What is the Xenon?
The Xenon is a Stratus insulated jacket with a wind and water resistant outer fabric, making it ideal for alpine belays, cold walks and as an extra layer of insulation when you stop for lunch or while map reading.
What is it made of?
Insulation: Starting with the insulation itself, a fully recycled Stratus is used throughout to offer a high amount of warmth with mininal weight and a small pack size. The beauty of Stratus is that it performs brilliantly in wet conditions, meaning it can either be used as a super warm midlayer or a weather resistant outer layer which will maintain warmth when soaking wet. Not only is it warm, compressible and versatile, but highly breathable compared with cheaper insulation options, making it ideal for active use.
Outer fabric: Surrounding the insulation is a highly water and wind resistant Atmos 20D fabric which protects the insulation but also offers additional warmth when stood still for long durations (i.e, when belaying). Despite its weather resistant properties, it's extremely compressible and allows the jacket to pack down to a fraction of its original size.
What are the features?
The feature list doesn't stop there, Rab have included an under-helmet hood design to add further warmth on cold belays, a two way main zip to slip seamlessly over a climbing harness, two hand warmer pockets, an internal zipped pocket which also doubles up as a stuff sack and a durable yet breathable nylon inner fabric. A slim fit with well-fitting elastic cuffs remove excess bulk and reduces the chance of snagging.
How does it fit?
The Xenon features a fairly slim, tapered fit which maximises warmth by minimising the amount of dead space there is inside the jacket. There's plenty of articulation when climbing or scrambling, so despite the slim fit, you don't feel restricted.
Where does it fit in the layering system?
The Xenon can either be used as a warm midlayer with a shell over the top in particularly nasty conditions, or as an outer layer when the weather is on your side. Even if you don't have a shell, the water resistant outer fabric and versatile insulation means you'll still be warm even if soaking wet.
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Water resistant outer fabric
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Under helmet hood
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Recycled insulation
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Two way front zip
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Two hand warmer pockets
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One internal zipped pocket
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Elasticated cuffs