25 November 2008
My old winter coat finally gave up the ghost. The zipper no longer works. This always seems to happen when I buy the discount coats from places like Wal-mart. This year I finally decided to take the leap and purchase a nice coat. I started searching the web and determined to purchase the Lhotse Men's Parka from Columbia.
The description for the coat reads:
Pull on the Columbia Men’s Lhotse Mountain Parka and have the ability to swap layers to suit changing conditions. This versatile winter jacket features a waterproof breathable Omni-Tech shell with a snap-in fleece liner, so you can use one or both jackets depending on the weather. A zip-off storm hood and underarm zip vents provide even more climate control, and the adjustable powder skirt seals out blowing spindrift when you hit the slopes. Stash your optics in the interior goggle pocket, and keep your wallet or keys safe in the zippered security pocket.
Now I don't know if I would go as far as to say that this is a "Parka" in the sense that an Eskimo would want to wear this in -40 degree weather, but this morning it was in the teens. I rode my bike to work wearing this coat and did not get cold.
A few things I wish were different are the length and the pockets. It could use an extra two inches on the bottom of the coat, and the pockets on the outer jacket liner are not real comfortable to use. The size of the pockets and the number of pockets are wonderful though.
I'd give this coat a 3.5 out of 5.