Columbia Omni-Heat Carabineer II Parka

The basics

The Carabineer II is about two things: plenty of warmth and very little weight. Often mutually exclusive, Columbia has managed to bring both together in one stylish parka thanks to a 2.5-layer shell and 700-fill goosedown insulated layer.

The good

For a jacket with such a slimline profile, it really does an incredible job of keeping you warm. Columbia's proprietary Omni-Heat technology may sound like a gimmick, but it certainly does the job here, keeping you far toastier than you have any right to expect from such a lightweight, breathable jacket.

The other advantage of the Carabineer II's lack of bulk is that it allows the convenience of being able to be rolled up and stuck in your backpack without having to empty it of everything else first.

The bad

Style is a personal matter, of course, but you're more likely to find the Carabineer II attractive for its slender lines than its fashionable design – but that's a minor downside, and entirely dependant on your own tastes.

More likely to be a downer across the board is the high price, though Columbia will argue that less is more with the Carabineer II, and that's worth paying for.

The bottom line

It's certainly not cheap, but finding a jacket that's able to protect you from the worst the winter winds can throw at you while still being portable enough to roll up and stick in a backpack pocket isn't easy. And that's exactly what you get in the Columbia Omni-Heat Carabineer II Parka.