When the parcel arrived on my doorstep – light, flat, and on the small side – I thought it was a pair of socks. Does Columbia make socks? That was my second thought. They do, but who knew you could fit a whole coat in a sock-sized parcel? I was thrilled, ecstatic, jumping for joy… until I tried it on.

The airy fabric of the windbreaker floated over my shoulders, the lightly elasticized cuffs hugged the wrist without pressure, but the sizing was on the slim side. Sadly, I have hips. My daughter was thrilled, ecstatic, jumping for joy. “Besides,” she pleaded, “ you already have a running coat and I don’t.”

I wasn’t ready to give it up. The promise of this windbreaker was its ultra-lightweight pack-ability. It would be ideal for our upcoming spring trip paddling Utah’s Green River and cycling a little slick rock. It would work perfectly for early season training runs (as I write, the grey skies outside are puking freezing rain).  It would work well for the winds that have been known to howl from time to time on the east side of the Rockies.

“It would perfect for short hikes,” my seasonally, park-employed daughter wheedled. “I could use it for trail runs getting ready for the half.”

I caved… but not without demanding that she model and let me know how it works on a trail run!

Looks good!