Columbia Jacket

Matt has one of those parkas with the fleece/jacket liner and waterproof outer shell. You know the ones. The fancy-schmancy outdoor gear from Columbia. I have one too(one of 4 of my coats). It's the warmest thing I own.

In the 7+ years Matt has owned it, I've seen him wear the outer shell....twice? I think. Once to go skiing. Once during a snow storm. He wore the inner jacket a lot. It was his go-to coat(IF he even worn a coat!!) It wasn't just a fleece kind. It had a wind-breaker layer on top.

The zipper pull of the inner jacket broke off like....2 years ago. He kept wearing it that first winter, but had no way to zip it. He got a different jacket the next year, but still missed his old one, and kept bugging/reminding me to find out if Columbia would warranty it and repair the zipper.

So I finally mailed it in. Two weeks later I got a phone call. The lady explained that because the jacket was so old(like from 2000), their current zippers are a different model and they don't have the correct part to repair it. She called to tell me that if I sent the outer shell back too, I could pick out a whole new coat as a replacement since they warranty craftmanship for life.

So that's what I did. They told me what my replacement options and color options were(the closest current model of the coat).

We picked out this one in navy:



The original price? $200
What we paid? $0

(well...technically we paid the shipping for sending the original coat to them, so it was more like $10)

Matt modeled it when it came in 70 degree weather.



The inner jacket:



And the best part? This jacket is reversible! It was this cool aluminum foil fabric on the inside that we just had to show off! (it's way shinier in person)



I'm just kidding about the reversible part. You knew that, right?

This new coat also fits Matt better. The old parka was way too long. It hit him mid-thigh. This one has a shorter cut, so it's much more flattering.