are tucked in beneath the insulating down layer, insulating the hands quite effectively. The internal chest pocket will also keep your phone or other electronics warm and working when temps plummet.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - the handwarmer pockets are lined with microfleece on one side and...
The handwarmer pockets are lined with microfleece on one side and are tucked into the insulation, a crucial factor when trying to keep your digits toasty.
Credit: Clark Tate

Weather Resistance


Yes, the Neutrino Pro is super warm. But, in a winter jacket review filled with long and lofty parkas, that's hardly unique. This jacket really excels when faced with wind, snow, and wet weather. With a snug hood that features a sun and snow-blocking brim, a high collar, and an impressive ability to shrug off wet snow or rain, this jacket is among the most weather protective in the test.

When we stood in the shower for a full 2.5 minutes, the recycled Pertex fabric of the Neutrino Pro did not absorb so much as a drop of water. We simply shook off the excess water and hung it to dry, which it did in short order. Additionally, if the water-resistant fabric wears down over time or a longer period of wet weather works its way inside, the hydrophobic treatment on the jacket's down feathers should maintain their loft and your warmth.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - all of the water this jacket encountered during testing, from wet...
All of the water this jacket encountered during testing, from wet snow to the shower, beaded and rolled off the water-resistant fabric.
Credit: Clark Tate

The brimmed, well-fitting hood kept the water off of our faces too. The water-resistant YKK VISLON zipper repelled water effectively, and a storm flap behind it serves as a reinforcement while helping to block the wind.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - the protective hood and high collar do a lot to keep your head and...
The protective hood and high collar do a lot to keep your head and neck out of the weather.
Credit: Jacob Holmes

Speaking of wind, Rab claims the fabric of the Neutrino Pro is windproof, and we don't have reason to doubt this. We never felt a breeze cut through this coat. The hood and collar also fit well enough to protect much of your head and face. Unlike many of the front-country (read: heavy) parkas we tested, the backcountry-focused Neutrino does not sport a fur ruff, so it's not as adept at protecting your eyes and nose from the wind. We recommend a pair of goggles and a buff for windy days when windchills or ice blasting are an issue.

The Neutrino Pro's uber-protective hood passed our windchill testing with flying colors. Just add goggles and go.
Credit: Clark Tate

Comfort


Protecting yourself from wind, snow, and frigid temperatures is the best way to stay comfy in the winter months, and this jacket certainly accomplishes those tasks. Beyond that, its generous cut through the arms, shoulders, and chest allows for plenty of layering and free and easy movement. However, the cut through the hips is another story — it was too narrow for our testers in their normal size. Opening the bottom of the two-way zipper to help widen things increases comfort and mobility but compromises warmth.

Therefore, we recommend trying a size up in this jacket for maximum comfort. Rab sells it in sizes extra-small through extra-large, which isn't the most inclusive range we've seen. Since our size 4-6 lead tester needed to size up to a medium to fit her hips, the range may be closer to extra-small through large.

On the plus side, our test jacket weighed just 1.1 pounds. It feels like nothing whether you are carrying or wearing it, so we always keep it with us when venturing outdoors in the winter months.

The two zippered hand pockets are comfortably placed to keep your wrists in line, lined with soft microfleece, and tucked into the insulation's downy warmth. And the downy, soft hood is comfortable enough to set it and forget it.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - though tight through the hips, this is a seriously cozy and...
Though tight through the hips, this is a seriously cozy and comfortable puffy.
Credit: Clark Tate

Style


This jacket is so fluffy that you look like a bundled-up kid sent out to play in the snow. The shiny fabric also does little to elevate its aesthetics. But the Neutrino isn't meant to be a chic city jacket.

Looks aside, this jacket is so good at its job that we don't much care about anything else. In the backcountry, style is relative, and anything that keeps you warm and dry enough to venture into the snowy paradise of your dreams is gorgeous to us. There are no mirrors out there anyway.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - the neutrino pro puts function first, but it still looks fine.
The Neutrino Pro puts function first, but it still looks fine.
Credit: Clark Tate

Durability


Light, puffy jackets like this one have thin fabric, and we don't expect them to hold up as well as heavy parkas with thick and hardy face fabrics. Still, when we stress-tested the fabric of the Neutrino with the tip of a paperclip, it held up very well, showing no signs of our scraping.

The seams are another story. Our paperclip caught on them and easily slid beneath each one, suggesting they are prone to snagging. We can already see a few feathers sneaking between them, which is normal for a down jacket, but suggests that you should treat this one with some care. That said, we've stuffed this jacket into a full pack and pulled it back out dozens of times, and have also worn it around crampons and ski edges, all without issue. The zipper slides are metal, which should be more durable than plastic, especially when exposed to extremely cold temperatures. The teeth are plastic, though.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - the thin fabric of the neutrino held up well during testing, but...
The thin fabric of the Neutrino held up well during testing, but we're a little worried about its seams.
Credit: Clark Tate

Should You Buy the Rab Neutrino Pro Down Jacket?


This is an awesome winter jacket for those who need an extremely warm, light, and packable layer. It's an excellent companion for cold-weather outdoor activities, especially in the backcountry. But if you just need something warm to wear around town, we'd recommend choosing one of the winter jackets that are either longer or that have thicker face fabric.

If you're a values-based shopper, Rab claims that this jacket's fabric is made of 100% recycled materials and that it meets the Responsible Down Standard, meaning that the gooses plucked were humanely raised.

rab neutrino pro down jacket for women - despite any concerns we have about its durability, the rab played...
Despite any concerns we have about its durability, the Rab played well with ski edges, micro spikes, and crampons during testing.
Credit: Jacob Holmes

What Other Winter Jackets Should You Consider?


The Rab Neutrino Pro is unique in our winter jacket review for its backcountry focus. If you like the idea of a lightweight, down-filled winter jacket but don't need to worry about your leg mobility while out on big adventures, check out the Outdoor Research Coze Down Parka. It is just as warm and cozy with a great hood and does much more to protect your legs. If you are heading out on an expedition where weight and packability don't matter nearly as much, and you need tippy-top weather protection, check out the Canada Goose Expedition Parka or the Fjallraven Nuuk. You could also look for more down alternatives in our best women's down jacket review.

Clark Tate