Columbia Sportswear Men's Thermarator II Jacket

I ordered this jacket thinking i would get a gray colored jacket with a black interior lining. When it arrived, the colors on the exterior were purple with an olive green accent color. The interior was the "thermal inner layer" which is code for Disco Ball. The sparkling inner layer goes all the way to the neck and can only be concealed if the zipper is all the way to the top.If you want, you can reverse the jacket and go for a space odyssey look. Unfortunately, that look is not my style.

Fleece jackets and pull-overs have become very popular within the last few years, and I bought this Columbia product wanting to give this a try. I found that this...and I hesitate to call it a 'jacket' is prone to pilling or piling, the tendency for the material to bead up, and flake off. The issue with fleece type products is that if you are wearing such a garment inside, it is great, but if you are outside, the wind cuts right through it. Fleece is a pretty good insulator, but not a good wind breaker. Leather and other solid type materials are good wind breakers, but not good insulators, unless it has a warm under-layer, such as fleece, thinsulate, poly-fill, etc.I ordered the buffalo heather, and really liked the color, and the style, but this is NOT a durable product.If Columbia were to add a nylon, or other such wind proof outer layer, it would make a near perfect jacket, but you need some type of durable outer surface to protect the fleece, and to block the wind.The size does run larger. I ordered a Large and had to return it for a Medium.

I've had many Columbia jackets over the years but this one just wasn't a winner. After a day or so of wearing it I noticed the material pilling. After a week it was extremely noticeable. For the cost of this garment I wouldn't expect the material to act this way.

I have owned this jacket for about a year now and it has held up very well. This winter had a lot of very cold windy days and i did not have any issues with the wind blowing through it like some people said. The fact that this jacket is Omni-Heat and fleece makes it very warm but the mesh underarms lets it breath so you don't overheat.

If I could rate this jacket for function and design separately, I would give the function five stars and the design zero stars. This is a very nice, quality jacket. But the design dimensions are absurd. That's putting it mildly. A reviewer on Columbia's web site was 6'3" and bought a medium. So I called Columbia customer service and asked about the sizing and was told to order a large. I don't know if there was a Thermarator I but the II sizing is ridiculous. I'm 6'2", 190lbs+, 33" waist with a 35" sleeve. The large was so big that the sleeve lengthy was to the tip of my fingers. Probably at least a 38" sleeve. Only chimpanzees and NBA athletes 6'6" and above have 38" sleeves. And the jacket, which is really just a fleece layer, was so big I could fit another Columbia jacket underneath it. I looked like Humpty Dumpty. Luckily Amazon customer service was great.The medium still has long sleeves. Probably 36". And the sleeves are pretty large in circumference in the forearms so it has sort of a bizarre look unless you have Steve Garvey forearms. Yet, the midsection of the jacket is so tight when I zip it up that there is no way I could get anything underneath it except a thin shirt. A sweater? Forget it. Wildly bizarre. With a t-shirt or thin layer under it, the medium is generally flattering if you have an athletic build. I'm keeping it because I had a coupon and got a great deal.From my experience Columbia's sizing is all over the map. That is a major quality issue. So, even if the fabric and workmanship are good, the quality process surrounding sizing and fit is sorely lacking. Not just in this product either.

The picture is not the same as the Columbia Sportswear Thermarator II Jacket. Is this a knock-off or the real thing?