Rab's Electron down jacket offers the serious end user a brilliant combination of midweight and high performance. This versatile jacket is perfectly suited to year round climbing and mountaineering and thanks to the Pertex Endurance outer fabric and the Hydrophobic down filling it will keep on performing in damp and miserable conditions. The minimal design keeps the weight and pack size to sensible levels and the Electron has enough features to make it practical and useable as an everyday cold weather jacket.
Rab have filled the Electron with 190g of 800FP superior European Hydrophobic Goose Down. This high quality and sustainable insulation has a very impressive 800 fill power and is controlled with a stitch through construction throughout the jacket. The baffles are of variable sizes throughout the jacket to fully optimise insulation by eliminating cold spots and this also helps to reduce bulk. The filling is protected by lightweight but tough Pertex Endurance fabric which offers protection from windblown snow and light rain without adding bulk. Despite the high water resistance of the face fabric the Neutrino Endurance is not totally waterproof, so always pack a shell if, and when, the weather turns really nasty.
Rab use Hydrophobic down in all their down jackets, basically each and every cluster of down is treated with Nikwax products to make them perform better in damp conditions. Although Hydrophobic down is not waterproof it dries much faster, absorbs less water and retains loft far better than untreated down.
YKK VISLON water resistant zips are used for both the main zip and the handwarmer pocket zips; whilst not completely waterproof these zips will keep out most of the water and will run freely even in freezing conditions. The hood, as with all Rab products, just works really well, it features a reinforced peak, full helmet compatibility and a neat Velcro roll down system to make it less bulky when rolled away. Another really nice feature of this jacket is the soft woven and stretchy cuffs that seal closely around your wrist without being restrictive or uncomfortable.
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Pertex Endurance outer fabric
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Nylon ripstop inner fabric
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190g of 800 fill power Hydrophobic European Goose Down
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Stitch-through midi baffles on torso hood and back
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Stitch-through mini baffles on the sides and arms
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Helmet compatible hood with wired peak and Velcro roll down feature
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YKK flat Vislon front zip with insulated baffle
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YKK flat Vislon zipped handwarmer pockets
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YKK zipped internal security pocket
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Elasticated stretch woven cuffs
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Hem drawcord
How to wash your down products
Having spent years talking to people about down products, whether that’s a jacket, sleeping bag or even a pair of slippers, very few have had the confidence to go ahead and wash the product on their own, especially when they have just spent an arm and a leg on it. This small guide is here to explain that it’s not as daunting and utterly terrifying as it first appears.
Step one: Before you even get near that washing machine, wipe off any excess mud or dirt that may be lingering on the surface of the jacket, as this will clog up the washing machine, eventually rendering it useless.
We recommend the use of Nikwax Down Wash Direct for down products as it’s one hundred percent environmentally friendly and will wash and re-proof the garment without the use of bleach or any other nasty chemicals. What household washing agents can (and often do) is remove the water repellent coating on the fabric of the jacket, whilst also damaging the delicate array of feathers inside.
Step two: We’ll assume in this instance that you’ve been washing other products prior to your down jacket and have used a bleach based detergent. Therefore it’s a good idea to run the washing machine for half an hour or so without anything inside to rinse it clean before adding the Nikwax or putting the jacket in. Also, don’t forget to remove the detergent drawer to give it a wash inside, outside and behind, as detergent can clog up and still enter the washing machine if not cleaned out thoroughly. This ensures that any remnants of detergent are removed and that the Nikwax products will work effectively.
Step three: Set the washing machine to a cold wash (check the garments care label, most tend to be around 30°C) and as delicate as possible. Most washing machines have a “wool” cycle which is ideal.
Step four: If using Nikwax Down Wash Direct, place 100ml in either the tray or directly into the washing machine inside a small pot/ball. If you choose to use another washing product, place the appropriate amount in the machine in the same way.
Step five: Set the washing machine to run on a slow cycle, allowing plenty of time for the jacket to soak up the cleaning/re-proofing product. Most washing machines will have a pre-set time for different washing cycles.
When the cycle has finished be prepared for a shock, your precious bit of kit will come out looking like a soggy ball of material. But don’t worry, you haven’t ruined it, it’s just that all that fluffy down insulation has become water logged and has clumped together. The trick is to now get all that down nice and dry to reinstate its superb insulating properties. Simply hanging it up in a warm place will not work that well. It will take days to properly dry and you will have to constantly break up the clumps to get it thoroughly dry. The best way is to use a tumble dryer; either a domestic one for smaller items or a commercial drier for sleeping bags.
Step six: Pop the garment into the dryer and make sure to select a low heat; a high heat runs the risk of melting seams and fabrics within the garment. It sounds weird, but shove a few tennis balls into the drier with the garment; the tennis balls will bounce around and help to break up the clumps of down. Every 20 minutes, pull the jacket out of the dryer and lie the jacket down on a table. Run your hands over the jacket until you find a 'clump' or ball of down; tease apart this down clump and spread it evenly into the baffle. Once you're confident you've pulled apart every clump to the best of your ability, stick it back in for another 20 minutes. Keep repeating this until there are no more clumps left.
Step seven: When the cycle has finished and you are sure that you have got the garment as dry as possible, hang it up in a warm dry place, an airing cupboard is ideal, for 24 hours. This drives out the last of any dampness and allows the down to loft fully. Take it out and give it a good shake and, hey presto, it’ll be as good as new.