Columbia Omni-Heat 3D

Columbia's original Omni-Heat compared to the new  Omni-Heat 3D below. Note the new reflective pattern and  vertically oriented fibre clusters.

With temperatures dropping to -20°C during our visit to Banff it was nice to have a reliable set of base layers such as the Titanium Onmi-Heat 3D Knit Crew Top and Tight. This kit kept me warm while skiing at Mt. Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise Ski Resorts as well as on our day of ski touring in the Louise backcountry. In addition to these products, Columbia also integrates their Onmi-Heat 3D into s slew of other apparel such as the OutDry EX Diamond Piste Jacket ($499US), the Powder Keg II Jacket ($350US), the Powder Keg II Glove ($124US) and the Canuk Titanium Omni-Heat 3D OutDry EX ($200US). Columbia has created a head to toe kit centred around their Omni-Heat 3D technology and we put the majority of these to good use over our week stay in Calgary and Banff. For ski touring specifically the Powder Keg II Glove and Jacket were welcome additions, however, the jacket was more suited to lift serve skiing due to its extra insulation and bulk.

All of the Onmi-Heat 3D products will be available in October of 2018 so keep an eye out for them. There will 34 styles across the Columbia collection using the new Onmi-Heat 3D technology, so why not give it a try and see for yourself how well it works.

While also on this press trip Columbia Sportswear announcement their new Olympic athlete uniforms for the 2018 Winter Games, that article can be read over here.

Titanium Onmi-Heat 3D Knit Crew Top
Price: $139.99 CAN / $90US
Colours: Red Spark, Dark Mountain
Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Fabrics: 85% Polyester, 15% Elastane

Titanium Omni-Heat 3D Knit Crew Tight: 
Price: $139.99 CAN / $90US
Colours: Red Spark, Dark Mountain
Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Fabrics: 85% Polyester, 15% Elastane

I am a natural sceptic of any new technology, especially when its claims seem too good to be true. With so many new products and technologies inundating us lavish claims it’s hard to ‘separate the wheat from chaff’ as they say. Columbia’s Omni-Heat 3D was one of those rare products that actually did what it claimed it could do and not only that, it also surpassed all of my expectations.

The Titanium Onmi-Heat 3D Knit Crew Top and Tights were by far my favourite new piece of apparel from Columbia. Each item of course incorporated their Onmi-Heat 3D technology which made them far warmer than any other base layers I’d worn to date. I not only tested them in Banff on the Columbia Press Trip but continued to wear them all winter long, at my local ski resort and while ski touring. I wore them on quick backcountry laps and even on 4 day 50km ski traverse. I trusted my warmth and comfort to this apparel and it didn’t let me down. Ever.

The Onmi-Heat 3D was comfortable to wear and made the base layer top and bottom fabric feel more substantial and robust than your average base layers. This added to their warmth and compression feel and was just more comfortable overall. I’ve since replaced my standard polartec and merino base layers with Columbia’s Onmi-Heat 3D base layers and will make them my go to base layers for all things winter.

The only down side I found to Onmi-Heat 3D was its shiny appearance, at times it felt like some sort of space suit I was dawning for an extra terrestrial mission. Thankfully this technology is on the inside so it doesn’t impair the overall aesthetics of the products and is a minor drawback overall on an otherwise stellar product.