 This Product
Rab Neutrino Pro | |||||
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| Awards |  Best Standalone Down Jacket For Most People |  Best for Extreme Cold |  Best Value Upgrade | Budget Friendly Lightweight Warmth | |
| Price | $450 List Check Price at REI | $379 List Check Price at REI | $519 List Check Price at Feathered Friends | $259 List Check Price at REI | $149 List Check Amazon (on sale!) |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | This heavyweight jacket excels at heat retention and is a fantastic companion for colder weather | This all-around great down jacket is comfortable enough to wear all day, and versatile enough to fit in wherever your day takes you | This is the warmest down jacket that's made in the USA, and is also shockingly packable, but it's pretty expensive | This is the best down jacket for most people; it's versatile, comfortable, very warm for its weight, and surprisingly affordable | If you’re hunting for an ultralight puffy but can’t handle the price tag, this budget option offers a great solution |
| Rating Categories | Rab Neutrino Pro | Stio Hometown Hooded | Feathered Friends He... | REI Co-op Magma 850... | Eddie Bauer CirrusLi... |
| Warmth (35%) | |||||
| Comfort (30%) | |||||
| Packability (20%) | |||||
| Weather Resistance (15%) | |||||
| Specifications | Rab Neutrino Pro | Stio Hometown Hooded | Feathered Friends He... | REI Co-op Magma 850... | Eddie Bauer CirrusLi... |
| Weight Class | Heavy | Heavy | Heavy | Light | Light |
| Down Fill | 800-fill-power European goose down with Grangers fluorocarbon-free hydrophobic finish | 800-fill ALLIED Feather water repellent goose down | 900+ fill power goose down | 850-fill-power goose down with bluesign-approved DWR | 650-fill-power down |
| Hood | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, hoodless option | Yes |
| Water Resistance (DWR) | PFAS-free DWR finish and water repellent down | PFAS-free DWR finish and water repellent down | PFAS-free DWR finish | PFAS-free DWR finish and water repellent down | StormRepel® DWR treatment (not listed as PFAS-free) |
| Outer Fabric | 20D Pertex Quantum Pro | 100% recycled HTD nylon ripstop with PFAS-free DWR finish | Pertex® Quantum Pro® made with 60% renewable, castor oil -based nylon | Recycled ripstop nylon | 100% recycled nylon |
| Fit | Relaxed | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard |
| Hem Type | Drop hem (small) | Drop hem (small) | Straight | Drop hem (small) | Straight |
| Measured Weight | 20.1 (M) | 21.3 oz (M) | 16.4 oz (M) | 12.5 oz (M) | 9.9 oz (S) |
| Pockets | 2 zippered hand, 1 internal security | 2 zippered hand, zippered external chest, zippered internal chest, internal drop-in pocket | 2 stretch lycra sealed hand pockets, zippered internal chest | 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered external chest pockets | 2 zippered hand pockets |
| Cuff Construction | Velcro | Stretch-knit cuffs | Stretch-knit cuffs | Elastic cuffs | Elastic cuffs |
| Adjustment Points | Hem shockcord, hood shockcord, hood velcro | Hem shockcord, hood shockcord | Hood shockcord | Hem shockcord, hood shockcord | None |
| Stow Option | None | Stuff sack | Stuff sack | Zips into pocket | None |
| Features | Roll away hood, two way zip, hydrophobic down, partial felt lined pockets | Hydrophobic down | Interior lining fabric made from NetPlus®- post-consumer fishing nets | Articulated elbows, internal draft tube. Made in Fairtrade Certified factory, REI is Climate Neutral Certified | StormRepe DWR treatment |
The Rab Neutrino Pro is the warmest jacket in our review lineup. While there are even heavier-duty models on the market, this is a toasty down jacket that can still be worn while walking at a fast pace, hiking up hills, or chopping wood, making this our “heat retention” recommendation.
This is the jacket you want if you live and/or recreate in a cold climate. Our testing team has worn the Neutrino Pro in everything from day-to-day use around town to extreme environments such as the Alaska Range and the Himalayas — it never failed to keep us warm. If you are a person who loves a toasty, warm jacket, you'll love the Neutrino Pro as much as we do. One tester said, “It is my undisputed favorite for even the coldest days of winter, and I wear it regularly in spring and fall too.”
The Neutrino Pro offers high-quality, 800-fill-power down that dependably lofts, even when we crammed it in a stuff sack for better packability. However, what makes this jacket this warm is its fill weight. In plain speak, it has a lot more down than most of the competition. With Velcro-adjusted wrists and a drawstring hem, the Neutrino can easily be sealed to trap even more body heat, and the hood can be somewhat tightened for a closer head fit. While you can find parka-style jackets that offer more warmth, that style of jacket typically has a much more limited use range. Our testing team has a few members who go to high altitudes a lot, and they appreciate a heavyweight puffy coat like the Neutrino Pro that can be worn in a variety of cold weather environments.
If you've ever seen A Christmas Story, you might remember Ralphie's brother, Randy, trying to put his arms down after their parents dressed them up for the cold walk to school. Fortunately, the Neutrino is a much more comfortable way to stay warm, and received great scores across our review panel.
The Neutrino Pro finds a middle ground between insulating and functional that isn't common in this class of down jacket. Thanks to a well-designed down pattern and a relaxed fit, it moves and feels like a lighter class of jacket despite its more robust fill weight. The adjustability allows you to get the fit just right and dial in warmth, even with varying combinations of under-layers. We also appreciated the next-to-skin feel, which was most noticeable in the neck area since the Neutrino is most likely to fit as an overlayer.
A jacket this insanely warm is simply not going to be light or packable, and we weren't surprised with the lower scores of the Neutrino Pro in this metric. When considering how well this layer retains heat, we aren't turned off by its bulk, but it's worth keeping in mind if you're looking for a lower-profile jacket.
At 20.1 ounces for a men's medium, this is a hefty jacket, but it offers excellent “value per ounce” when considering how warm it is, even in less hospitable environments. What makes this jacket stand out in the niche of heavyweight down coats is that it is actually relatively lightweight compared to others with a high fill weight.
Still, the Neutrino Pro is undoubtedly much bulkier than most of the down jackets we tested. We strongly suggest getting a compression stuff sack if you really need to tighten up your pack size.
While we wouldn't recommend walking out in a rainstorm with the Neutrino, Rab made some great design considerations to make this a down jacket that can at least handle some inclement weather.
The shell is constructed with 20D Pertex Quantum Pro material, which is both durable and somewhat weather-resistant. In a light drizzle, we didn't notice the fabric getting soaked through for at least half an hour, and in dry snowstorms, this jacket lasted all day without soaking through. In the event moisture soaks through the shell, Rab uses a Pertex hydrophobic down treatment to help retain insulation. In our tests, we found the down stayed lofted even when the shell fabric was saturated, though we urge you to avoid ever getting this jacket (or any down jacket) that wet.
This is the jacket for you if you need a puffy on the heavier side for really cold climates. Most of the jackets we tested fall into the light to medium weight range, making this a relatively less versatile jacket. If you want something that offers only some warmth but can be worn for a wider array of seasons, the Neutrino Pro isn't the right garment for you.
