Columbia Prarion (2012)

Although it uses 700-fill down, the jacket has added insulation in the form of Columbia’s Omni-Heat reflective technology. Silver dots are added to the lining to help bounce radiated heat back inside. In use it does seem to add extra warmth to the top, without making things too stuffy. However, the jacket still remains quite heavy for a down-filled mid-layer top. The extra weight seems to come from the thicker face fabrics used, which make the top more resilient and more serviceable as shell layer with Ripstop properties and a decent DWR coating. The lack of a hood suits it to life as a mid-layer, but the thicker face fabric can make it a little too stuffy under a shell jacket.