Rab Logo Beanie Review

Overview

The Rab Logo Beanie (QAB-39) is exactly what it advertises: a simple, knitted beanie with an inner fleece headband that is warm and comfortable. The comfortable knit retains warmth appropriately, making it suitable for active outdoor activities in cold weather as well as more relaxed use in milder conditions. At 62g and roughly $25, it sits squarely in “reliable trail companion you’ll stop thinking about” territory — the kind of hat you throw in the top of your pack every single trip without deliberating over it.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight	62g / 2.2oz
Product Code	QAB-39
Material	100% Recycled Polyester
Construction	Fine gauge knit
Headband	Recycled internal fleece headband
Fit	Unisex, one size
Price (US)	~$25
Comparison	See how Logo Beanie compares to similar gear

Performance

The Logo Beanie’s fine gauge knit is its defining characteristic — and a double-edged one. It keeps the hat light and relatively breathable, which is useful on shoulder-season days when you’re generating heat on a climb and don’t want to overheat. The fleece headband is the real workhorse here; the warm internal fleece headband adds meaningful comfort at the ears, which is where most knit beanies fail you first. On cold but calm days, I found the combo of knit body and fleece band genuinely effective down to around freezing.

Where the Logo Beanie struggles is wind. A fine gauge knit offers next to zero wind resistance, so on exposed ridgelines or blustery summit days, the wind cuts straight through the fabric. You’ll want a hood or a wind layer over it in those conditions. This isn’t a flaw unique to this hat — it’s a characteristic of virtually every open-knit beanie — but it’s worth being clear about if you’re shopping for a dedicated cold-and-windy hat.

On the materials front, Rab has updated the Logo Beanie to 100% Recycled Polyester — both the main body and the internal headband. That’s a meaningful step up from older versions that used virgin acrylic. Recycled polyester dries quickly and holds its shape well wash after wash. The trade-off versus merino wool is real, though: polyester won’t manage odor nearly as well on multi-day trips, and it doesn’t have the same soft hand feel that makes merino so popular in the headwear category.

Rab is an established British brand with serious mountain heritage

, and the Logo Beanie comes in a wide range of colors — practical if you want something that coordinates with the rest of your kit. The Rab logo motif is tasteful and unobtrusive.

It comes in loads of colours, so there’ll likely be a hue to match your waterproof jacket or puffer of choice.

One thing I’d flag: independent in-depth reviews of this specific updated (recycled polyester) version are limited. The Advnture review in circulation covers an older acrylic build, so take any granular field data from that review with a grain of salt when applied to the current model.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Genuinely lightweight at 62g for a knit beanie with a fleece headband
• Recycled polyester construction ticks the sustainability box — the materials meet sustainability criteria for recycled content and reduced use of environmentally harmful chemicals
• Internal fleece headband meaningfully improves ear warmth versus a plain knit
• Packable enough to live permanently at the bottom of a stuff pocket
• Broad color range; Rab’s logo branding is understated
• Affordable price point (~$25)

Cons

• Fine gauge knit provides minimal wind resistance — not the hat for exposed ridgelines on its own
• One-size-fits-all won’t suit everyone; larger heads may find the fit tight
• Polyester manages odor poorly compared to merino wool over multi-day use
• No windproof membrane, no DWR, no stretch panel — genuinely bare-bones
• Limited independent real-world reviews of the current recycled polyester version

Who Should Buy This

This hat is for the hiker who wants a lightweight, packable knit beanie for camp, cool-morning starts, and shoulder-season day trips — and doesn’t want to spend $50+ on a merino alternative. Stash it in your pack or your pocket for a welcome boost of warmth when the temperature drops. It also works as a town beanie or a spare hat you won’t stress about losing. If you’re targeting serious alpine conditions or multi-week trips where odor management matters, look at merino options like the Icebreaker Pocket Hat or Smartwool Lid instead.

Verdict

The Rab Logo Beanie is honest kit: no pretensions, no clever tech, just a functional knit hat that does its job at a fair price with solid sustainability credentials. The recycled fleece headband is a genuinely useful detail that earns its weight. It won’t replace a technical wind-blocking hat, but as a light, packable layer for three-season use, it’s hard to argue with. Rating: 6.5/10