This cooling effect slowly dissipated as the fabric dried out. Coupled with complementary technologies like Omni-Shade 50 SPF UV protection and design features like a vented back panel in some shirts , the clothing performs well outdoors. I do feel like I was more comfortable on my warm weather hikes in the Columbia clothing I tested.
The Omni-Freeze Zero materials are best used next to the skin so wearing something underneath defeats the purpose. I found most of the sizing true to convention.
It would be nice to see Columbia develop an Omni-Odor Block technology of some kind. All of the tech fabrics in athletic wear seem to amplify body odor and these shirts are no different.
Other than that, I like the styling, fit and weight of the garments. I do wish they made the Terminal Zero in a black or dark gray color but I seem to be in the minority lately about acceptable clothing colors…and I like the blue. I think Columbia does a pretty thorough job in designing clothing that works well in the outdoors. It works. We did get free samples to test as part of OmniTEN, but I felt confident enough in the products after using them to purchase more pieces with my own money AND buy some for my wife.
We then took a dip in the water, and it was instant relief and disbelief for me. I felt unbelievably cool in the water, but once I stepped out of the water after dunking my Trail Dryer hat in the water , I stayed cool for a couple hours without going back into the water! The biggest advantage of the omni-freeze shirt are the vents. This allows air to circulate and I have noticed that my sweat dries a lot quicker compared to the cotton shirt.
As for the omni-freeze cooling system, I am less than impressed. I bought a long-sleeved button-up version two years ago.
The material that makes the magic happen is made of flat fibers that bring 35 percent more surface area in contact with your skin than traditional round yarns -- and the more cloth touching your dermis, the better it can absorb and dissipate body heat. These flat fibers are bonded with a special compound that activates when wet by water or sweat and lowers the temperature of both the garment and the person wearing it.
In fact, if you stir in enough of the stuff, you can actually freeze a glass of water. Because the effect comes courtesy of chemical added to the clothing, it won't last forever -- but the company told us it'll keep its cooling properties for 50 - 70 trips through the washing machine.
Want it now? Too bad, because the Omni-Freeze Ice line of gear won't be released worldwide until We got to try on a sleeve of the stuff ourselves, and can say that Columbia's cool new threads really work. Once the material was sprayed with some water and we started walking around, our arm was chilled quite pleasantly, almost like an Altoid for your skin.
Traditional sports apparel has long aimed to combat that warm, damp, sticky feeling by pulling moisture away from your body and allowing it to dissipate. Instead of just wicking away perspiration, Omni-Freeze Zero puts it to work. Your sweat or moisture in general reacts with the specially designed polymer contained in the visible rings in the material to create a cooling effect.
The rings actually swell like goose bumps and create what Columbia classifies as a "prolonged cooling sensation. We see sweat as a renewable resource that will allow athletes, outdoor enthusiasts or anyone that spends time in hot, humid conditions to sweat smarter, staying more comfortable. Not a full year ago, Columbia introduced Omni-Freeze Ice, a fabric that So what exactly is new here, besides the "Zero" name and big, rhetoric-filled press campaign?
We emailed that question to a Columbia public relations rep, who explained: "There is a different construction method, and the wearer will notice the difference between the two.
With Omni-Freeze Zero the wearer will feel an enduring and long-lasting cooling feeling - it's a prolonged cooling effect that is always kind of there because the polymer dots will stay swelled. Columbia even goes so far as to say that some of its athletes prefer wearing Omni-Freeze Zero garments over removing layers of clothing. Outside of that, Columbia is keeping the details of Omni-Freeze Zero closely guarded.
From official information and early reports, it sounds as though Zero essentially amplifies the effect of natural evaporative cooling. Instead of letting sweat take over your clothing, or attempting to pull it away, the new fabric works with sweat to maximize its cooling properties. If it works half as well as Columbia wants us to believe, it could be an effective approach that's quickly mimicked by other apparel manufacturers.
Omni-Freeze Zero will find its way into Columbia's line next spring.
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