www.columbia.com
When Columbia Sportswear announced the Omni-Heat technology last winter, they released flashy (and funny) ads, loads of new products, and crazy fashion shows with models wearing stuff inside-out to display the shiny silver-dotted interior that makes Omni-Heat what it is.  And we really wouldn’t have noticed if the stuff didn’t work. Turns out it is one of the smartest cold-weather innovations in years.  You know those silver blankets that are wrapped around marathon runners at the end of a race? The reflective silver material (think “space blankets”) reflects body heat back to your core, rather than letting it escape into the atmosphere. They’re fantastic for post-race recuperation—and that’s about it, since the blankets are about as breathable as a Glad trash bag.  Columbia took the concept of these heat blankets one step further and integrated them into the interior of their winter garments in a dot-matrix pattern. The silver dots reflect your body heat, keeping you warm, but the gaps between the dots offer the breathability and moisture-wicking properties you need when performing aerobic activity.   They’ve rolled this tech out across their entire line, but we are especially fond of the warmth and comfort it provides in their base layers, like the Midweight Tight. The OmniHeat treatment melds with poly and elastane to create a form-fitting, antimicrobial base layer, with four-way stretch and ergonomic seams—basically everything you’d ever want to keep you comfortable and warm in cold climates.