I recently hiked the French Alps wearing the insanely lightweight and comfortable Columbia Omni-Tech Ampli-Dry shell jacket, so I'm delighted to see it hitting the Black Friday sales, which kicked off today.
Columbia is a leading outdoor-wear brand, and the hiking jacket from their A/W range has plenty to love about it, including sought-after Omni-Tech waterproof fabric and pit zips for underarm temperature ventilation. It's also one of the lightest jackets I own, so I highly recommend jumping on the black or navy models before they sell out.
At the time of writing, you can save 25% with this Black Friday deal for men through REI. As soon as I spot a deal for the women's model, I'll update this page. That said, I've worn some of Columbia's men's range and it fits well, so there's no reason that both men and women couldn't shop this deal.
You can choose from two colorways and various sizes, but stock is selling fast, so I can't guarantee the deal will stay around for long.
Columbia Black Friday deal to shop right now
Columbia Omni-Tech Ampli-Dry shell jacket: super lightweight and waterproof
If you haven't hiked the French Alps before, it's almost impossible to know how the weather is going to turn out, and you need to pack for all eventualities. Thankfully, I had the Columbia Omni-Tech Ampli-Dry shell jacket on hand. I could barely tell I was wearing this jacket, and you could easily run, hike, or walk in it for hours and hours without even knowing it.
The pit zips are genius, allowing you to increase ventilation around your armpits on sweaty hikes or hotter days out walking or running. The women's model came up small for me, which worked fine, but I would opt for a size up if you plan to take a baselayer out with you. The famed Omni-Tech fabric and full seam sealing provide brilliant waterproofing and breathability, which are two key factors when exercising outdoors.
Other worthwhile features include adjustments at the wrists, a drawcord hood and zippered hand and chest pockets to store valuables as you move. It's convenient to have these adjustments to keep out drafts if you only have light layers underneath, but I prefer to keep mine loose to improve my movement quality.
Columbia lists the product as best used for hiking, but I've already clocked the miles in the jacket on rainy English runs through my local park and the jacket hasn't failed me yet. And if you plan to take this Columbia jacket on a trip, it's easy to store and pack away.
Other REI jacket deals
Our fitness writer has already found awesome Black Friday deals on Arc'teryx and Patagonia and my favorite The North Face running jacket is a staggering 70% off before Black Friday. We'll continue to update our pages as and when more deals come in.
If your goal is to get outdoors more often this winter, our writer has also put together tips on how to stay dry while biking in the rain, and we love these Black Friday fitness equipment deals for building your home gym on a budget.
