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I've been wearing a Rab Microlight down jacket for a few years now, and it's one of my favourite things. It's warm enough to wear on a bitterly cold day, but breathable enough to wear on a pleasant day in the spring, without overheating. I have yet to find a more versatile coat. You can imagine my excitement, then, when the nice people at Rab offered to let me try a new version of this hugely successful jacket, the Microlight Windstopper. The premise of this new launch is simple. Rab has taken everything that's good about the Microlight; its light weight, its breathability, its practical layout, and the way it stashes away into tight spaces, and added in a technology developed by the outdoorwear geniuses at Gore-Tex Labs called Windstopper. Gore-Tex has forged an incredible reputation for its waterproof, breathable fabrics, which have been used by countless brands over many decades. It's in many of my favourite clothes and shoes, but this is the first opportunity I've had to test the Windstopper technology. The whole point of Windstopper is to add a layer that completely stops wind getting in. And it's aimed at people who aren't on the hunt for a waterproof layer, so those qualities aren't there in this new Rab coat. What is there, however, is pretty much everything I’ve always liked about Rab's Microlight. It's thicker than the original coat, but not by much, and the extra weight - at least while it's on - is not worth mentioning. Before it arrived, I expected it to feel like a half-way house between the lightest down jackets and the big "puffer" style jackets with absurd levels of insulation. The reality is, it's so much closer to a lightweight down jacket, especially in its weight and cold-weather performance, and that makes it wonderfully versatile. I've yet to try it in super-cold temperatures, but for everything down to a reasonably sharp frost, it's more than warm enough. And the inner fabric allows plenty of room for a warm mid-layer if you need one. I've also worn it on some unexpectedly warm days, the ones we often get in a British autumn, and it's breathable enough not to become too much on a brisk dog walk. To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. The Rab Microlight series is extremely good on a windy day, but this new Gore-Tex technology takes it to another level. The reality of this is that your mid-layer has less heavy lifting to do, and you could even just wear it over a T-shirt if you wanted to. The pockets follow the classic Microlight layout, with one chest pocket and two hand pockets. One of these, Rab champions, doubles as an "integrated storage solution". I've absolutely no idea what this means, but I can report it's a little bit bigger than the other one and has an integrated strap to clip things to. Other than that, what is a pocket if it's not an "integrated storage solution"? Or have I missed something? The hood is a bit on the large side for my liking. It's designed to be worn over a helmet, and that's all very useful, but I don't tend to wear helmets for walking my dogs. The stiffened peak is handy though, and it does have drawstrings. But it's at its most secure when the zip is fully done up. And then you look a bit like a bank robber. You'll be lovely and warm, though. Rab's Men's Microlight Alpine Down Jacket, on which this newcomer is clearly based, costs £210. And the Windstopper version costs £270. So you're essentially paying £60 for that Gore-Tex technology. But there's a few points to make here. Firstly, if you know Gore-Tex, you'll know that 28-ish per cent isn't a bad premium. Secondly, expect to see some deals on these coats, especially with Black Friday looming. And thirdly, I genuinely think it's worth the money. I still maintain the Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket is one of the best coats out there, which is why I own two of them. But if you're frequently out in windswept locations, or if you want to turn the versatility up a few notches without compromising on practicality, the Windstopper version is absolutely worth a look. It's brilliant.
