I am interested in getting either the Womens Westcomb Kokanee Hoody or the Rab Neutrino Endurance jacket. I have researched both and appeal to the light weight and Canadian make and quailty of the Kokanee, however the Rab seems to have a higher loft and will likely be warmer. I am looking for a jacket to wear as a Peak jacket after an apline climb, or a basecamp jacket during ski touring or ski mountaineering trips or general alpine climbing trips. I live in the Yukon and therefore do alot of travel in the Yukon and Alaska, as well as BC and AB. Any help in my decision making process would be greatly appreaciated!

Thanks,

Kayla

The Rab Neutrino should win out IMO from personal experience with both coats (having used/owned both).

The Neutrino is warmer, has arguably better adjustments (ie hood, cuffs) for the alpine, and also has more durable/water resistant fabrics.

The higher quality down in the Kokanee does not seem to be any warmer - if anything it is underfilled due to the high lofting down. Anecdotal use suggests that the Rab is warmer.

The Kokanee is lighter (than the Neutrino and is largely due to lighter fabrics and trimmed features. The Kokanee is well made, as I've seen with most Westcomb products.

The marketing behind the Westcomb I believe to be hype and largely misleading: "To appreciate this warmth you don't have to climb to the top of Mount Everest, but in the Kokanee Jacket, you certainly could.

Although I don't have any Everest experience, I would not take the Kokanee into such temps. Its a great coat but not that great.

Hope this helps!

Yes that was great thanks! I was guessing the Rab would be warmer, but I was hoping that maybe someone who had used both would be able to tell me which one for sure! I definitly need the warmer jacket and will take the extra weight to have it! Thank you so much for your help!

Kayla

I haven't used the Kokanee, but I have used the Neutrino Endurance. The Endurance is a great down jacket, and very warm. It lofts well and feels firm. The Endurance fabric was very water-resistant too, and the water-resistant zippers are nice (though a bit tough to open and close). One of my favorite features of the jacket is the hood stay. If you're on a route, you don't want a big hood acting as a snow catch. The stay enables you to roll up the hood entirely, or treat it like a big collar. Cool feature.

So after saying all these nice things about the jacket, I sold mine and I regret it, but I got swept into the hype of synthetic vs. down. If I were to buy a mid-heavy weight down jacket again, I would definitely get the Neutrino Endurance. After my initial wariness about down getting wet, I've been slowly adding more down into my kit.

Go with the Neutrino!

If I had to choose between the two I would go for the Rab. I have owned a bunch of Rab items over the years and have never been disappointed.

Another one to consider is the brooks range mountaineering alpini anorak. It is a pullover, but has an awesome poncho venting system. I think it uses the same outer shell as the rab jacket too. 7.5 oz fill instead of 8, but mine in a size medium weighs 16 oz.