Does Omni-Heat Really Work?

Got a letter from Columbia:

October 14, 2010

Hey there. Found you via your blog, which seems to be a great resource for the NY skiing community. As someone with a demonstrated passion for skiing and communicating about it, you are just who we're looking for.

At Columbia, we believe that listening to outdoor enthusiasts like you is crucial. We really value your opinions. So we’d like to invite you to participate in an exclusive field test we’re conducting this fall for our revolutionary new thermal technology… Omni-Heat.

Omni-Heat delivers warmth and superior regulation of body temperature without added bulk. We think you’ll be impressed with its performance and really want to know what you have to say about it. So…

Send us your name, mailing address and jacket size by October 25, and we will send you a free Omni-Heat jacket to try out in the field.

Your expert feedback, honest and forthcoming, is what we will ask for in return. Tell us about the conditions you put it through. Tell us how it performs. Tell us how you feel. (Spoiler alert: you’ll feel warm.)

Just send us your information, and we’ll send you some Omni-Heat to try for yourself.

Learn more about Omni-Heat.

Warmer regards,

Columbia Marketing Team

Funny you should post this, because I actually tried on an Omni-Heat jacket at work yesterday. Once I got past the kinky (in all senses of the word) aluminum foil appearance of the liner and zipped it up, I found the jacket boxy-fitting, stiff and oddly cut. On a positive note, I warmed up very quickly.

A free coat should not be turned down but Harv, no one will ski with you if you wear that jacket. Save it for wood-chopping and other solitary activities. Believe me, the lining is so silvery and shiny it evokes strong feelings of Ziggy Stardust and bad disco era one-pieces. Think Abba. That's the nicest way I can put it on a family-friendly forum.

Bringing it back to gloves, I just ordered these from Black Diamond:



Should be the perfect early and late season glove. Wish I had them now for my trip to Jay Peak this week.

Harv - Test that baby. Free swag for free opinions. Kudos to Columbia for the offer.

Yea that is cool. Harvski's fame is growing! Next we'll be seeing him on the Boob Tube.

As far as the jacket's liner goes, no one will see it when it's zipped anywho.

Looks like it may "Shine" as a colder weather jacket, 10 degrees and below. Especially for you Harv, working up a sweat in the trees.

How come you can't actually get some ski garb

You're going to be stylin rollin into Gore with your sparkley gloves, tinfoil coat and maybe a ski tote

skimore wrote

You're going to be stylin rollin into Gore with your sparkley gloves, tinfoil coat and maybe a ski tote

Brutal.

skimore wrote

How come you can't actually get some ski garb. You're going to be stylin rollin into Gore with your sparkley gloves, tinfoil coat and maybe a ski tote.

OK maybe I deserve that.

The coats came in tonight.  The liners are synthetic "down" and they zip in and out. Full pit zips.

Zelda's is the Women's Frosty Forest Parka and it has matching liner zips.

Mine is the Lhotse Mountain Parka II. I got mine in tree skier green:



These things look reasonably well made.

They are asking for an evaluation within 30 days, which may be a bit problematic for me.  I can't see using the liner unless it's down around zero or below.  And I'm assuming it's the liner they really want us to test.

I'm sure Zelda will be going with her liner from opening day, which, with any luck, will be within three weeks.

We promised Columbia we'd do a full report, and we will.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the cut of the my coat.  It looks like a pretty nice set up that will keep me toasty.  Harv's seems perfect for his trade.  Bring us some snow, Jason!

So Harv, will you still wear your self-described " Puke Green " coat?

I bought a new Columbia 2 years ago that is the absolute warmest coat I've EVER had. Even cold windy days on the lift it's warm.

Congrats to H & Z!.

I'm sure it's a very functional and warm coat.

The coat looks like a green sack, no contrasting colors or fabrics. They need to hire a new designer. Say what you want about North Face. Their stuff always has some what of a wow factor.

JasonWx wrote

...no contrasting colors or fabrics...

Perfect for my needs.

I appreciated Columbia's willingness to give me the precise coat I requested.

The only thing that the original letter asked me to specify was size, not model or color.

Enjoy your notoriety and free gear. These perks are always fun, but we may question your fashion sense for selecting the snot green. You may be required to ski with the guys in the Giants jackets and the camo PJ pants!

Ultimately this coat let me down.  The velcro storm flap came unraveled, and I had to tear it off to continue to use the coat without the loose ends of the soft part of the velcro getting tangled and caught in the stiff side.

Zelda's coat still looks great, and she likes it quite a bit but she is easier on gear than I am.

I will continue to use the coat this winter as the Goretex is still in reasonable shape.

I contacted the Columbia multiple times and they did not return communication.

If you want to compete with a real gear company like North Face, you've got to build a better product, and you've got to back it up.

CONTENTS DELETED

So you are a mommy blogger if you get free gear and say it is good but you are giving an honest evaluation of a product's shortcomings if you get free gear and report problems? What if Harv loved it? Then he would have been a mommy blogger and your praise would criticism, no?

With any review, regardless of who is giving it, looking for negative comments is always the best way to evaluate the product from a review perspective. That said, look at WildSnow.com as a great blog that gets free gear but still strives to always mention at least one negative in any review.

Call me a mommy blogger, but I got one of the free blogger OmniHeat jackets. Here is my negative feedback: it is so warm that it is too warm. Great jacket for anyone that constantly gets cold. Terrible jacket for those of us more concerned about dumping excessive heat and staying dry.

We are starting to do some blogger outreach for our clients at work. Basically you can't get legitimate bloggers to test your stuff if you don't allow them free reign to publish what they want.

Columbia totally did that. Test it, and write.

They also asked that I get the review done by Dec 10 as they sell most of their coats before Jan 1. I thought that was legit, but like River, I had the issue that the coat was really too warm for December skiing.  Ultimately I used mostly just the shell, and would wear the liner separately apres ski.  I did wear both in combo on some bitter cold days (think the Freezer at Jay) and sometimes after lunch when it seemed my heat production would drop.

Kid - I'm thinking I played it ok, except maybe my final report came kinda late. I'd forgotten about the velcro issue until a few days ago when I was going through my gear.  I didn't publish anything I don't stand behind.

Columbia Sportswear wrote

Harvey,

You are receiving this survey because you were given a Columbia Omni-Heat jacket as part of our Field Test last fall. We’d like to ask you a few questions specific to that jacket in order to better communicate the benefits of Columbia’s Omni-Heat technology to our customers.

In exchange for completing the survey, we're thrilled to offer you a coupon code for 20% off your next order at Columbia.com - make sure you take advantage by September 12, 2011. Simply use the code at the end of the survey.

(CS reps name),

I'll take your survey.  Please read this:

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Does-Omni-Heat-Really-Work-td1705468.html

After multiple attempts to resolve the issue with my coat I felt I had to post it.

Harv

Columbia Sportswear wrote

Harvey,

I'm terribly sorry to hear that. Unfortunately we adjusted the email addresses we are using for the Field Tests after the fall test was completed and so did not get the message. We reopened the address but there was a slight adjustment to the url for the Field Tests so that it wasn't unique to a particular season. We kept the old address alive for awhile but clearly not long enough to receive your messages. We did a fair bit of trading of gear based on sizing issues etc. but hadn't had a product issue come up outside of yours.

In any event if we can get you a replacement for the jacket we would love to do so. I can look back in the records to see what jacket you received but want to make sure we're sending you something you'd be happy to receive again.

River - would like your opinion on which coat I should go for as a replacement.  Which model did you get?  

Pros, Cons (outside of temp/liner stuff)?

I got the Powder Bowl. It is extremely hot. Too hot for all but the coldest days. I skied 95% of my days with the pit zips open the entire day, even while sitting on the lift. I certainly would never have bought it for myself but for someone that gets cold easily while skiing... it could be a game change. If you are more concerned with dumping heat than keeping warm, it is a difficult jacket to work with. Otherwise, worksmanship is very good. I was surprised Columbia put out something of this level quality.

A woman at REI today almost fought me for one of these on the clearance rack today..down to $160..but I figured since I'm sticking to NY/NJ/PA skiing this year, I wouldn't really need it..it did seem way too warm for an average day. And even one day when I skied Killington at 5 degrees, I was still burning up with just a shell and a few layers.