Best for: Comfort and breathability for day-length adventures. 

315g (m) 285g (w)

What we liked

Comfortable for both softshell and rain jacket duty, very packable, chest pocket venting. 

Limitations

Leaky pockets, average mobility for scrambling, limited durability for heavy use.

Overview: The highly packable Firewall Light uses three-layer ProFlex fabric (20,000mm H/H rated) that is stretchy and supple for comfort. It has a mountain hood, two pack-friendly venting pockets and a one-way water-resistant zip. With no pit zips and a lighter fabric, it’s a pared-back version of the fully featured Firewall but has a similar semi-technical cut. 

Performance: The suppleness of ProFlex gives this jacket a softshell feel, being more comfortable against bare skin than typical three-layer shells, but its softness limits its durability. The fit is on the technical side of regular, with a slightly slimmed torso, but I found arm mobility a little limited for full-on scrambling. The hood fitted over my helmet well, but I found there wasn’t enough range of motion in the neck fabric for extended use with a helmet. Otherwise, overall jacket adjustability was excellent. 

Instead of pit zips it has large venting pockets for airflow, but they were this jacket’s Achilles heel. Pockets with non-waterproof backings and water-resistant zips can become a water ingress point (as well as being of limited use in rain). In moderate rain I experienced a small amount of direct leakage into both pockets via their top seams, which seeped through the mesh to my clothing.

Why buy the Rab Firewall Light? 

This light and packable jacket has a comfortable versatility as a softshell and a rain jacket, as well as for casual use. It can seal out cold winds but offers limited rain protection from severe or prolonged weather.