Rab Cinder Waterproof Jackets Reviewed: 3 Models Compared and Contrasted

The Rab Cinder range brought its established reputation for outdoor activity fabric technologies and designs to the bike market, by adding cycle specific design features. I’ve had the three waterproof jackets on test in a women’s cut. They arrived just at the end of April – as things dried out. But then the weather has turned again, offering ample testing time, albeit in the warm and wet conditions that are extra challenging for any waterproof material.

In case you didn’t know: MVTR is Moisture Vapour Transfer Rate – how much water will pass through fabric over a 24 hour lab test period, hence ‘g/sqm/24hrs MVTR’. A higher number here means more breathability (in lab test terms anyway). Hydrostatic Head (HH) is measured in mm and is the height of a column of water that the material will withstand before leaking. A higher number here means more waterproofing. However… if you’re totally waterproof with a super high HH number, you won’t notice if the MVTR is low, because you’ll be so sticky and humid on the inside that you won’t be able to tell rain from skin juice.

To add to the equation, the HH value will generally decrease over time as your waterproofs age and degrade. And waterproofs tend to work best when there’s a temperature differential between you and the world outside. Cold air on the outside helps draw moisture from your body, keeping you feeling nice and dry. When it’s warm outside – or if the fabric isn’t breathable – condensation can build up more easily on the inside, making it seem like your jacket is leaking, when actually it’s you. So, challenging conditions for these three jackets: how did they get on?

Rab Cinder Kinetic Jacket

• Price: £240
• From: Rab Equipment
• Size Tested: UK 14
• Waterproofing: HH: 10,000 mm MVTR: 35,000g/m2/24 hrs

Pros:

• Nicely fitted and shaped
• Breathable and not sweaty
• Comfortable and not rustley

Cons:

• Not as waterproof as other jackets
• Hood doesn’t sit comfortably over helmet
• Rear pocket of limited use

The Rab Cinder Kinetic jacket is made from a stretchy, 3-layer waterproof fabric called Proflex. The jacket has an over the helmet hood, a Napoleon pocket and a rear pouch style pocket on the back. The cuffs have a simple stretch elastic finish on the underside and a slightly extended cuff on the upper. The zip is one way and has a fairly substantial pull chord attached to it. The zip on the Napoleon pocket also has a pull chord and has a rubbery waterproof outer seal on it.

In use, the jacket is comfortable to wear and not sweaty despite the lack of any ventilation zips or flaps – presumably down to the higher breathability rating of this fabric. The fit is fairly slim and nicely non flappy, but there’s plenty of room for elbow pads and body movement. However, while it is waterproof, the fabric does wet out quite quickly leaving you feeling cool in patches. This is particularly at pressure points like around rucksack straps, where I found I would eventually get damp as the waterproofing reached its limit. I also found that where the hem on the cuffs got wet and held water it felt particularly chilly.

While the hood does fit over a helmet, I found it pulled the front of my jacket up a bit – I tried it with a couple of different mountain bike helmet designs and had the same problem. The hood stowage was not immediately obvious to me how it worked, until I consulted YouTube. You roll it up and then use the rear hood adjustment to loop through the coat hanging loop. It works, but it requires you to roll the hood up towards your neck – not an especially pleasant experience if it is wet and cold from rain – and it’s more of an off-the-bike task. I found the substantial main zip needed two hands to operate, making adjustments while riding a little tricky.

I also didn’t find the rear pocket particularly useful. It too was difficult to zip or unzip on the go. Putting items in it left me feeling like the jacket was being pulled uncomfortably to one side if I put something like a phone and keys in it, or just bulky if I stuffed a hat or gloves in there. Obviously if you’re wearing a backpack there is a conflict between this pocket and your backpack so that you can’t use the pocket then. Maybe if you’re used to carrying items in a bum bag or jersey pockets you won’t mind the balance of the jacket so much, but as a committed backpack wearer, this rear pocket didn’t really do it for me.

The Cinder Kinetic jacket is a little heavier weight than the other two here and doesn’t pack down that small, so I’d suggest it is best for those rides where you’re expecting to need a jacket. It doesn’t have the shiny or rustly finish that allows you to simply brush mud off at the end of a ride , so I’d probably choose this for a splashy autumn or spring ride rather than a full mud fest. It seems waterproof enough for winter, but I’d ideally have something that didn’t hold the water as much, to keep the cold away.

Overall

In my opinion, its lower waterproofing makes it best suited for local laps rather than a big mountain ride. Its breathability and slim fit would make it well suited to pedally gravel rides too. If you hate being sweaty then you may well find this is the jacket for you.

Cinder Phantom Jacket

• Price: £195
• From: Rab Equipment
• Size Tested: UK 14
• Waterproofing: HH: 20,000mm/MVTR: 20,000 g/m2/24hrs

Pros:

• Light enough to take everywhere
• Genuinely useful level of waterproofing
• Strong enough to wear regularly

Cons

• Stuff sack is easy to lose
• Zip pull is a little tiny to get hold of
• So handy you won’t wear any of your other jackets for most of the year

The Cinder Phantom jacket is a floaty light yet waterproof jacket made from 2.5 layer Pertex Shield fabric. It has absolutely no pockets and the only zip is the one up the front. This lacks any substantial zip pull, making it a little tricky to use with gloves or on the go – and getting it on and zipped up in the first place is definitely a stop and remove your gloves affair. There’s no ventilation anywhere on the jacket, but it’s really more of a jacket to put on when the weather turns rather than one to ride in all the time. That said I have ended up using this jacket a lot, probably the most of the three here. Its super lightweight and small pack size alongside its genuinely useful waterproofing means that it has been ideal for this summer’s rain showers.

The hood is stiffened around the peak and elasticated so that once you zip the jacket all the way up it does a good job of staying in place, and you can shape it a little to suit your needs. When not in use the hood it does seem to be particularly flappy however, there is an elastic loop set up that allows you to stow it. This is the best arranged before you put the jacket on – it’s too fiddly for on the go. Plus, if your hood is wet and soggy, you may not appreciate tucking it in next to the back of your neck.

The jacket’s floaty light nature means that adjustment is not part of its offering. However there’s just enough elastic around the drop tail to keep the jacket fitted around the waist. The body and shoulders have more room in them than the Kinetic – it’s not such a slim cut and there’s room for layers under it. I really like this jacket. If I have any complaints about it, it’s that it’s so floaty light that with its slightly tacky finish to the interior, it can be tricky to get it on in a breeze or with some jerseys or gloves, particularly those that have silicon patches for durability. I’m also not completely sold on the separate stuff sack for the jacket. While it does leave the jacket being as light as possible and fits into the stuff sack no problem, because there is no pocket on the jacket to keep the bag when you are in the jacket, I ended up misplacing the little pouch for about 95% of the time that I was testing this jacket. The little pouch is teeny tiny as well as floaty light, so if you’re bad at remembering where you’ve put it, you can spend a long time hunting for it before you stumble across it, even in the bright orange colour I had on test. On the flip side, you have the handy if you want it option to strap the stuffed jacket onto your bike using the elastic straps, and it’s the bag that gets mucky rather than the jacket.

Overall

I’ve found it to be surprisingly resistant to pulls and scrapes on vegetation and trailside obstacles, and of the three jackets here it’s been the most useful addition to my riding gear. I’ll be carrying this and using it all year round. The best jacket is sometimes the one you have with you, and this is just so convenient to carry, there’s no need to leave it at home.

Cinder Downpour Jacket

• Price: £185
• From: Rab Equipment
• Size Tested: UK 14
• Waterproofing: HH: 20,000mm/MVTR: 20,000 g/m2/24hrs

Pros:

• Back flap zippers: you’ll love them
• Hood sits well under a helmet

Cons:

• Back flap zippers: you’ll not love them
• Fabric wets out, leaving you feeling cool

The Cinder Downpour jacket is perhaps the most typical waterproof jacket of the three on test. It has that slightly stiff and rustley fabric effect that most waterproofs have. The under helmet hood has stretchy elastic adjustment at the back. You can use this to minimise flapping when you’re not using it, though I didn’t feel the need, but it doesn’t quite stow away the hood like it does with the Kinetic. When under a helmet, it’s a great snug fit, not at all difficult to get to sit nicely. There are two hand pockets on the front and two ventilation zips to the rear. The cuffs are, like the other jackets here, elasticated and without Velcro fastenings.

In use, I found that this fabric wetted out quite quickly, and like the Kinetic gave that cool feeling that can give you the impression that you’re cold and wet, when actually you’re just cold. However it didn’t actually leak at pressure points like the Kinetic when I was using it. The fabric here is a little lighter than on the Kinetic, and in heavy showers with some dry spells in between, the Downpour would dry up quite nicely. Making it well suited to its namesake, perhaps. I don’t like how it wets out, even though it doesn’t result in soaking through. For a big day out in bad weather I’d prefer something that stayed drier to keep the cold at bay, and I think I’d prefer a Velcro cuff to keep cold winds out. It is a little better at letting you brush mud off its surface once dry than the Kinetic, though still not so impervious to mud as some other jackets I’ve tested. The inside surface is also on the cold and clammy side – not so nice next to skin as the Kinetic.

The rear side/back vent zips seem to me to be a Marmite design feature. Maybe you’ll love them because they allow you to air your sweaty back as well as giving access to things you keep in your jersey pockets. However, I am a backpack wearer, so these zips weren’t so useful in that scenario. In addition, pit zips seem to me a little less exposed to splashing or falling of rain. The main front zip is one way only – not so much of an issue perhaps with the shorter front/longer back design, though I know some will miss the option of being able to unzip from the bottom.

The fit is more akin to the Phantom than the Kinetic, which is the most fitted of the three. I’d say the 14 is right for me though – it gives room for a winter layer.

Overall

A fairly standard waterproof jacket that I expect some will want for the back flap zip feature alone.

How do they compare?

I think a bunch of sweaty people who want a waterproof for local rides will really rate the Kinetic. I’m not the sweatiest of people, so for me its lesser waterproof properties were a bit of a let down in prolonged rain. That said, it has a nice neat fit so there’s no annoying flapping when wearing it, and it doesn’t ‘feel’ like a waterproof. Rab has designed it for rides when you’ll be wearing it all the time, and I think for that it fits the bill very well.

The Downpour is the least appealing of the three jackets to me. It just didn’t deliver the water-off-a-duck’s-back waterproofing that I want out of a big day out waterproof jacket. However, Rab does say that this is designed more for the ’80/20′ day, where you’re only actually wearing it for 20% of the time, and the rest of the time it’s in your pack. By that measure, I’d rate it higher except for the fact that I think the Phantom meets that spec rather better. However, the rear back zips are a little more unusual and may set it apart from other similar waterproofs enough to catch your eye.

The Phantom is my pick of the three jackets. I like that it’s floaty light but not just a windproof. It has an actual functional hood. And it’s not so fragile I fear damaging it at every turn. I wouldn’t head off into the mountains in bad weather with it as my only jacket, but as a reliable option to carry just in case, or a back up, it’s great. For that 80/20 ride, it is perfect. In fact, it’s so useful it’s become part of my leaving the house kit, not just for mountain bike rides but for popping into town: phone, keys, wallet, Phantom.

Review Info

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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