Rab has been designing high-performance equipment since 1981. Wilderness discovers the story behind the brand.

Rab’s foundations date back to the early 1970’s when Rab Carrington picked up skills that would forever change the future of technical mountaineering equipment.

In 1981, the company’s beginnings started humbly from an attic in Sheffield, UK, with a hand-stitched sleeping bag. Carrington utilised his many years of mountain experience to design this first ingenious product which quickly became popular with his friends and others in the climbing community.

Word spread and production moved to a factory where sleeping bags and jackets could be made. Many decades later, these hard-wearing designs can be found worldwide, keeping outdoors people warm and dry no matter where they choose to adventure.

Exacting standards, ingenuity and a pioneering spirit continue to be Rab’s commitment for its rugged, high-performance mountain equipment and clothing, giving users absolute protection, comfort and freedom. 

New designs are tested rigorously at a local crag or in the depths of Antarctica. Cutting edge, as well as time-tested, materials such as premium quality European down, are used to make honest, hard-working pieces that users would rather repair than replace. 

Since Rab was founded, its people continue to find inspiration in the untamed mountains and the friendships forged on the peaks climbed. There’s an enduring mission to awaken the climber in everyone and equip them for the ascent.

Rab is distributed in New Zealand by Outfitters and is available through specialist outdoor and hunting retail stores.

For stockists and to find out more about Rab, visit www.outfitters.net.nz