Columbia's Omni-Heat™ Infinity equipped ski kit will keep you warm and happy all day long - even on the coldest days the mountain throws at you | Taylor Fry photo.
PRESENTED BY COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR | It’s easy to get caught up in the maelstrom of “overbuilt and expensive is always better”, especially when it comes to ski and snowboard gear. But let’s be real, a ski jacket and snow pants really have one simple job - they need to keep us comfortable in what’s generally a pretty uncomfortable environment. That means keeping us warm and keeping us dry, all while looking good out on the hill. What’s the old adage? Look good, feel good, ski good? Columbia Sportswear has been at it since 1938 making outerwear for the people, and we were excited to see what 85 years of experience brings to the table. While we might be used to testing the thinnest, lightest weight fabrics from the future, it was refreshing to put some warmth and durability-minded apparel through the TGR Tested wringer. With record-breaking snowfall and some pretty hostile winter weather battering the Tetons this February, we put some of their new Omni-Heat™ Infinity equipped men’s and women’s ski outerwear to the test.
Omni-Heat™ Infinity is Columbia's take on how to best keep you warm in extreme weather. Comprised of a layer of small reflective gold dots on the inside jacket liner, this tech is designed to radiate your body heat back at you. Inspired by space blanket technology, Omni-Heat™ Infinity delivers instant warmth without compromising breathability.
Columbia's Omni-Heat Infinity lines in the inside of these jackets. | Max Ritter photo.
Men’s Kit: Powder Canyon Interchange Jacket + Powder Stash Ski Pants
Full color-coordinated kits are all the rage these days, and the Columbia Powder Canyon and Powder Stash definitely don’t fall short in that department. This full-featured combo is designed foremost around keeping you warm on the hill. Equipped with Columbia’s waterproof and breathable Omni-Tech™ and lined with Omni-Heat™ Infinity technology in both the jacket and the pants, this kit is WARM. We took it up Rendezvous Peak on a day where Big Red’s thermometer displayed a paltry 4 degrees F on the summit, and we’ll admit that we were truly warm up in the clouds. Fit-wise, we’d call the entire kit true to size - the jacket is on the longer and roomier side, and the pants have a straight cut. We’re talking not quite park rat status, but we’d say “freeride stylish.”
Columbia has long been known for their interchangeable layering systems, and the Powder Canyon Jacket continues this trend, with a zip-in removable liner. The shell is already lightly insulated, but adding the Omni-Heat lined mid layer adds a substantial amount of extra warmth. Of course, the mid layer can also be worn on its own.
Channel your inner Alex Ferreira in the kit. | Taylor Fry photo.
The shell jacket features large and smartly-placed pockets, zippered pit vents, and a ski pass pocket on the left forearm. Inside, there’s a powder skirt and a goggle pocket plus a security pocket to keep your phone and keys. The pants feature leg vents, an adjustable waist, cargo pockets, and leg gaiters - everything we’re looking for in resort ski pants.
After skiing a few full resort days in the kit, we really began asking ourselves whether it’s worth dishing out gobs of cash for some other kits on the mountain. The Powder Canyon and Powder Stash are really comfortable, they’ve got all the bells and whistles, kept us warmer than most other kits we’ve tested, and not going to lie, the blueberry look got us pretty stoked. The toasty Omni-Heat™ Infinity might not be what we’re looking for on high-output days in the backcountry, but for ripping around the resort on cold days it works really well.
Columbia's Titanium Powderkeg II jacket and Platinum Peak 3L pant in action. | Max Ritter photo.
Women’s Kit: Titanium PowderKeg III Down Jacket and Platinum Peak 3L Ski Pant
It’s a similar story with the Women’s Powderkeg III Down Jacket - this is probably the warmest women’s ski jacket we’ve worn in a while. It’s also fashioned with Columbia’s Omni-Heat™ Infinity technology that literally reflects your body heat back to the source. We paired this jacket with the Titan Pass™ Helix™ Quarter Zip Pullover, and that was it for our layering system, which was enough to keep us warm at the mountain all day long on a subzero day at Jackson Hole.
The Powderkeg III Down jacket insulation comes in the form of waterproof, RDS-certified down. Something that we always look for in a ski jacket is usable pockets, and Columbia hit a homerun integrating the perfect amount of pockets and making them a sensible size for wallets, phones, point-and-shoot cameras, keys, thin gloves and more. They even have a designated ski pass pocket for easy accessibility, virtually allowing you to forget that there’s a possibility you could lose your pass in a hand-to-pocket shuffle.
Smart features and a stylish freeride look - what more can you ask for? | Max Ritter photo.
The dark coral and peach blossom color block style the Powderkeg III jacket has is a flattering color - but what’s a snazzy jacket without matching pants? The Women’s Platinum Peak™ 3L Ski Pants go great with the top, and are super flexible and breathable while also being waterproof and warm. Too hot? Call in the zippered leg vents to the rescue. If you’re finding yourself in deep powder in this kit, you can tap into the adjustable snap-back powder skirt plus the jacket and pant connector to ensure you’re not getting snow anywhere other than your grinning face as you rip down the mountain.
Bonus Points: This gear was made in a factory that supports BSR’s HERproject™, a multifaceted program that strives to empower women working in global supply chains through health, finance, and gender equality training.
If you’re looking for a new men’s or women’s kit that looks good and is incredibly warm - Columbia has made it just for you.
Get Columbia's Outerwear here.
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