I’d like to note first and foremost, that the Rab Baltoro Guide Pro review is impartial and off my own back, I have not received the goods from Rab and they were purchased with my own hard earned cash.

I aim to do more and more reviews over the coming months of various products aimed more at the landscape photographer. Often when researching outdoor gear a lot of it is aimed for walking/climbing and reviews always reflect this. I want to highlight products that are designed for the former two activities but have a place for photography. I will also endeavour to review some camera equipment as time goes on, though this will mainly be my own I imagine! The reviews will always be as simple as possible, in laymans terms with as little technical information as possible.

I must also note, first and foremost that this Rab item is out of the factory shop and therefore may not be up to shop standard.

First off a little blurb from Rab about the Baltoro Guide Pro jacket:

The Baltoro Guide jacket made from a winter weight Powershield fabric provides a durable weather resistant and highly breathable soft shell for year round mountain use. The Baltoro Guide provides superior comfort and flexibility to a traditional hard shell during cold weather mountain activities, and excels for mountain walking, winter and ice climbing. Although not fully waterproof the outer face is highly water repellent and highly breathable so that you remain more comfortable through a range of conditions.

Specs

• Polartec® Power Shield ® Fabric – Weight: 760g
• Contrast Paneling, Weather resistant and highly breathable
• Helmet compatible hood with wired peak and roll down tab, Laminated velcro® cuff tabs Adjustable waist and hem drawcords

So thats the technical things out the way. So the first thing really is why did I buy it? Well I was after a windproof jacket to replace my fleece, that was weather proof and allowed me to stand around without layering up at times and to work as a good all round jacket while still looking quite stylish. I bought a plain black one for this reason.

With a soft shell you are meant to buy I am advised a close fit but not as close fitting as you would buy a waterproof. Therefore I opted for XL over my usual XXL fitting for fleeces/jumpers. The fit is really good and more notably it just feels comfortable. The outer material is stretchy, feels tough and of high quality. Inside, the majority of the jacket is lined with a thick pile fleece including the hood. The fleece is soft to the touch making it even more comfortable when on.  There is a large hood with a wire peak, designed mainly for climbers with a helmet. For photography this to me is still useful as there is a lot of freedom to move your head left to right assessing a scene without having to take the hood down.