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Columbia Double Whammy Parka

rated 4 of 5 stars

The Double Whammy Parka has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best component jackets for 2024.

photo: Columbia Double Whammy Parka component (3-in-1) jacket

I purchased this jacket for a trip to Germany in January in the snow. I have never owned any Columbia products. I am very pleased with the Double Whammy for the price. It is a very tough jacket. Like one of the other reviews, I agree that it is not the greatest "rain-proof" jacket, but does pretty good.

I think that The North Face and other companies need to take notice. Columbia seems to be gaining market share with their products. After all, they are just about all made in China at a very very cheap cost to the companies...so Columbia is offering a reasonable price and good quality on many of their products. Such is the case with the Double Whammy.

The only two complaints I have is that the inner liner does not have much warm fleece material (a lot of nylon lining material). When this liner is compared to fleece-only liners found in a North Face or say Mountain Hardwear equivalent, the Columbia liner is not nearly as warm...but the Columbia is half the price of those! The plus side of the inner liner is that it makes an EXCELLENT lightweight jacket to wear by itself with lots of extra pockets. They even make it look stylish to wear with the Columbia logo and such.

The second small complaint is that the fleece type material on the collar of the outer shell is wonderful in cold weather, but miserable when worn in the rain! The fleece material soaks up water and leaves a miserable wet feel on your neck while you are wearing it.

Other than those two small complaints, this is a fantastic jacket for the price and I expect to get many days of use out of it.

Price Paid: $120

I got this jacket on sale for $99. It's not a bad jacket for the price, and it's warm. I have to do a lot of work outside and it's ok for day trips or for going to the office or the mall or whatever. I haven't tested it in the rain, it seems to shed snow ok.

However, I much prefer the Gore-tex outer material. The Bergundtal material is noisy and doesn't flex very well. The hood is too small, particularly when wearing a hat. The pit zips are bulky and too much trouble.

For backpacking extended trips, I wear my Eddie Bauer Gore-tex mountain parka with fleece and a down vest. I'll write my reviews for these under Eddie Bauer and Solstice.

Fabric: Bergundtal Cloth
Fill: Fleece Liner
Price Paid: $120 US

I bought this as a general use winter coat with occasional ski trip duty. The hood is way short for me, it needs a longer "bill" to cover to keep rain/snow out off my forehead. The fabric is NOT water repellent. Light rain has a tendency to soak the fabric. I have applied some "Camp-Tex" water repellent which helped a little. The pit-zips are nice and the coat is durable and well made. The liner tends to "bunch-up" when putting the coat on.

I give it a 5 out of 10. If they'd only put a decent hood on it and a bit of water repellency...

Fabric: Berguntal Cloth
Fill: Fleece liner (zips out)
Price Paid: $175

I've owned this Columbia Double Whammy for 9 years. The shell is still waterproof and looks great! The liner is a great stand-alone jacket. I use this coat for snow skiing, rain, and general cold weather. Great coat, especially for the money!

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Specs

(no Gender)
Price Historic Range: $99.97-$179.99
Reviewers Paid: $120.00
Men's
Price Reviewers Paid: $120.00-$175.00
Women's
Price Historic Range: $51.96

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