Today I want to look at a super rain jacket from a very well known and respected brand. Please let me introduce the Columbia Watertight II jacket. With oodles of great reviews and user experience all over the net, I thought it might warrant a closer look. When I saw the very reasonable price, that sealed the deal and so I had to learn more.
Columbia Watertight II Jacket For Men
A neat little rain shell jacket at a very good price. Very functional and easy to pack away, the Columbia Watertight II is a great little rain shell that should cover most of your hiking needs.
Brand and Model | Columbia Watertight II Jacket |
Retail Price | |
Average User Rating | |
Pros | Excellent price for such a well respected and popular jacket; Great all round performance; Easy double up from the trail to the town |
Cons | No Napoleon breast pocket (Yes, I am nit picking 🙂 I love my pockets) |
Best Uses | Day hiking, day-to-day casual use |
Review
A lot of times, when it comes to outdoor gear, you can end up paying a lot of money for pieces of kit when something simple will do the trick. That's why the Columbia Watertight II rain Jacket for men caught my eye.
From looking all over the net and checking out loads of reviews and user reviews on this jacket, it gets the mark as a quality rain jacket. It's simple in it's look but does what it is supposed to do. What's very attractive about this jacket in this context, is it's price. A very reachable price for most budding hikers and, as with nearly all hiking gear, will double-up nicely for day-to-day use.
Moving on, Columbia's Omni-Tech® technology provides the waterproof protection. It keeps the bad stuff out while at the same time lets the sweat and vapor from your hard slog on the trail, out.
Another technology employed in this jacket is something called Omni-Shield®. This helps you stay clean and dry by resisting liquids from absorbing into the yarns and so prevents staining of the garment. Sounds pretty cool to me. Why is this so?
Well, as you know, a rain jacket can't be treated like any other garment. When you wash it, you need to wash it appropriately following very specific care and protection instructions using very specialized detergent.
In brief, washes should be infrequent, I try to get away with twice a year maximum, and so anything that helps keep your jacket stain free in between times can only be a good thing. This rain jacket , as with any decent one, is also windproof so should keep you protected from any nasty gusts.
Now it can't all be sweetness and light for this jacket now can it 🙂 There are definitely some more features, that I would normally look for in a hiking rain jacket, missing and I have to be honest and say that I was a little dubious when I first saw the price. However, the very high level of good customer experience speaks for itself so I think for a basic rain jacket, this ticks most of the boxes.
Columbia Men's Watertight II Features Summary
- 100% Polyester
- Imported
- Zipper closure
- Machine Wash
- Omni-Tech waterproof/breathable fully seam sealed
- Attached, adjustable storm hood
- Drawcord adjustable hem
- Zippered hand pockets
- Packable into hand pocket
Conclusion
The Columbia Watertight II jacket is a great little jacket that I think is perfect for a beginner hiker. The main reason for that statement is it's simple but effective functionality for a very reasonable price.
It will double up nicely to be worn about the city and has all the basic features I would expect from a rain jacket. If you're just starting out or if you are an intermittent hiker, this could be the jacket for you.
If you're new to rain jackets and so not sure what you should be looking for, check out the rain jacket buying advice here. If you'd like to see more top rain jackets, check out these top rain jacket recommendations.
Have you ever used the Columbia Watertight II Jacket out on the trail? I’d love to hear about your experience with it in the comments below!