Discover Top Posts Tagged with #turbodown

#turbodown This prototype hits the market in fall, 2014. Combining down, synthetic and reflective #omniheat it's powerfully hot in a tiny package. It's the most compact jacket I own AND the warmest. Thanks, @columbia1938!

#turbodown #omniheat

The Fabric of a Perfect #OmniTen Week

Fabric: our ultimate enabler over the course of an epic #Omniten trip to Park City, Utah. Without it there'd be no skiing, playing in the snow, nights out on the town, and trying stuff. But, fabric has a double meaning. It's an underlying structure. It can even be used to describe how a society is arranged. The fabric of friendships made over the past week will not be easily torn; they are here to last.

So instead of trying to recount a week that cannot be completely described by words, I'm leaning on fabric to provide a few highlights. Highlights on how I stayed warm, dry, and protected and how fabric enabled me to participate in amazing activities, experience unique events, and build incredible friendships.

I'll start with the item worn closest to my body and during practically every activity Columbia threw our way. My new baselayers are softer than any others I own. They rode along while skiing, snowmobiling, and even fit under my jeans on cold nights out on the town. Every winter activity starts with baselayers, and I don't want them too be bulky and restrictive. Columbia (with the help of Omni-Heat Reflective) has managed to create an ultra-light and ultra-warm piece of gear that I'll wear against my skin in every winter activity. They are also super easy to wash since they are synthetic construction. This came in pretty handy on our trip since I wore them everyday and didn't want everyone else to re-live the smells that come along with physically exerting activities :)

Put together 30+ social media savvy outdoor enthusiasts and there will be constant tweeting. Temps outside were cold, but that's where we snagged pics that were just too good not to be shared. During a concert in downtown Park City, I used my phone to share updates with friends back home without dealing with frozen fingers. My touch glove liners didn't make me miss a beat. You won't want to "tweet home" without them!

My Ridge Run II are my go to ski pants in the resort and in the backcountry. They are lighter on the inside than other pants, which is great for a guy like me who runs hot and doesn't want bulk. They are completely bombproof to the elements, vent well, and are durable around the cuffs. I learned the hard way, however, that they aren't fire proof! One of our #OmniGames challenges was to build fire in a driving snow storm using only paper, wood, knife, and magnesium/flint block. We needed to produce a rolling boil from water in a pot in only 25 minutes time. With a few minutes left in the challenge, we had a light boil. I went in close to blow as much oxygen into the fire as possible to give it one last boost. I got so close that I not only singed my beard, but blew a few burning coals out of the fire and onto my pants. I'll stick to using the pants for their intended purpose of skiing instead of sticking them into a fire.

Columbia came out with a pretty sick line of technical outerwear this year, and their top of the line jacket is the Millennium Flash. My favorite color is the one listed above: black with green accents on the outside, and blue on the inside. It did a great job keeping the driving winds out during the freestyle World Cup, but more importantly has accompanied me all ski season in a variety of conditions. During our ski challenge (where we had an hour and a half to accumulate as much vertical as possible) it held up as I was in a racer's tuck going 70 mph down the slopes. Maybe this jacket is also intended for race car drivers?

80's hair bands performed exclusively in leather pants and vests and refused to wear anything less. I guess you could say I get what they were going after. When I ski, I've come to trust the benefits of leather gloves and can't see myself ever switching to something else. Columbia has a fine variety of gloves, but my favorite was the Karako Pass. They kept my hands super dry and warm with their high loft insulation. They never got away from me with their convenient leash straps. Simple and reliable: there's no other way I want my gloves.

One of my top experiences from the entire trip came when Columbia unveiled a line up of Olympic Uniforms. We attended the press conference, saw the uniforms, and got to meet the athletes. I was shooting the breeze with athletes who will be competing in Sochi in less than a month! I was pretty giddy while chatting with former gold medal winners and podium hopefuls. I also felt quite official in our Team USA hats and T-shirts during the press conference, the moguls final one night later, and while hanging around the hotel. Once I received the shirt, I'm not sure I took it off! Don't worry, I did a load of laundry when I got back home :)

Which do you prefer? Down insulation, or synthetic insulation? Down can be extremely warm and pack-able but also costly and somewhat ineffective when wet. Synthetic can retain heat even when wet and often comes in at a good price point, but can be heavier and bulky. Columbia is taking a great step forward to solve this problem in fall 2014 with TurboDown: A jacket with down AND synthetic insulation! When you combine this potent combo along with 2 layers Omni-Heat reflective, you get a jacket that's warmer than every competitor jacket on the market for the weight. As Ma Boyle says, "It's a like a jacket on steroids... but legal." Columbia hooked us up with our very own TurboDown to keep! I was completely stoked because I've been going back and forth on what jacket I should take to South America. It became clear this was the only jacket I should and would take along our journey. I wore this jacket like a prized jewel the rest of the time in Park City. I got complements from ski shop employees, bartenders, and even athletes! They all couldn't wait to get their hands on one. I'm thankful I get to test this jacket and put it through the ringer while travelling abroad for 6+ months.

I can't thank Columbia enough for this incredible week and opportunity. I felt extremely blessed and fortunate to hang out with some of the nicest and smartest people in the outdoor industry. Columbia employees love what they do, and it sure shows on weeks like this. I will also never forget the friends I met that were lucky enough to come along on the trip with me.

I'm glad something as simple as "fabric" brought us all together, allowed us to have abnormal amounts of fun, and kept us Trying Stuff.

#omniten #omnigames #teambeard #tryingstuff #turbodown