Columbia Titanium Component Jacket

I've worn this jacket for two years now as my primary winter coat for walking to and from work, my hard shell for high altitude mountaineering, and my outer layer when snowboarding. It serves all of these purposes well, but is probably best suited to the snowboarding.

The interior powder skirt is nicely adjustable, and the velcro cuffs and cinch cord on the bottom hem all work well to keep out snow, even though the jacket isn't quite as long at the butt as some others. Freedom of movement is pretty good, even with the optional tech fleece zipped inside. The deep chest pocket zipper is waterproof, the fabric is tough, and I like the huge pit zips and multiple inside pockets (including one for an mp3 player). It has a strap on the back of the hood for you goggles, and the hood can be zipped off though I've never bothered.

As a climbing shell, it could be improved a bit. The hood, though ample for wearing around town, doesn't fit comfortably over my climbing helmet without feeling tight at the neck. It's certainly warm enough (I wore it at 22,841 feet on Aconcagua last January) and the materials and quality are topa notch. The inside liner breathes well and makes the jacket comfortable to wear even without the fleece, which is usually how I wear it. It's a little heavier than I would like for backpacking, but for high altitude mountaineering I think it's worth the ounces to have really warm quality equipment. The collar is high enough to provide excellent wind protection when zipped all the way up and used with the hood. Cinched down properly trimmed, mine kept me toast in 70mph winds so strong I could barely stand up. I felt like a kite, but it kept the wind out.

It's stylish enough to wear around town, if you take good care of it, and it has a little bit of that crinkly sound you get with high quality waterproof fabrics that says "I wear seroius outdoor gear, not cheap imitations." I've worn it in all kinds of rain and never had it leak, but when it's really windy the cinch cords on the hood are hard to get locked into the pinching mechanism unless you look carefully at what you're doing. Mine is white and gray, and the top of the back collar is white and gets dirty if you wear it all the time and never wash it, like I do.

Mine has taken a real beating, between getting stuffed into packs for climbing, fallen on reapeatedly while snowboarding, and worn year round as my primary coat, but aside from the dirt it's no worse for wear. No scuffs, loose threads, rips, or torn seams, though the primary front zipper has started sticking in the last month or so, making it sometimes take a few tries to get it zipped up.

I'd recommend it for boarding or winter hiking, or as a more affordable version of a mountaineering jacket if you're not ready to spend the $350 to get a TNF or Mountain Hardwear one. The quality is just as good, in my opinion, and the price is much better.

Great waterproof shell, stood up to 40+ mph driving sleet and snow. It never became wet inside the jacket after four hours in those elements.

The Columbia Titanium shell I bought looks brand new. It was just missing a fleece or quilted zip-in jacket, but I looked around for something warmer to zip into the shell if possible because you have to match up the zipper teeth and that's a task unto itself.

Even other Columbia fleece jackets I found wouldn't work with that shell until I found a North Face 800 fill, and it zipped into that shell so slick and easy I'm going to say I've got the warmest Columbia jacket here in Minnisnowta!

Background

I haven't any experience with Columbia products, but with the right guts to the shell it could be very waterproof and warm.

I have had a Columbia Titanium jacket for 4 years now, and I have never had a better coat in my life. It is the warmest jacket ever. I do a lot of outdoor activities during the winter, and it it totally waterproof and wind proof. The quality of the material is amazing. After wearing it for 4 years, it is still like new. On not quite as cold days, like during early spring ( I live in Maine, so it is still chilly during the spring), I usually will take out the fleece liner and wear that separately, or even the shell separate from the fleece. I just got a brand new Columbia Titanium this week just to have an extra. I will never own any other brand of coat, this is just the best.

This is the Titanium waist length jacket. I use it as a stand alone jacket. I don't zip it into a shell. This one is black with grey trim and is one of the coolest looking jackets I have ever owned. Very sharp! For me, this is a dressy jacket and don't wear it afield. I have plenty of other coats to wear in rough country.

It's a warm spring/fall jacket and has a waterproof membrane.

My biggest gripe is the two way zipper that is very tricky to operate. Seating the zipper sometimes takes 30-60 seconds. I Love the jacket but the zipper makes me howl with anger. I've had this jacket for a few years. Hopefully Columbia has solved the zipper problem by now.

Took this jacket 14,000 feet up Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park -- who did I meet? A bear -- the coat was hanging on the back of my pack and the bear seemed to like it. He stomped on it, pawed, slobbered all over it and I was sure it was ruined. We climbed back out off the mountain that night to get new supplies (because the bear ate ours) and I took the jacket to the laundry. When the jacket came out, it was completely unharmed (no longer smelled of bear slobber) and looked like I just bought it...The best for hiking, climbing, anything - no need for any other jacket!

Best coat I ever owned. Kept me warm and dry for 16 years every ski season. I will miss you my warm friend.

Loved this coat.  Winter skiing with minimal layers kept me warm.  Spring skiing take out the liner or ski with the liner and stayed dry and warm.  

Background

Had Columbia bibs for 15 years till I got a little bit bigger they were warm and kept me dry. This coat is the best though loved it.

This coat is the most expensive coat that I have ever bought. It is also the best, it is so warm and has so many great features I would never buy a different coat. I have read other reviews on this jacket that have complained about it being unproportioned and that it bunches up. Neither my dad or myself have had problems with our coats (he has a titanium too) maybe that reviewer was the one that is unproportioned. Hats off to the folks at Columbia!

I'm in the UK, but I bought this jacket out in Boston. It's very warm, very waterproof - but breathes realy well. I have now had it for around two years, and besides a very small amount of wear near the (storm) cuff, it's still in near perfect condition (and it gets a lot of use). Very good buy - shame we can't get the things over here - or I might buy another one ! (hence my search on the net!)

I have never before experienced buying an expensive coat and gotten such complete satisfaction. I have been wearing this awesome coat for 3 years and even in -30 below I am as toasty as I can be. I sometimes wear it with the liner I bought separately that is also a titanium, but I find I get too warm. This is the only coat I will ever buy. I cannot believe the quality.

Overall this is a pretty well rounded jacket. It has all the features of the big brand name companies but at a lower price. It's got powder skirt, waterproof/breathable membrane, zip in fleece, tear resistant nylon guards, and much more. The only problem I encountered was the zipper, I had a hard time zipping it from the bottom, but overall a terrific jacket.

The Titanium Jacket is the most versatile jacket I have ever owned. The fleece is warm on the inside and the outer shell is extremely waterproof. It stood up to a storm while I was hiking which produced roughly 3/4 inch of rain in 30 minutes. My friends in ponchos were dealing with the wind tearing their ponchos away while I marched on, my top being completely dry.

I feel the underarm vents are a useless feature, especially when you are wearing the entire jacket. The stitching around the wrists is very flimsy and tore slightly when I was using the velcro. These two things things aside, I feel this is a worthwhile jacket.

(I have the blade runner version of the titanium)

Horrible, maybe for the lady who wants to walk her poodle to the end of the street, while looking pretty in her winter pastels ?*!/#??!?

But as a ski instructor I won't even touch them!