Olaf

I had this jacket for about a year in my closet but I didn't get to wear this jacket much until recently with the continous days of late Autumn rainfall in the North East. I didn't wear this jacket during rough skiing or any heavy backpacking trips only light day hiking and running weekend errands around the city. After only one wash with very mild "Goretex/DWR friendly" powdered detergent and a line dry I noticed the taped seams rippling and coming apart along the main zipper. Also the outer nylon shell that attaches to the gortex developed what looked like Black spots all over but on closer inspection it is the gortex lining seperating from the nylon shell!!! This is from maybe 3-5 times of light wear and 1 time carefully washing the jacket. I no longer recommend this jacket and it seems that TNF has long ago discontinued it but it still sells on eBay for less. Even at $100 this jacket it not worth it!

I went into this purchase not knowing anything about the RAB brand. My local outfitter store have been eagerly pushing this British company's clothing recently as a good replacement for North Face gear that no one is really buying anymore. Although I tried on a few RAB down coats at the store, I went with what I knew and purchased a Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody online to replace my prematurely retired Marmot Ama Dablam down from the 2010/2011 season. The Fitz Roy, at 646 grams, disappointed me in every way possible that a $300 down hoody could. I returned it and got this Neutrino Endurance which turned out to be a superior upgrade at a lower sale price.

First of all everyone will ask if it is warm so I will start by saying it is. 800 fill ONLY refers to the quality of down used but the Neutrino Endurance, at 626 grams, is well lofted with 225 grams of down. Now that calculates into healthy warm-to-weight ratio!

In contrast, the 595 gram Marmot Ama Dablam which I had last year was also 800 down fill quality but was barely stuffed with down and not as warm. And if you somehow find the Rab Neutrino Endurance to be not warm enough for you then RAB has the Neutrino Plus which is the same jacket but cut longer and wider at 760 grams and has 275 grams of heat generating 800 fill goose down stuffed into it's baffles.

The next question for the Rab Endurance would be is it durable or weatherproof?

The Neutrino takes care of that by using a weatherproof Pertex Endurance outer shell fabric to ensure durability. NOTE: The fabric is 100% windproof/99.9% waterproof but the jacket is not 100% waterproof because it is not taped at the seams. There is some popular confusion on this but the general fact of windproof fabrics is that they are also waterproof fabrics but when used on windproof-only gear, unless taped at the seams, that gear is not waterproof.

On the Endurance RAB has also waterproofed all the zipper tracks-something I've never seen on any other down jacket before.
Before I continue I understand folks may also be looking at the Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody ($299), The Marmot Ama Dablam ($229), or any of the similar Mountain Hardwear/North Face Hooded Down Jackets. I've worn those jackets so I will compare them briefly in each pro/con listed below to show why the Rab Neutrino Endurance is 1000% better than those current best selling jackets.

PROS-

1. Tailoring and Fit- This was important to me because I don't want to look like the Michelin Man nor do I want to be freezing. The Neutrino Endurance solves this often overlooked design challenge. The stitch thru down baffles are cut small and tight but are all densely packed so there is a firm loft instead of loose bulky loft. The Patagonia and Marmot Jackets both have bigger baffles. However, the Ama has low loft in it's big loose cut baffles so it fits relaxed like a big t-shirt. Where as the Fitz Roy Hoody has substantial loft in it's baffles but is also designed around it's big loft to fit like a big droopy sweater. The Neutrino, by sharp contrast, feels tailored and my 5'8" 155 lb frame fits the size Medium as if it was tailored by Brooks Brothers. The rear hemline also drops slightly over the butt and cinches cleanly at the sides to provide extra coverage.

2. Outer Shell- It is a crispy Pertex Endurance nylon. Again I will note: The jacket is not waterproof because the seams aren't taped however the Pertex Endurance as a raw fabric on it's own is rated at 1000mm water column and is highly water resistant. So under normal usage with the DWR treatment it is the closest you can get to 100% waterproof without being 100% waterproof. The inside lining also has the same crisp feel and is Pertex Quantum so there will be no feathers leaking inside or outside the jacket. The Ama Dablam, by contrast, has a silky soft outer shell and even softer nylon lining. Although the Ama didn't have any noticble down leaking my jacket did get lots of fabric pulls and shredding lines from mild contact with the garden bushes around my front door. The Ama Dablam shell also got wet from snow melt quicker than other down jackets that I've worn. The Patagonia Fitz hoody was not much better than the Ama though the Fitz Roy hoody's DWR treatment was far superior than the Ama Dablam.

3. Zippers and Cuff- The zippers on the Neutrino Endurance are all on firm waterproofed tracks and consists glove friendly pull tabs. Even the inside pocket has a fancy zipper track. My biggest gripe with all Patagonia down jackets are the cuffs consists of a cheap elastic cord stitched inside the outer shell's nylon fabric or inside a cloth band. If you owned a Patagonia down jacket for more than a season you will back me up when I say it is always prone to eventual fraying and getting dirty from normal wear and the Fitz Roy is no exception. Rab, however, uses a hydrophobic hypalon/rubberized lash and Velcro clasp on a durable 0.85 inch wide elastic band to seal in warmth at the cuffs. Marmot uses an extension lash of the soft nylon shell with velcro to cinch the cuff on the Ama which is good but the nylon is not as hydrophobic or durable as hypalon/rubber so it stays wet from contact with snow and wears fast. The Fitz Roy had the worse zippers I've ever seen on a $300 down coat. The tracks were wispy thin and flimsy and zipper head was tiny. I got many zipper snags on that coat. The Neutrino Endurance erases this prehistoric issue by using the waterproof zipper tracks.

4. Warmth and Loft- The Neutrino is very warm for the loft and you will not have to worry about cold spots or feeling cold at all. The inner lining is Pertex Quantum that some how helps retain body heat. Most down jackets skimp on the inner wall fabric and insert some sort of cheap nylon in there to cut down on costs and/or weight but the Rab uses Pertex Quantum lining which makes the coat lighter, more durable and warmer for the given down weight.

5. Hood- I must praise Rab's hood design. Much like the well loved Fitz Roy Down hood, the Neutrino's hood is well lofted with down and designed to FIT OVER A HELMET. But unlike the Fitz Roy the Neutrino's hood has a stow away strap to keep the hood out of the way when not in use. Rab uses a wire flex brim and front cinch system that cinches the hood down on your face. The Fitz Roy hood only cinches at the back to pull the hood back away from the face and improve lateral visibility. This is good since the Fitz has a huge lofty hood that will cover your entire head if left untamed but the Neutrino is "designed" to not need a lateral cinch system. Meaning the hood will not impede lateral vision but will still hug and protect your head and face. Marmot's Ama Dablam loftless hood is a joke by any comparison.

6. Ease of wear - There is a reason Mountaineers no longer hike up with Shearling Leather Coats anymore. Those old school coats were warm but heavy and hard to wear comfortably. Lofty down coats are by nature supposed to be the heaviest and hardest to wear things in your wardrobe. Contrary to this, the Rab has to be easiest to wear coat in the category of lofty down hooded coats. At 1 lb 6 oz it feels light on your back and has a normal non-bulky fit so it is easy to layer underneath it or wear it as a layer under a waterproof shell. The hood ties away when not needed. The dual two way belay zipper system adds extra option of ventilation or comfort during belaying or light cold weather hiking with a backpack on. It also makes it easy to access pockets of your base layers or hip pack underneath without having to unzip your entire jacket. The neck baffles and chin guard are not intrusive at all. The Rab feels just as comfortable zipped down as it is zipped up. My Fitz Roy would hang off me awkward and lopsided when it was zipped down because the nylon fabrics holding the down together was too soft and pliant. Also the Fitz Roy does not have a belay zipper which is one of the reasons I returned it.

CONS:

Only one con that I could find-

1. The two Hand Pockets and the "other Pocket"- They are not hand warming pockets (meaning they are not fleece lined) like on the Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody. Not sure why they are advertised as hand warmer pockets. The hand pockets are, however, designed inside the down baffles so your hands will be warm but this design normally lets in the cold behind the baffles into the jacket if the pockets are left open for too long. Yes I said "the other pocket" as in singular because there is only one other small zippered interior pocket on the entire coat. My old Fitz Roy had two interior pockets-one large mesh one and a small zippered one-in addition to the outer napolean chest pocket and two hand warmer pockets. So the Fitz Roy wins there. This is not really a big con for me because I wear gloves and don't ever need more than three pockets on a jacket when I'm out and about in cold weather but I expect someone will complain.

BOTTOM LINE: I didn't buy much gear this year but this jacket was easily one of the best outdoor gear items I purchased. The Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody gets rave reviews for being loftiest and warm whiles the Marmot Ama Dablam has a accrued it's fan base for being light weight, easy to wear and having great color options (yes- almost every reviewer I read talked about loving the color of his/her Ama). But none of those reviewers discussed tailoring fit, durability or weatherproof-ness. At $300 spent for a superior light weight warm down hooded jacket these qualities were very important to me when I reviewed the Rab Neutrino and it deserves 5 stars or the highest possible gear rating because it surpassed every challenge I put it to.

I love the idea of this jacket but I had to return it. I'm 5'8" 155 lbs and I wear medium in everything. I also own the Patagonia Hi-Loft Down Sweater-Jacket in a size medium. However, the Fitz Roy Down Hoody size medium was super big on me. The hem when cinched was still past my mid thigh and the torso was literally wide enough to fit two medium sized people inside and zip it up. I'm not sure if I got an irregular jacket because I'm already aware of the generous cut of some Patagonia and Arcteryx men's wear but I've never experienced such poor fitment from Patagonia before. My brother is 6'2 175 lbs and wears a large but on him my medium Fitz hoody fit like a baggy large compared to what he usually wears.
I would've exchanged it for a small but I strongly believe I would have to buy an XS in this jacket to get a normal medium fit.
The positives of this coat is that the down loft is super fluffy and firm. Even in the hood the loft is nice. It is like wearing a warm down sleeping bag. Last year I had the Ama Dablam by Marmot which is also 800 fill but about 1/4 as lofty at the Fitz Roy and had almost no loft in the hood. So I expected that I would've been much warmer in the Fitz Roy Down Hoody.
Said and done the BIG negative was for me was how sloppy the tailoring is on the Fitz Roy Down Hoody. When the jacket is unzipped it hangs off your body awkwardly and one side hangs lower than the other side. At first I thought it was the result of the fit being too big but I posted a Guru photo of a stock image with a model wearing the Lagoon color unzipped and it can clearly be seen that the balance is off on the tailoring. This was another reason I didn't exchange for a smaller size. Another negative was the outer nylon shell didn't seem durable enough to last more than a few seasons of moderate use.
In the end I just got the Rab Neutrino Edurance which was 1000% better in tailoring, fit and durablity but more pricey than the Fitz Roy but it was worth it.

The best soft shell I've owned since my time in the outdoors (from 1994 to now) was the MAMMUT Clime Jacket. I've owned two Clime jackets since 2005 and just wore out my second one this year and I've been shopping for a good replacement since Mammut doesn't make or sell the Clime Jacket anymore. The Ultimate Advanced, a cross between the flimsy Brisk Jacket and Ultimate Hoody, is Mammut's closest attempt at replacing the Clime Jacket since 2008. However this jacket is super expensive to buy retail if you can find one. I was lucky enough to snatch one up on sale.

PROS: The Advance Jacket has a lot of hidden features - the inside storm flap, for one, folds away by itself when the jacket is unzipped. The pit zips are really easy to open and close with one hand. The Jacket is lighter than you would expect but not as light or packable as the Brisk or Clime. A high cinching collar with a low-hanging dual-cinching hemline and long sleeves for the size provides great protection-this was one of the few flaws of the Clime that the Advanced jacket fixes. Great placement of ventilation pockets so they don't get in the way of a climbing harness or backpack hip belt. The Advanced Jacket is also very warm for weight and can be likened to getting Patagonia R4 warmth in something like an R2 fleece. Cut and design is really great and economical there is not too much fabric to bunch up and bog you down.

CONS: My biggest gripe (and where the jacket lost 2 big stars is that the sleeves are NOT articulated. So the arms and torso of the jacket rides up and bunches up the minute you raise your hands above your head. This makes the jacket utterly useless for any activity where climbing, paddling and using your arms are important. For that I had to return it. Also the front pockets are NOT really pockets but narrow ventilation slits. At best you can put keys and lip balm in them.

I just sold my old 2008 model 700-fill Patagonia Down Jacket on flea-Bay for almost the same price this one cost. So far I am very impressed by this 13.8 oz Hi-Loft. This thing is much more lighter and more compressible that the previous 700-fill Patagonia Down Jackets. My main gripe with Patagonia jackets has always been the outer nylon fabrics pick up dirt rather easily so I got the Hi-Loft Jacket in the Black color. I previously had Gecko Green, Channel Blue, Real Red and Llama Brown in Patagonia Down Jackets over the years and found myself washing them every two weeks after normal wear because the collar, sleeves and zipper areas would show any dirt and oils from your skin that came into contact with the jacket. With the Black color I expect my laundry bill to less this winter.
My other gripe with Patagonia Down Jackets of past were the lack of neck, wrist and butt protection when the wind picked up. This Hi-Loft seems to remedy all those issues with a very high neck collar, slightly longer sleeves for the size and a longer hemline with a great 1-side/1-toggle easy cinch that hugs down the hemline around your waist, butt and hip area.
That said the jacket is very very light and it would almost seem like a magic trick if it keeps me warm when the weather gets to 20 degrees F. But I expect it will. I'm not sure why Patagonia calls this a sweater since most of us will be wearing this as a regular jacket with layers underneath. In fact the beauty of this jacket is that it is cut slim but is still roomy enough for a thick thermal base layer shirt and a R2 fleece layer to go underneath.
I'm and 5'8" and 150 lbs and the Size Medium fits me perfect! I did find it to fit slightly slimmer and feel less bulky in the torso area than previous Patagonia Down Jackets so if you are a layer freak and plan on this Hi Loft being your outer most layer then consider sizing up.
Either way this jacket seems to be very warm on it's own. For the price it better be.

I've been wearing Merrells from since the mid 1990's when I was a wee Outward Bound student in Colorado and I've never favored Merrell brand as a true outdoor boot brand in the presence of other boots made by Scarpa, Asolo, Garmont and LaSportiva. Merrell boot just were never tough enough and the "waterproof" was always an issue until now.
I only got these boots because they were around $69 on closeout sale at a shoe wholesaler in midtown Manhattan. The Ecco Receptor X-Treme Viking boots I've been wearing almost daily since 2006 finally worn down to the last layer of rubber and I needed to replace them.

Right out the box these Chameleon's were the most comfortable Merrell boots I've owned and while the fit was slightly loose for the size 10.5 the use of an extra sole insert added more cushion and made the fit exact. They kept my feet warm and dry thru the North East 2010 - 2011 winter season and have been comfortable for both hard pavement city walking as well as year round hiking.

My only gripe has been the lacing system. They lacing tends to get loose on it's own after long durations of wear. Double knotting is a must. Also the tongue has a stiff bit that took some breaking in for it to not rub against my ankle.

First off it looks good and looks practical when you see the picture online but when you actually attempt to use it the first thing realized is the dual main anchored carry straps are very confusing. Somehow Eagle Creek expected these straps to be used a variety of ways none of which makes sense. 1. Backpack Straps - not the best idea since the straps are razor thin and unpadded. 2. A Shoulder Strap - again the razor thin unpadded straps are not sturdy and comfortable for slinging a load over your shoulder (also the optional clip in shoulder strap is NOT padded and is also razor thin). 3. A Carry/Tote Strap - probably the best way to use the main straps but anyone shorter than 5'8" (my height) will see the duffle's bottom side grazing the ground as you walk since these main straps are purposely made long enough to pass for backpack straps and don't adjust short enough to be proper carry/ tote straps for a shorter person.
I substituted in a padded shoulder strap from a Mammut Rope Pro bag which add some comfort but the duffle is still very floppy and clumsy when carrying it over your shoulder or across your chest-style. I solved this by adding the hard plastic floor insert (that I transplanted from an old duffle) to the inside of this bag. This added some stiffness and made the bag feel less floppy.

PROS:
- Looks great online and in person. Very unique bag. I got the green colour in the Medium size.
- Bag's bottom is an easy to clean light weight water proof rubbery fabric instead of the heavy, reinforced, lint loving Codura cloth that other outdoors Duffles and packs tend to have
- Relatively light weight bag for the size and carrying strength. I got the Medium size and it is paper light but strong enought to tackle a heavy load.
- U shaped Zipper system and waterproof side pocket zipper are cool and easy to use features.
- Very large side pocket compartment as well.
- Fabrics and stitching seem to be of good quality and durable to withstand years of heavy usage.

CONS:
-$80 to $100 is very pricey for what will basically be relegated to status a car trunk duffle for those who keep it.
-The Shuffle Duffle's main carry straps are ultimately useless and utterly confounding to use. Eagle Creek should have made them 1. Padded, 2. Detachable and 3. Have a Specific function. This bag would have been more practical with various detachable straps and/or handles each having a specific use. Having a one-does-all set up doesn't really save weight and makes the bag impossible to use. The straps also get in the way when trying to unzip the bag or close the bag.
-The optional clip-in non-padded long shoulder strap is also useless. I just substituted my own padded strap - something that shouldn't even be a thought considering this is a $80 - $100 bag. It is like paying $70,000 for a BMW M3 and putting in more comfortable seats from your Grandmother's 1992 Geo Metro.
-Lacks a rigid floor insert that you find on most other duffle bags - Again the Creek must have
ommitted it to save weight but at the $80+ price tag it should've been included and then allow the choice to remove it for those go-lighters.
-Cross cinching straps do NOTHING to stabalize the load or hug the bag taugt unless the bag is loaded to the brim which is when you most likely least need cinching straps to hug the bag against the contents. The problem is the cinch straps are anchored too high along the side of the bag and shouldv'e been anchored lower near the bottom fabric. The result is that it only seems to fold the top lid fabric inwards and downwards which just creates a bigger tangle of straps and folded fabric to manuever when accessing the innards of the bag. Also the straps have cute plastic clips are which are soft and fragile.
-Clumsy to carry when the duffel is partially loaded. The contents seem floppy and tend to shift all over when using the shoulder strap. I fixed this with the addition of a rigid floor bed but it is still more floppy than other duffels I've used. This is mainly due to poorly place cinch straps and the shoulder strap clip anchors are placed in alternating positions so the bag tilts sideways when carried via the shoulder strap.

BOTTOM LINE:

This is basically an overpriced trunk duffel-something that will eventually make its way into your car or SUV trunk and remain there for the rest of its life. It is not very practical for daily use (I.E going to the Gym or carrying Gym clothes, Laptop, books, lunch in during your public transportion commute to work as in my case). It also doesn't seem pratical for camping or outdoor use since the backpack carry straps are not padded and will hurt most shoulders when hiking with a full load.

Someone just mentioned to check out the LL Bean duffles. I did and noticed they have a nice reasonably priced adventure duffle bag selection starting at $29. The LL Bean Expedition Medium Duffle shows a good design that this Shuffle Duffel lacks and also points out everything that is WRONG with the Shuffle Duffel. Looks like I will be driving up to Freeport, ME next weekend.