Columbia Jammin’ Journey Fleece
February 6, 2010
Could the name for this fleece be any dorkier? Here we go on a jammin’ journey! Good thing I love this top so much or I might not be able to get past the name. Ironically I wore this fleece every day on my own jammin’ journey to Canada – it was my trip staple because of its comfort, warmth, and, yes, cute looks. Wrinkle free and comfy, it didn’t even get too stinky on the five day trip, which I’m so sure is more due to the miracle nonstink fabric than the fact that I was basically just sitting still in a car for hours upon end. Plus, I don’t stink. Right?
Every few years I come across a half-zip fleece that sparks a sort of obsession. When I find a fleece that I like, I have been known to buy several of varying colors just to make sure that I’m never without. I still have a stockpile of past favorites in the closet that I just can’t let go of. What’s more versatile than a good fleece? The “Jammin’ Journey” (yeesh, do I have to keep typing that over and over?) is more versatile than most, with a superlong zipper that fits over a helmet or opens to allow airflow in those in-between temperatures. Best of all, this fleece has a really great cut. It’s longish but not ridiculously so and trim without being supertight. To my endless delight, it also has perfectly cut sleeves that accommodate actual muscles, and are long enough to actually cover my wrists and stay put when my arms are bent. Best of all, NO THUMBHOLES. I used to love thumbholes, but recently it seems that every single top out there has thumbholes and the accompanying superlong sleeves. Agh! Enough! I feel an editorial coming on.
So, no thumbholes on the JJ. Excellent! How many colors does it come in?
Buy ‘em all up before I clean them out.
Columbia G41 Parka
December 25, 2009
Take a gander at that jacket shown above. It’s awesome looking isn’t it? I guarantee you that when you pull out this jacket, it will be greeted by “oooooooooohhhhhh that is COOL!” This is one of the sharpest looking jackets to pass the Geargals’ door. The unique and striking color scheme is sure to garner attention wherever you wear. From what I can tell, there are two options available, the brown/white and a pink/purple/white. For whatever reason (which could probably say a lot about me if one were interested enough to psychoanalyze this little fact) I really prefer earthy colors like grey and brown, so I am really in love with the brown and white version. I think my G41 parka and brown ski pants are my second coolest ski outfit. In the interest of full disclosure, my very coolest ski outfit is my blue pants and red jacket, so you may want to take my color preferences with a grain of salt.
Performance-wise, this jacket seems pretty clearly designed for warm-ish winter conditions and mostly for lift-served skiing. I wore it in single digits (without the liner, see below) and was a tad chilly, but when skiing in wet conditions, the Omni-Tech fabric will keep you warm and dry (and very stylish, natch). The copious pockets are meant for your snacks and gadgets (there is the required iPod pocket, after all) and the styling walks the line between baggy and body-conscious. That’s right – you can rock the slouch vibe while not looking like Charlie Brown in a jacket 5 times too large.
My sample jacket also came with a removable inner liner which I admit to taking out to wear on its own and never putting back in the jacket. It’s a cute little well-cut hooded, thumbholed fleece that provides a little extra insulation while wearing the waterproof outer layer and translates well to apres ski or even a chilly morning run. The fleece even has the iPod pocket so you never have to go without your tunes.
Usually we traditionally hand off tested gear to other wearers, or donate it to a good cause, but all of us are having a hard time letting go of the G41 simply for the fashion factor. There is something for everyone whether you like the flashy pink and purple option or the more stately brown. You even get the bonus fleece liner which in itself is a nice addition to the gear closet, so if you want to stand out in the lift line or in while shredding that always-showoffy run right under the lift, the G41 is a good bet.
Columbia PFG Eddyline Shirt
October 16, 2009
I worked hard to not judge this shirt by its color as I am extremely not a fan of pink. Luckily I was saved by the tag, which indicated the color to be ‘melon’. Whatever happened to a good blue or purple? I don’t think the fish care what color the shirt is. Sorry, I’m a little sensitive about the color thing. I must admit that I was told I was easy to spot in the woods by a friend traveling with me while I was wearing this shirt. Which would make me feel better, but at the time I was following a side trail to a toilet.
I’m not sure what makes a shirt ‘performance fishing gear’ and I decided to not research that aspect of the shirt. I went on a twelve day backpacking trip instead. I wore this shirt all day every day for hiking with a 50 pound pack. The weather was mostly sunny with some rain. Which made me really appreciate that the sleeves rolled up. Normally I make fun of shirts with sleeves that roll up and have a little loop to hold the cuffs in place. I think I will have to stop doing that now. At several points I even rolled them up higher than the cuff straps allowed. In the end I needed the sleeves down to protect my sunburn when I ran out of sunscreen, very effective.
The brand label was on a little Velcro tab on the left upper front of the shirt. I have no idea what the intended purpose of this is, but I found it useful for keeping my hydration tube near my thirsty mouth. Eventually it got saturated from my leaky bite valve and wouldn’t stick as well in the afternoon as in the morning.
On about the fifth or sixth day I discovered an amazing feature; this shirt has pockets! I had need to walk a few miles without my pack and was delighted to discover the pockets. Tiny seam zippers hide the mesh lined slits and they are roomy enough for my whole hands or wallet and cell phone.
As you can imagine a person gets to being a little stinky after sweating all day while hiking. After day two I was requested by others in my party to see if I couldn’t get some of the stink out of my shirt by washing it in the creek by camp. Their wool shirts didn’t stink at all, but mine had a greater versatility. I did rinse the shirt out every couple nights in a creek and it helped considerably with the smell. I can’t say it was exactly dry in the morning, but it wasn’t soaking wet either and some evenings were fairly chilly, so I don’t know that is a reflection of the fabric really. The fabric itself seemed to take the abuse of a pack and hiking alright, but I did notice some strange wear spots or pilling that didn’t seem at all related to the pack strap locations. It looked kind of like it had been washed with Velcro and gotten snagged, but I know this didn’t happen.
Overall I was pleased with the performance of the shirt and it will very likely make an appearance on my next hiking trip for its versatility. I suspect the vented back would be pretty effective if I didn’t have a back pack on, so I may try it with a waist pack next just to see. If I was buying it just to look pretty I might be a bit concerned about the unusual wear spots on the fabric, but it didn’t seem to affect the performance.
