Just In - Columbia Alaskan Down Jacket

New in for review - and very appropriately too - is the Columbia Alaskan Down Jacket, a warm, down-insulated jacket with a filled hood and integral snow skirt.


At 980 grammes for a medium, it's never going to be a pack and forget lightweight, but then it's more of a wear in the evening on that ice climbing trip, in a frozen bukhouse, or around town in rough winter sort of jacket.

It feels seriously warm. The down is US-rated - we're assuming - 700 fill power stuff and there's a lot of it, so even though construction is stitch through rather than walled, it still feels very warm, helped by a separate drop liner.


Perhaps surprisingly for a North American brand, the cut is pretty slim and close fitting, but also reassuringly long for additional lower body protection. You may even need to go up a size. Twin handwarmer pockets plus two chest ones make for plenty of storage and there are also internal waterbottle pockets to keep your fluid unfluid.

One thing we haven't seen before in a down jacket are a pair of short, under-arm vents, sort of mini pit-zips. Useful? We'll let you know.

What else? Big, adjustable insulated hood and down below, an integral snowskirt that can be press-studded to the liner when not in use.


Finally, when the snow gets wet, it's worth knowing that the Alaskan has Columbia's Omni-Shield water repellent treatment that also resists stains. It's a coating that doesn't affect the feel of the fabric, but dries three to five times faster than untreated equivalents and because it doesn't hold moisture, stays lighter in the wet. So far it's worked well at repelling drips and wet snow.

The Alaskan's kept us warm and comfy even in the worst of the current snow snap. It's not a super technical jacket and we wouldn't carry it on the hill, but for general use it works very well.

Price is £190, more information at www.columbiasportswear.co.uk