Rab is a British manufacturer of clothing and equipment for

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

and

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. The firm was founded in 1981 by Scottish climber Rab Carrington.

History

Rab Carrington and founding

Rab Carrington (born 1947 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

) devoted himself to rock climbing and mountaineering in the late 1960s and 1970s, taking on expeditions in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

.That's Me: Rab Carrington
The British Mountaineering Council. 4 March 2006. Retrieved 18 November 2012. In 1973, he took part in an expedition to

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, Argentina, but when his group arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, they found that their climbing equipment had not been shipped from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

due to a dock strike. Unable to start the expedition without his equipment, Carrington instead stayed in Argentina for six months, and learned how to make sleeping bags himself. On his return, Carrington moved to Sheffield due to its proximity to the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

, and in 1980, Carrington began hand-stitching and selling his own sleeping bags from the attic of his house.The History of Rab
Rab. Retrieved 10 May 2018. Demand for his sleeping bags grew, and the following year Carrington founded Rab and moved production to a factory in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. Drawing on his climbing experience, Carrington's clothes focused on lightweight, durable and high-quality products.

Recent history

Rab Carrington retired in 2007. The firm, along with competitor Lowe Alpine, were later both purchased by Equip Outdoor Technologies.

Clothing and Gear

Rab's down jackets, sleeping bags and expedition wear are designed with cold weather in mind, and employ European goose and duck down that is certified to the Responsible Down Standard. A

fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...

-free water repellence treatment is also applied to the down used in clothing and sleeping bags in order to reduce water saturation.Guide to Water Resistant Down
WebTogs. Retrieved 14 May 2018. Like nearly all outerwear manufacturers, Rab also uses synthetic insulation, both alone and in conjunction with down.

References

External links

* {{Climbing-nav Amber Valley British companies established in 1981 Climbing and mountaineering equipment companies Clothing companies established in 1981 Companies based in Derbyshire Outdoor clothing brands Clothing companies of England 2007 mergers and acquisitions