After five years of three season wear, the zipper finally gave out on my old Columbia Fleece Jacket. I wore it to work, camping, hiking, mountain biking, road cycling, and commuting to work, whether by car or by bike. It often was an outer layer over shirts, sweatshirts, arm warmers etc, and during t
he dead of winter had a rain shell or insulated jacket over it. It handled being rolled or crammed into many a bag, and the weight of my 60lb backpacks caused no complaints. What to do? I bought another. No, that was a lie! I actually bought two. The jacket seems mostly unchanged except my original was just a "Steens Mountain Full Zip", while this one adds a "2.0" to the title. What do you get with "2.0"? Well, the right waist cord lock is gone, but the left waist cord lock doesn't have an issue sealing the bottom of the jacket just below my butt. My mother would be so proud, she regards warm butts highly. I could make out images through the fleece of my original jacket when it was new. This one does not afford that luxury. The thicker fleece not only blocks enough light to impact my vision, it also blocks more wind, keeping me warmer. I find I must unzip the jacket when spending more than a few minutes indoors. My old jacket never made me do that. How dare Columbia redesign this jacket to be superior to my old one! Alas, my mother remains proud. Having purchased both this jacket (India Ink/Boulder) and the Green/Charcoal Heather version, I can tell you that this one is slightly tighter at the butt than the green one, which matches my old jacket. I know this because my butt is slightly bigger than it was five years ago. The green jacket is pretty much exactly the same size all over as my original jacket, but this one is maybe 1/8" tighter at the butt. It's not much of a difference, but does make me question those extra biscuits I've been consuming during this holiday season. I think these new jackets will be seeing more time on the bike this year than my old jacket did last year. I must thank Columbia for their brutal honesty regarding the circumference of my posterior. Whether the lessened draft of this jacket is a one-off deal, or if all of the India Ink/Boulder jackets got shorted is unknown to me. You'll just have to ask yourself, "Does that 1/8" really matter to me, or anything this guy is saying?" Other things of note: Cuff elastic is thick and strong, but not suffocating. They are comfortable without gloves, and seal well with liners or light to medium weather gloves. The collar is tighter than with my old jacket, but also a lower in the front, so zipping it all the way up around my thick head stand is comfortable. I like the collar being lower in the front, is is more comfortable when wearing face masks and balaclavas. I hope this review helps you in your search for some fleeced goodness. If you're not sure if this is the jacket for you, try to remember that it makes my mother proud. If you're lucky, it might make your mother proud as well.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2014 by Flamingtaco
