If you’re serious about spending any length of time outdoors, then it’s essential to be prepared for wet weather. Even in the height of the summer season showers and persistent rain can be forecast (there’s a reason our countryside is so green and lush in the UK), and quickly turn a fine day out in the hills into a miserable slog if you haven’t packed your waterproofs.
While a waterproof jacket is probably the most important piece of your kit, you’ll be thankful for a good pair of waterproof trousers to give additional protection from the elements and keep you comfortable for longer.
So what do I want from a pair of waterproof trousers? Obviously, they need to keep the wind and rain out, but in most cases, they’d stay tucked up in my pack in hopes of fine weather, so need to be lightweight and packable. Once the heavens open, they need to be simple and quick to pull on, so long zips are important, and other features I’d look for in my waterproof trousers would be POCKETS! and vents or two-way zips.
How I tested the Rab Firewall Pants
I think I gave Rab’s Firewall Pants extremely thorough testing, well beyond the usual realms of outdoor equipment testing. I rocked a pair of these waterproof trousers during the 19/20 season at Port Lockroy, Antarctica, and thoroughly put them through their paces, wearing them daily for around 12 hours at a time over the four months of our season.
In general, the conditions I experienced were relatively mild, given our extreme location; temperatures ranged between -7°C and + 15°C, though winds reached in excess of 40 knots on occasion, and we experienced days of persistent heavy rain and occasional blizzard conditions.
These Vagabond Shoes. 