Rab’s Cinder cycling line currently offers two hooded waterproof cycling jackets (with an all-new ultralight Phantom version joining the line up soon). This Downpour jacket is the more affordable of the pair and also lighter and more packable than the brand’s £220 Cinder Kinetic jacket.

The Downpour is built with a lightweight 2.5 layer Proflex fabric and weighs just 185g in size Large (the Kinetic is 323g in comparison). It comes in three tasteful, subtle colours and five sizes. Like some of the best mountain bike jackets I’ve tested, the Cinder aims to offer a good balance between being packable and lightweight while still offering reliable waterproof protection.

The drop tail and lumbar pocket are useful for keeping mud off your back and stashing gear for longer rides

Design and specifications

Rab’s Downpour is slightly tailored with a dropped rear tail and plenty of room in the body and sleeves to throw on over the top of clothing. The lower hem uses silicone grippers to stop it riding up and there are stretchy elasticated cuffs that are snugly sealed without being too tight.

The lower back also houses a large rear lumbar pocket where you can stuff extra kit or layers in changeable weather, it uses a YKK AquaGuard waterproof zip. The same zip is used on the front and is pre-shaped to prevent bunching up or dangling down like some can when I’m leaning forward in the riding position.

This mini hood won’t stretch up and over your helmet, meaning you’ve got to cram it underneath… not to my tastes then

There are two regular side hand pockets according to Rab’s website, but my jacket didn’t have these. I’m presuming this claim is just a mistake in the copy, as the weight here is very close to the claimed total, and the jacket seems to be a finished item rather than a pre-production as it came with all retail tags and labels attached.

The Downpour also has a reduced volume hood that fits underneath (rather than over) a helmet. The hood has a stiffened peak to shield me from the rain and tightens on my face with an elasticated cinch. I could operated it one handed but it requires a bit of dexterity.

The 2.5 layer design has a gridded inside face to protect the breathable layer sandwiched within

Rab’s less pricey jacket uses the brand’s Proflex fabric that is a stretchy woven nylon with a fluorocarbon-free DWR layer designed to be soft and supple against the skin. The material is micro gridded and 2.5 layers, rather than the 3 in the Kinetic jacket, but actually has a higher waterproof rating. The Downpour can resist a 20,000mm column of water before permeating through and also offers 20,000g m2/24hrs breathability, so Rab says.

Performance

In my usual size large, Rab’s fit is spot on with enough length in the sleeves not to ride up and expose my wrists, and the tailored cut in the torso is unrestrictive without being flappy anywhere. The dropped tail offers good coverage from spray and mud and the hood cinches in neatly to cover my head and sides of my face without any weird lumps and bumps in the fabric to dig in or niggle when covered by a helmet.

I like the Downpour design and fit, but in crap weather it’s just not waterproof enough

Despite the name, I found that if you do expose Rab’s jacket to an actual downpour, the fabric gets dark and wets out in some patches here and there. Around the wrists and shoulders in really heavy rain, I quickly had the familiar tell-tale signs of a fabric holding moisture and that feel of heavier, saturated material.

We’ve had much better performance from other tops, like Endura’s GV500 waterproof jacket, or the fabulous Gorewear Endure Gore Tex Jacket JD reviewed. This lack of performance is especially glaring because the Downpour is brand new, which is when waterproof jackets usually work best. Other rival fabrics have worked better for me to, letting water bead on the surface and keep moisture at bay far longer.

Gorewear’s Endure jacket cost a lot more, but as an investment it’s probably better… and drier inside too

As I said, Rab’s 3-layer Proflex fabric on its Kinetic line is rated as less waterproof than this Downpour, but I actually found the even stretchier material there less likely to wet out as fast.

My experience was breathability is also not that fantastic here in the real world. The 20,000g of vapour that the fabric is rated to evaporate (through a square metre of material over a 24hr period) is a reasonably high score. Although for perspective, pricier jackets like the brand’s Kinetic has a 35,000g rating and Endura’s MT500 is even higher at 40,000g.

Really my gripe with the Downpour is the Proflex material it’s made from – sweaty and damp

But I still found the Downpour a bit too hot and stuffy inside when working hard. The part under the arms and around shoulder was particularly susceptible to getting clammy for me, but the whole jacket feels like it doesn’t recover from getting damp inside as fast as some.

One aspect of the performance here that is rock solid is the windproofing. The Downpour definitely keeps the chills off the upper body while riding along or descending on colder days or finding yourself up a big hill with biting easterly winds like I did one day.

The Downpour is a jacket for mild not minging weather, or short rides where you work hard