Lined With Gold: Columbia Unveils Olympic Ski Uniforms

The 2018 Winter Olympics are just six weeks away, and some athletes have additional inspiration with gold-color insulation inside their Columbia jackets.

If you’ve worn a Columbia jacket, you are likely familiar with Omni-Heat reflective insulation. It’s shiny and silver – unless, that is, you’re going for the gold.

On Saturday morning, Columbia Sportswear unveiled Olympic uniforms for Canada, the U.S., Brazil, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine that will be worn in the Seoul, South Korea, games.

This year, athletes competing in aerial, mogul, and freestyle skiing (park and pipe) will wear the uniforms bedazzled with gold-lined reflective insulation and other unique technology intended to make the athletes look, and feel, great.

Columbia Olympic Uniforms: Collaboration with Athletes

Columbia spokespeople revealed the uniforms at the World Cup mogul skiing finals in Calgary. There, they leveraged the brand’s relationship with American gold medalist Hannah Kearney to explain Columbia’s close collaboration with Olympic competitors.

Kearney and company spokesman Andy Nordhoff explained the athletes’ direct feedback went into each article of clothing to create a product that performs under tough conditions.

2018 Winter Olympic Uniform Features

Stretch: OutDry Extreme

The 2018 uniforms use OutDry Extreme, a waterproof-breathable fabric the brand uses on the outside of jackets and pants to keep inner insulation dry. But this generation of OutDry Extreme will stretch more than previous iterations, allowing for better mobility.

Omni-Heat (in gold!)

Omni-Heat is a proven technology. But it’s usually silver in coloration. While seemingly a modest tweak, the gold color aims to inspire athletes for the ultimate sporting achievement: an Olympic gold medal.

In addition, each country’s jackets will sport national symbols embedded in the gold Omni-Heat. For example, a bald eagle inside U.S. models and a moose within the Canadian jacket.

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Light Rail Zippers

Columbia pioneered the Light Rail Zipper for the 2014 Olympic Games. This nearly invisible, light, and flexible zipper returns in 2018.

Snow Camo

Moguls Skiers want their legs to appear as calm as possible as they piston rapidly up and down through wicked bumps. Columbia’s snow camo aims to minimize the appearance of leg motion through bumps (although competitors must wear knee markers for judging).

We’ve checked out these jackets up close and they’ve been well received. It’s only six weeks until we find out which athletes, and gear, wind up on the podium at this year’s games.

Keep up with the Winter Games in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 9–25.