Columbia Lhotse Mountain Parka - Men's - 2010 BCS

This is the Lhotse Mountain II Parka with Omni Heat. This jacket offers a tremendous bang for just over 200 bucks.

... and the "narrow" mention is probably due to bulky layering the gathers under the arm.

shell... 23" at the opening at the bottom, 24" across from pit to pit, and 21" from pit to hip.

insulation piece... 22" at the opening at the bottom, 23" across from pit to pit, and 21" from pit to hip.

The short answer? Get the Lhotse. It has two exterior stuff pox, one on the chest and a few on the inside of the shell. the liner is the new OmniHeat puffy with both OH insualtion and reflective detail. The shell has a powder skirt and they both draw tight at the bottom. The Lhotse has pit zips on the shell element.

The Bugaboo has more pox on the shell and no pit zips. the lining is also Fleece with a drawcord. There is no powder skirt on the Bugaboo

this is a great jacket that will offer you more than those other jackets at $250 an up. First of all, this is a component jacket. the liner can be worn alone, and it touts OmniShield water repelancy, OmniHeat Reflective lining, and Omni Heat insulation. The OmniHeat story is that of the most efficient insualtion and temperature management available. The shell uses OmniTech-- one of the most breathable, waterproof membranes out there-- and that will blow the doors off the industry dinosaur. The shell can be used as an uninsulated, waterproof shell, or zip it all together for a globe-trotting outer garment that is unparalleled.

you have a good eye. The pocket does hav ea long zipper for depth, and it can be too big for just a hand and wrist going in. I will say that the pocket is not mesh and it will not vent body heat, and the jacket is otherwise quite warm and versatile.

This is seam-sealed, and 10,000mm waterproof. That's resistant to 10m of direct water pressure! OmniTech is arguably one of the most breathable membranes available, and this also touts the latest in heat management -- OmniHeat. Having access to the entire lineup, a single choice for a jacket that has components to cover 3 season's worth of conditions would certainly be the Lhotse Mountain.

Jang, this jacket is going to be pretty darn waterproof, though it is not gore. this means it wont stand up to all day downpours, though i doubt that is what you are looking for. if you need a jacket for left access skiing then this will be just fine. the reason i say lift access is that this wont be very breathable when it comes to skinning or long treks up the mtn. i would like to suggest however that you look at a jacket like the marmot Morzine. it will be a little better quality than the Columbia and will provide just as much waterproofing as well as better breath ability. the only difference is that it isnt seam sealed. though if you need this for what i imagine you do that wont be an issue.

Mike's link is for an '09 model, with the fleece liner and no OmniHeat. There is a huge difference in technology with that model and this one. A jump in price like is --what I would bet to be-- a pricing error caught and corrected

This is the latest model. This has OmniHeat lining and insulation on the inner component, Omni shield on the outside of the inner piece, and Omni Tech (breathable waterproof) in the outer shell. It is every bit as waterproof as other WB membranes and OmniTech will breath better than the biggest names and products of other companies.

This is a lot of jacket for not a lot of money at all.

It was Fall 09 and prior models that had fleece liners. this one touts the latest OmniHeat technology and a much more appealing liner for stand-alone usage.

Not fleece at all. The shell is nylon and the liner is a synthetic puffy style jacket- this is polyester, but does not have the brushed texture of fleece.

3 lb. 10 oz.