I think I've narrowed down my insulation piece to the Rab Xenon. All other things (like the awesome weight and UNDER helmet hood) aside, I'm interested in the fit, as the XL wind shirt I have from them fits great. I'm 6'5", 180. I'm expecting the fit to be similar to the wind shell, but would love some input from anyone who owns the piece (and from searching the forum, it looks like a more than a few of you!).

Hoping for long back length and lengthy arms. Any help is much appreciated.

Hey Ozzy,

I'm 6'1" 175 and dress shirt 16 1/2 34/35. The large fits me very well, loose enough to accept a base layer and thin fleece midlayer but yet not baggy or too big to layer under a shell or wear as a standalone. A great three season piece in my opinion.

My only wish is that the length was an inch longer in the torso as the jacket is cut a little short in my opinion. It raises a little higher than I would like when I lift my arms. I suspect that this was intentional as I also own the Rab Generator and the arms and torso are cut similarly but with a bit more length.

Rab sizing can be hit or miss for me. The Xenon works, the Generator is perfect as are many of their base layers, but the Boreas and the Infinity? are miles away from fitting.

good luck

Hi Ozzy,

My experience with the Xenon is similar to Ryan's. I'm 5'9", 170, and typically wear a 15.5, 33 in dress shirts. The medium Xenon fits me well in the sleeves, neck, and torso, but I too feel that it is slightly too short. There is only just enough room to layer a baselayer and lightweight fleece underneath. Anything more would be basically impossible.

IMO the Boreas (also in medium) has a much snugger, longer torso, while the Infinity has a bit too much extra girth around the torso and is also notably shorter. All of them fit me, more or less, but I'd say the Xenon has a semi-fitted or slim fit, compared to the Infinity's more boxy cut.

Hope this helps!

-Andrew

thanks for the replies. I'll admit I have no idea what dress shirt size I am... I don't even know what a dress shirt size is, let alone a dress shirt. I wear scrubs to work!

Anyway it seems you can both agree it feels a little short in the torso length. I'm wondering if anyone out there would be willing to measure the center back length of their Xenon? I will send kick ass karma your way.

That being said, does it feel like the arms are plenty long when you reach forward?

From trying a whole bunch of their stuff at times (as small amounts of it fits me) RAB really *aren't* internally consistent in terms of their fit.

Even something like their cirrus pullover vs the hooded cirrus jacket shows quite a major deviation fit wise. So I'd get detailed measurements and compare to some existing stuff that does fit you.

iirc The xenon definitely isn't one of their longer armed efforts and might fit plausibly like the jacket version of the cirrus but won't be terribly similar to the pullover.

I don't have any of my specific measurements, but I'm 5'8 and lately around 138 lbs. My torso is long for my height at ~18.5". I wear a Small in the Xenon and it comes down to just below the top of my hips. I also have no issues with sleeve length on my monkeyish arms. Just keep in mind Rab is designed for slender athletic climbers and not football players. I like Rab because they fit my build where all of the US brands are vanity sized. I even have to wear an extra small in some of the Patagonia items.

The fit is the only thing I don't think is outstanding about the Xenon. It's pretty middle of the road: neither long nor short, neither fitted nor baggy. I'd prefer the arms and especially the torso to be a bit longer. The fabrics and construction are both excellent.

It is likely that Rab made these choices on purpose. For instance, a shorter torso keeps your insulating jacket from poking out the bottom of your rain coat and getting wet.