Rab's Vapour Rise is a softshell jacket built to be a bit of a generalist, suitable for a variety of outdoor sports and activities.
And it does this job well, it's the sort of jacket that lives not in some hidden away closet full of discarded hobbies but right on the peg closest to the door.
I've put this jacket on for cycling, walking and just taking the chill out of a spring morning and it is always comfortable but not in a particularly sporty way.
The Vapour Rise Alpine has a fairly relaxed cut so it feels quite easy and comfortable to wear. There's a soft micro-fleece lining inside so wearing it with only a t-shirt underneath feels good on the arms and the lining adds a few degrees of warmth when on, this isn't an insulation layer though.
Pertex Equilibrium makes up the outer, this feels super soft and makes for a pretty good windbreaker. Altogether we were impressed with how breathable the fabrics felt on evening bike rides - you get a nice balance between warmth and letting your moisture escape.
The hood is roll away but we don't reckon this works very well, the tab that holds the hood back isn't wide enough and is too loose so after a while the hood starts to drift open - we've since left it open.
Of course, being Rab the hood has to be helmet compatible, if you're not a climber or cyclist you'll probably find that pretty annoying because it's big and needs to be cinched down to a naked head but we don't mind it.
The hem and cuffs are able to be adjusted to keep more of the weather out which is a nice touch.
Two decent sized chest pockets and an internal pocket swallow a good amount of stuff but when we've been wearing the Vapour Rise Alpine casually, we've often gone to put our hands in the hand pockets only to find they weren't there!
Overall, the Vapour Rise Alpine spans a load of different uses including more athletic heart pumping activities like cycling and climbing but similarly it's a comfortable and good-looking jacket to wear casually. It doesn't excel at any one thing but strikes a good enough balance to have made it's way into our regular wardrobe.
- READ NEXT: The 10 Best Things To Do on the Isle of Skye
