Columbia Highland Summit Jacket Reviewed in 2025

Why Choose This Columbia Titanium Jacket?

Columbia is a world-recognized ski apparel brand. Starting as a family-owned hat distributor, Columbia produces quality outdoor apparel at reasonable prices. Columbia jackets prove their worth, as they stay in your wardrobe rotation for years.

The Highland Summit is a part of the Titanium collection. The Columbia Highland Summit jacket is a prime example of a Columbia product of that caliber. Titanium jackets are designed to give high-performance athletes versatility in atmospheric phenomena.

This Columbia jacket provides functionality, weather protection, and style. Ski and snowboard in comfort with this affordable insulated jacket. But wearing this jacket to and fro, by the fire, while hiking, and so much more is available.

Performance Features Benefiting On Hill Action

Several features make this Columbia jacket a top contender for your next favorite ski jacket. After years of outdoor gear production, Columbia implements features that make resort skiing effortless. Wearing this jacket eliminates the need for a backpack, so you’ll ride better than ever.

First and foremost, the jacket allows for a full range of motion while snowboarding, skiing, hiking, or shifting from the firepit smoke. It has an active fit, designed to be more streamlined to reduce bulkiness than regular or relaxed fits.

Specifically, while snowboarding, flexing, extending, and counter rotations felt seamless in the Highland Summit. There was no resistance while bending over to strap in. However, the fabric does move stiff compared to something like the Spyder Seventy-Eight Jacket.

A glorious feature of the Highland jacket is its abundant pockets in various sizes. The zippered chest pockets are huge; fitting two drinks, your phone, and an extra goggle lens is easy. The hand pockets are spacious for multi-tools, sunscreen, and sandwiches. Inside the jacket is a secure pocket for wallets and small items. There is also a ski pass pocket on the arm sleeve.

The underarm vents unzip to provide maximum airflow. After a top-to-bottom lap, unzipping these while waiting in the lift line is a game changer. There is no netting, so while collecting powder face shots, snow can get inside the jacket. However, not having netting increases the airflow tremendously, and there is nothing for the zippers to snag on when you are in a hurry zipping or unzipping.

An adjustable hood is attached to the Highland Summit ski jacket. The hood is not removable. There are drawcords to cinch the hood to ensure a tight fit. The hood does not limit your field of view; turning your neck is possible while snowboarding.

The armcuffs of the Highland jacket are compatible with gloves and mittens. The sleeves feature an inside thumbhole cuff that seals the jacket shut from snow entering the arms when wearing gloves. The velcro cuffs allow the jacket sleeves to be worn under or over gloves comfortably.

This Columbia jacket has a drawcord hem. The drawcord hem helps ensure the jacket stays down while riding, sitting on chair lifts, bending over to strap in, etc. The drawcord hem is a bonus for protection against snow getting into the jacket, perfect for powder slashes and park falls. The adjustable hem also allows for a style change.

Inside the Highland Summit jacket resides a powder skirt. This Columbia jacket can be a go-to powder day choice because of the secure elasticized snap-buttoned band that keeps snow out. If you fall in deep snow, the powder skirt prevents snow from entering your pants or back.

The Highland jacket design features a drop tail. At an initial glance, the benefits of the drop tail were in question. After testing, the drop tail seemed more useful than initially perceived. It helps to block the user’s bum from cold chairlifts, the snow, and provides overall warmth in the buttock region.

When to Wear This Columbia Jacket

Many companies, including Columbia, do not advertise the specific temperatures for which the ski jacket is designed. Columbia instills technology to provide users with a coat suitable for various activities and weather conditions. Testing the Highland Summit jacket revealed where it does its job best and where it doesn’t.

The Highland Summit ski jacket ranks in the warmest category of Columbia jackets. The Highland does perform well in below-freezing temperatures. Wearing just a t-shirt underneath in 20F temperatures is entirely manageable. If it gets colder than that, layering is a good idea.

When the snow is dumping, this Titanium jacket thrives during storm days. The shell provides extreme waterproofing. Pow skiing is comfortable due to features like the powder skirt, drawcord hem, and adjustable hood.

Columbia does not advertise the Highland jacket as windproof. This may be due to the emphasis on the breathable design. However, in windy conditions, this Columbia jacket holds its own. The multilayered insulated jacket doesn’t allow the wind to make you cold, but you can feel the wind slightly through it.

If it’s a warm, sunny spring skiing day, this is not the Columbia jacket to wear. When temperatures are around 50F, this jacket becomes too hot to wear during activity. If you want a spring skiing jacket, look towards the Volcom Brighton Pullover. Going to and fro, you can get away with wearing this jacket whenever the weather calls for a coat.

The Highland can be used for much more than just resort riding. Other occasions, like early morning walks with your dog or ice fishing, would be nicely accompanied by this Columbia jacket.

The Columbia Highland Summit Jacket is great for nighttime activities. It is stylish, warm, and has lots of pockets. So, if you need to throw a jacket on over your button-down before heading out on the town, this is the perfect jacket.

Jacket Materials for Weather Protection

Columbia has invented technology for weatherproofing their gear. Many companies use the revered GORE-TEX weatherproofing technology in ski jackets like the Arc’teryx Alpha Ski Jacket. Columbia’s Omni-Tech™ challenges GORE-TEX’s performance but at a quarter of the price.

The exterior shell of this Columbia jacket is equipped with Omni-Tech™ to create a waterproof, breathable layer. This fabric is stiffer, “with some breaking in to do.” The waterproofing tech works wonders. The breathability rating of the shell is high, but this means that wind penetrates through the jacket more than a windproof jacket like the Burton AK Kalausi GORE-TEX 3L.

The liner of the Highland Summit jacket features Omni-Heat™ Infinity fabric with a gold thermal-reflective pattern. This is Columbia’s warmest tech, which provides fantastic heat retention and good breathability. The fabric is constructed out of 100% polyester, which does help with its breathability. But breathability will only be noticed on frigid days when you push your body to the brink of sweating.

The Columbia Highland Summit jacket insulation provides excellent warmth with eco-friendly ratings. It is moderate in thickness, which makes this jacket good for various activities. The insulation is 85% recycled polyester and 15% polyester, which also helps improve breathability levels.

Although all the materials are made to supply breathability, this isn’t a highlight of this Columbia jacket. The Highland Summit ski jacket materials provide great warmth, waterproofing, durability, and mobility.

Unbeatable Value

The value of the Highland Summit jacket is indisputable. Columbia offers high-quality products at reasonable prices, something rare in the post-Covid ski world.

This Columbia jacket is under $200 but provides protection that other companies sell for $600. The lower price does not hinder the performance of this jacket.

Suppose you ride hard every day of the season with several different jackets. Traits that you’ll notice are a little behind the more expensive tech: windproofing, fabric stiffness, and lower versatility of wearing conditions.

Columbia, The Brand for Everyone; The Highland Summit, A Jacket for Everything

Columbia jackets do an incredible job at being the “I’ll grab that jacket” every time you head out the door. Columbia provides such versatile, durable, protective apparel. The Highland Summit is at the frontier of Columbia jackets.

The Titanium collection is devoted to protecting high-performance athletes in diverse climate conditions. The Highland Summit fits in perfectly with the Titanium collection and eco-friendly ratings. Expect freedom of movement while snowboarding and skiing, protection in below-freezing temperatures and storms, style, and lots of pockets.