Rab Vapour Rise Cinder review – does fluffy teddy bear tech make Rab’s softshell jacket the ultimate lightweight all-rounder?

UK brand Rab have a huge reputation for top performance and outstanding customer support among mountain athletes. Their Cinder range is designed to bring those wins to the biking world. The Vapour Rise soft-shell shares a lot of fabric tech from their existing trail running / fast moving range. The result is amazingly warm for it’s low weight and pack size, but there are pluses and minuses to the overall performance.

Design and specifications

The outer fabric for the whole jacket is a lightweight (47gsm) 20D Pertex Quantum Air windshell treated with a fluorocarbon-free DWR (Durable Water Repellent) surface coating. The front of the jacket and sleeves plus collar and yoke are lined with Rab’s own ‘VR Warm’ fabric. This is a super plushy, ultra fine fleece that in the golden Sahara color I tested, looked a lot like those super expensive Stieff teddy bears. The back and sides of the jacket and back of the sleeves is lined with a much lighter ‘base layer’ style fabric. 

The jacket isn’t seam sealed but there’s a stiff storm flap behind the full length YKK zip. The cuffs have a cowl of stiffened fabric too, with a stretch panel on the underside. There’s also an upward opening zip side vent on each side where the liner changes from fleece to base. The zipped back pocket is lined with the same Pertex as the shell and its zip is weather flapped too. The deep dropped hem has a single sided tightening cord and silicon gripper logos round the lower edge and there are small reflective details on the tail and shoulders.

Performance

I’d describe fit as ‘athletic’ rather than baggy with a very deep, rounded tail dropping right over hips. This becomes much more pronounced if you load up the rear pocket too and while it doesn’t sag as badly as Rab’s Ridgeline top, it can still catch on the back of your saddle. The sleeves are relatively short too, so while the cuff shape is great I found it pulled back off my gloves when riding. The stretch panel so you easily pull them up to see your watch is a neat touch though. Despite a multi-panel arm and T shoulder cut, there’s a lot of extra fabric bunching up in the upper arm/armpit area as well.

The different performance of the two liner fabrics is very obvious when riding too. The VR Warm teddy bear sections are super toasty for their weight and can easily cope with windchill well below freezing. While the fleece sucks sweat off skin or base layers well, it doesn’t transfer through the Pertex as fast. That can leave it obviously soggy – particularly in the lower arms – when you’re working harder than it can breathe. The side vents do help a bit with airflow and the upward opening/downward closing zip is great when you need to stop the draught fast. However, having them behind the part of the jacket that’s likely to overheat means they’re less effective than they would be on the chest (like they are on Rab’s Vapour Rise Alpine Light jacket). 

The same slow breathing rate of the Pertex is apparent on the thin rear panels which don't dry as fast as I expected. The dramatic contrast between the cosy front and breezy back can be uncomfortable at times too. Especially in heavy rain or strong following winds where completely fleece lined jackets like Specialized’s Polartec Alpha Trail are obviously more protected. The upside is that you’re much less likely to overheat on climbs etc. when you’re working extra hard. It’s also cheaper and proving more robust than other Polartec Alpha jackets we’ve tested.

Speaking of robust, Rab offer a full lifetime warranty on defects as well as a repair / reproof / rewashing service where they’ll restore your gear to as near new condition as possible for a very reasonable rate. They didn’t even balk when I dropped in a shredded 21-year-old jacket on a recent factory visit either, so they’ve got your back long term.

They’re also very committed to making their manufacturing, logistics and selling as eco friendly and sustainable as possible. That includes being extremely transparent about the composition of their gear, with the Vapour–Rise Cinder scoring an overall 17 percent recycled fabric, peaking at 55 for the VR Warm liner. It’s totally PFC free apart from the zip too.

Verdict

There are lots of ‘body mapped’ options out there and I’d class the Vapour–Rise Cinder as one of the more binary rather than balanced. I’ve found it works well on either really steady rides or really cold, hard working rides. Heat for weight ratio and packability are excellent too and Rab’s customer service and product back up is worth a lot long term. It tends to be either too sweaty or too breezy in a lot of situations though, the cut, pocket and vent positioning could be better too.

Tech specs: Rab Vapour Rise Cinder softshell

• Price: $160 / £160 / €190
• Sizes: S to XXL
• Options: Ebony, Orion Blue, Sahara (tested)
• Weight: 260g (medium)