Cool! This jacket becomes warm in cold weather

There are a number of things that are very characteristic of how I spend my Sundays. Sleeping, eating, reading comic books, playing video games, downloading torrents, surfing the Net, riding my bike, listening to music, and playing the guitar are some of the activities that fill up the day if I’m not feeling lethargic. So although there are a number of options here, I’d still say my Sundays are pretty laid-back and chill.

On 10-10-10, however, “chill” took on a different meaning.

 “Freezing” would be the more appropriate term. Last Sunday, the Columbia Sportswear Company launched their new line of Omni-Heat clothing line and felt that in a tropical country such as ours, there could be only one place to have the unveiling: at Glacier Refrigerated Services Corp., an ice plant in Taguig, where temperatures drop to -24 degrees Celsius in certain rooms. I know we’re well into the “ber” months already, but cold like this is something else.

This was more than just a “try on our jackets in a cold environment” kind of demo. To spruce things up, Columbia, and their exclusive distributor in the Philippines, the Primer Group of Companies, held an Amazing Race-type contest that had participants solving puzzles and doing physical challenges inside the ice plant. Dubbed “The Vostok Experiment” (after the research station in Antarctica where the coldest temperature on Earth was recorded) the tasks were simple enough, but time and arctic conditions made completing them more difficult, and in a way, more exciting.

“I focused on designing a course for the ice plant that wouldn’t be too gruesome or too difficult; nothing too hard like Fear Factor, but challenging enough to be memorable. The idea is that we wanted to showcase Columbia’s technological advances with the Omni-Heat line, and the best way to do so in our country was to hold this kind of event in an ice plant,” says Neville J. Manaois, course designer and race director for the Vostok Experiment.

In the great outdoors, away from the controlled environment of this oversized refrigerator, one would be hiking, trekking, and experiencing both mental and physical fatigue. This is something that Columbia and the Primer Group aimed to recreate with their Vostok Experiment. Aside from demonstrating a more practical application of the new Omni-Heat line of clothes, teamwork and camaraderie were built during the activity, values that the Columbia Sportswear Company uphold.

Columbia Omni-Heat clothes are designed so that in cold temperatures, they keep you up to 20 percent warmer because of a specially developed inner lining. But this lining also acts as a regulator, so you don’t overheat. The material is breathable, and allows excess heat to dissipate due to its wicking properties. It is lightweight and durable, and this is a fact: it will keep the cold out even when you are running around or solving a puzzle in sub-zero conditions.

“I believe that Columbia, with its apparels and the way that it keeps up with technological advances such as with the new Omni-Tech breakthrough, makes the outdoors more accessible to everyone. The company develops its clothes with normal people like you and me in mind, but also takes the toughness of certain outdoor situations into consideration. Also, Columbia pays close attention to style and functionality, as there are so many different situations the outdoorsman can find him or herself in,” says Tiffany Batumbacal, Columbia Sportswear brand manager.

Columbia is known all over the world as a brand that is synonymous with the outdoors. It is the versatility and functionality of its products that make it such a success. Columbia in the Philippines and the Primer Group flexed their versatility muscles last Sunday and did a bang-up job with the Vostok Experiment.

It must have been a first for many of us being inside that ice plant and to feel cold at that level. 10-10-10 turned out to be a pretty interesting day.

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Columbia Sportswear is locally distributed by the Primer Group of Companies. Visit Columbia Sportswear outlets at 2/F Greenbelt 5, G/F SM Cebu Northwing, Upper Ground Floor Bldg. A SM Megamall, 3/F SM The Block, 2/F SM Mall of Asia, G/F Limketkai Mall, 2/F Festival Supermall, 2/F Gateway Mall and in all R.O.X., Res/Toe/Run stores.

For more information visit: www.columbiasportswear.com.ph, Facebook-columbiasportswear_ph or follow us on Twitter- Columbia_phil.

E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.