Discount Columbia Men's Watertight Jacket

Customer Ratings:

I bought this item for the initial purpose of spending a week in June in the northern wilderness areas of Boundary Waters/Quetico. I've been making an annual trek for over 10 years and have been getting by using inexpensive rain jackets in the $30 range (Stearns, Sierra Designs). They worked OK, but were never great. I like quality gear, though I could never really justify the cost of high end brands such as Gore-Tex. Then I saw this jacket in a local store and, for the price, figured I couldn't go wrong trying it. I knew Amazon's customer service would allow a return if it didn't perform as advertised.

After a straight week of battle testing it, I came away incredibly impressed. The timing couldn't have been better since, for the first time in my own experience, it rained every day of my June trip and never got above 65 degrees. I literally never took this off.

In summary, I was 100%, unequivocally:

**DRY** Despite pervasive rain, it never leaked or did anything but shed water the way it was supposed to. The hood design was excellent keeping rain off my face.

**COMFORTABLE** I sweat a lot while portaging. The lightweight material breathes so well. A mesh lining prevents the clammy feeling that other jackets create.

**WARM** The conditions were very windy and cool. Wearing this jacket, in combination with layers underneath, I couldn't have been happier.

**STYLISH** I don't much care how I look in the wilderness. I'm pleased that this jacket would fit right in with my normal clothing back home.

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Just picked this up, under $50 is a great deal for a coat like this. No chance yet to test it, but this is basically the male version of the jacket I bought my wife 1 year ago with the "omnitech" fabric and sealed seams. It's actually not bad for cool spring/fall days and passable in cold winter months as long as you bulk up underneath. Wife took her jacket with her on cool/cold hiking trips and it has worked great. She loved hers so much, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase one for myself once I saw the prices drop.

It looks great on as well, which is important, as this will be my everyday jacket.

Very impressed with it's weight, and should be fairly packable. There is a description sewn in the jacket even stating specifically "PACKABLE", so this would be a pretty good option to take with you in your pack for wind/weather protection. I'm sure you will want to test it prior to doing this though to see if it fits in your outdoor system, I can't really vouch for how waterproof the omnitech fabric is in a very long-extended downpour (anyone who has been in this situation though knows you can't guarantee 100% dryness anyway, it's all about staying comfortable)

Purchased at a brick & mortar retailer so I had the opportunity to try it on and inspect the seams prior to purchasing.

I'm not sure this coat is worth full retail price, but if you find it on sale and you need a decent nylon-shell coat, give this one a good look.

I actually bought this coat as a every-day type use alternate to the rain-coat specific "Columbia Men's Shelter Cove Jacket", which served great as a raincoat, but that's basically it.

I will of course update my review once I actually get to put the jacket to some good use.

------------UPDATE 11-1-10-----------------

After using this jacket in several situations, it confirmed my previous beliefs for it's intended purpose.

The jacket performs excellent in the rain, it is surprisingly warm (I would wear this from anything over freezing temp as long as you are layered), it breathes well, light and easy to carry, and does pack well too.

I like the way it looks, and that also is important when making a selection.

Have not been in an EXTREME downpour, but I've been rained on heavily and the jacket kept me dry and the jacket dried fairly quickly (if you shake it around like an umbrella before hanging it up).

Will still keep it at 4/5 stars, I do think it could be cheaper, but only time will tell how much use I can get out of this.

------------UPDATE 10-23-12-----------------

OK... So I've now had this jacket for a few years. I'll admit I'm sort of a jacket hoarder. If I go shopping and see a cool looking jacket on sale, I'll end up buying it.

This jacket here still looks good, and I've actually strayed from buying any more nylon shell jackets because it still performs well.

One problem that will come up, and this is common with all breathable nylon fabrics....eventually that "coating" that gets sprayed on the fabric by the manufacturer starts to wear away and your coat will start to soak up that rain like a sponge. I still have been dry, but now you have to hang your coat and let it dry instead of shaking off the drops.

Up to you if you want to spray some 3M on it for a temporary fix, but I think that will void any warranty you may have with Columbia.

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Just got back from a Kilimanjaro hike where we had rain and/or snow for half of our trip, and the jacket worked great--no seam problems, and repelled water as advertised. My hiking buddy spent ten times the price on his jacket from another company, but didn't get any real benenfit. Good buy.

Honest reviews on Columbia Men's Watertight Jacket

Jacket is a very small form factor, with thin material, so that it can be easily folded or stuffed into a very small space. Great for backpacking or world travel.

The jacket material is very thin yet very water repellent. The hood is large and has a really good draw chord for tightening the inner hood around your face.

It's a fairly warm jacket.

The only minor complaints I'd have would be:

no hand warmer pocket, you can put your hands into the zippered lower pockets.

fit only half covers your bum, more like a jacket fit than a parka fit (also makes it smaller to pack away more easily)

the buttons up the front are oddly spaced, the jacket is either tightly buttoned up to your neck, or if you open that button, open wide 3 or 4 inches down the chest.

Having said all the above, this is a great deal at $60 if you're looking for a waterproof, packable, light functional jacket / parka (half way between a jacket and a parka).

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While some have referred to the arms being long, it seems as if the jacket itself is sized incorrectly. I am a typical medium, tried their M, and thought 'arms too long, lemme try a small.' Tried a small, and not only do the arms fit better, so did the body of the jacket itself. So based on that, I would say definitely get a size smaller.

Its an entry level rain jacket, not as waterproof and breathable as something you would get for over $100, but at the same time I thought it was more comfortable to wear with a t-shirt than those higher end jackets.