It’s winter hiking season! I make no bones about the fact I much prefer the summer hiking season, but that doesn’t stop me getting out over winter.
I needed a new insulated winter hiking jacket this year and did a ton of research about which to go with. I’ve previously made the mistake on investing in down jackets, whereas for the kind of mountain hiking I do, synthetic is what I really wanted this time around (more information on synthetic insultation vs down here).
I opted in the end for the Rab Cirrus Alpine hooded winter jacket.
Men’s Rab Cirrus Alpine
And look how utterly thrilled I am with this decision…
Well, if I’m being totally honest I was thrilled that my 5am alarm had paid of with a sunrise to die for and some epic cloud inversions at Winnat’s Pass. But a decent warm winter hiking jacket helped me enjoy it despite the cold temperatures!
There are a few reasons I went for this specific winter jacket:
- Synthetic insultation
- Lightweight
- Hooded (I love an insulated hood)
- Exceptional reviews
- Choice of colours (yes, it matters to me)
I don’t like feeling restricted in movement terms when I’m in a winter jacket, so lightweight was incredibly important to me. I like scrambling and I do sometimes do simpler ones in the Autumn as well as summertime.
So I wanted lightweight. Here’s what I think so far.
Rab Cirrus Alpine Winter Coat – Review
In summary, it’s a solid 9/10 from me.
Some of my favourite features:
- The stretchy sleeves making it easy to get the sleeve over bigger, bulkier winter gloves
- Adjustable bottom so you can make it tighter at the bottom. This was important to me. I size up when I buy a winter hiking jacket to allow for how I layer on the really cold days. But I didn’t want a big gap at the bottom of the coat
- Accessible secure inside pocket for things like a car key
- The fabric feels really lovely
On the downside, I really wish this had an adjustable hood.
You can see here the hood is insulated. And there is a wire at the front of the cap front which lets you shape it to stop any water dripping over your face etc. But above the ears, there’s a gap between my head and the hood. Now of course, no winter jacket can have the perfect hood shape for every head. So I would love some sort of drawstring system where I could pull it tighter to my head once up. Now, this probably isn’t the end of the world as on really cold days or when I’m winter hiking, I invariable have a hat on anyway. But it’s something I think that would probably make this jacket a 10 for me.
How waterproof is the Rab Cirrus Alpine jacket?
So this is where I was a little concerned. I know, as is the case with many such jackets, that we’re looking at light water resistance here as opposed to waterproofing. And I’ll carry my Mammut Alto Guide outer shell in my bag over winter anyway.
But I wanted to see how well it would stand up to a bit of rain. So I headed out in the rain earlier this week:
Light rain beads on the jacket well. I didn’t get wet. But this was a light to moderate shower that I was in for no more than 45 minutes.
Don’t use this heavy rain without an outer shell.
How breathable is the Rab Cirrus Alpine?
So in my view, this is a really lightweight jacket. But when I was heading up a steep incline, despite it being pretty cold, I did feel warm. I was, however, also wearing 3 layers underneath.
For my general pace more gradual gradient walks, this has proven breathable.
Would I Recommend the Rab Cirrus Alpine Jacket?
Yes. Definitely. It’s by no means “cheap,” but is lower priced than other hiking brand insulated jackets. It offers protection from the cold, protection from the wind, a litle bit of water resistance and ultimately does the job of protecting you from hypothermia on winter hikes!
I’ve hiked for 20+ hours in this jacket so far over the last couple of weeks with temperatures as low as freezing. This sunrise was stunning but a particularly cold one:
I know there are far far colder temperatures to come yet this season, particularly on the peaks of the UK, so I’ll keep testing and update this review!
Men’s Rab Cirrus Alpine