Rab Veil 6L Vest Review

Ideal for: Hill running and racing, where you need to carry emergency or mandatory kit and you also require easy access to your kit and your nutrition.

Size: 6 litre.

Weight: 320g with 2 soft flasks. 240g without soft flasks (Size M).

Material: Uses a new chassis material called Mono Mesh. This is designed to enhance support, reduce bounce and improve the fit.

Fit system: Fully adjustable and customisable chest fit system.

Price: £125.

I have been looking forward to the release of this vest for some time after a short test run during a photoshoot with Rab last September. As far as initial thoughts, the mono mesh chassis provides a strong, solid build to the vest which screams durability - perfect for the testing conditions in the Scottish mountains.

Putting the vest on for the first time feels good I have ample arm movement, it hugs my body nicely and I feel it’s aesthetically pleasing. I wear a medium in most tops/vests and found this to be true with the Veil 6. During the first few runs with this vest, I played around with how much I could carry in the vest and how it would respond. It has clever storage solutions allowing all the essentials to be safely packed away and other stash pockets for on-the-go items such as snacks and layers.

It feels comfortable by itself and with a few items added it still has a good feel to it. Bounce is something that some vests can succumb to, and Rab have done well to reduce it. Although, it will still bounce if you overload it substantially or pack heavy items on the outside. 

Following on from some initial runs I took it out for some longer 15 mile plus runs in the mountains. On these runs, I carried a waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers, a beanie hat, gloves, a map, a compass, food & drink, a small first aid kit, and an emergency survival bag. All this fits into the vest through the various compartments and pockets. Again, it felt good to run in. The items all felt like they had a place in the vest and weren’t bouncing around, nor was the vest itself bouncing around in any major way. 

There’s a lot I like about this vest. First, I’ll start with the stash pocket on the rear of the vest. This is perfect for quick-access items that are a bit larger, such as a rain jacket, beanie, and gloves. You can easily reach around and pull out the item of choice whilst on the move, an essential feature for me if your jacket will fit over the top of your vest. Next up, the double-zipped front pockets. Not as essential for some but I love being able to split my valuable items evenly. The left zipped pocket (when wearing it) conveniently has a small pocket for a phone and then on the other side, I’ll usually stash my sunglasses. For house/car keys there is a nifty clip on the left shoulder that tucks into the vest. This keeps it out of the way and I genuinely forget where my keys are sometimes. I also love the mono mesh material they have used, which gives it good levels of durability, helps reduce bouncing, and doesn’t soak up sweat or rain as much as other vests I have used.

No piece of outdoor kit is perfect and so I do have a few minor annoyances that I feel are worth pointing out. I like the running pole attachment points at the front, but the location of these means you have restricted access to the front stash pockets when the poles are present. You can still get into the pockets, but a degree of effort is required. The only other annoyance is if you load the rear compartment up too much, the rubber dots that help reduce bounce lost contact with my back and the pack is more suspectable to bouncing.