Description of Columbia Single Track Softshell Jacket - Men's:
The cross-country ski trails are covered with snow, so put on the Columbia Men's Single Track Softshell Jacket and get kickin'. The woven fabric of the Columbia Single Track stretches with your every movement, giving you the protection of a ski shell with the comfort of a fleece jacket. Underarm zips vent away the heat once you've been kicking and gliding for a few minutes, and a zip-off hood protects you should Mother Nature commence vomiting huge white flakes. The fleece lining feels soft against your skin and also wicks moisture away and out where it can evaporate.
My Gypsy/Grill jacket is actually brick red - not orange like the photos show. The more I wear it and look at it though, the more I like the colors.
The stretch is not as much as fleece, either. You can feel it stretch if you grab two handfuls of cloth and pull hard, but when moving around in it, you do seem to hit your limits here and there, but it's not bad. It's just not like fleece.
One little faux pas is that the zippers are cold against the inside of your arms if you wear short sleeves since there is no protective flap inside the pit zips. There isn't any insulation in the sleeves, either. Just the cold-feeling taffeta.
This wasn't what I had in mind when I bought a Columbia softshell because I'd had and lost a previous Columbia softshell, and it was more like a '70's polyester pantsuit on the outside. This jacket is more like their Winter jackets (like Titanium or Vertex) on the outside, but with a bit of stretch. Noisy when you rub it with your hand. Nevertheless, I'm seriously considering getting another one with the Cordova/Pewter color to go with my Titanium ski pants of roughly the same colors (Kettle/Khaki). I really do like it a lot no matter what I said above. I really would buy it again.
I bought this jacket last week but am disappointed with the cut of the jacket. I am 6'2'', 180lbs and a large would've been the right fit but this jacket doesn't have an athletic cut. For it to fit right I would've needed 20-30 lbs more around the mid-section! I found it too bulky and question the role (urban or backcountry) with regard to the materials; I was expecting more of a stretch fabric than just nylon. I find this to be a great-looking jacket but ended up buying a North Face Apex Bionic Hoodie which has more of an athletic cut.
This jacket is nice. It fits well, maybe just a little short for me. It is more of a smaller winter jacket then a soft shell jacket. I was looking for a real light weight soft shell for travel, this was not it, however if i needed a winter coat I would have kept this.
