Columbia Women's Discontinued Arcadia II Jacket

I love this rain jacket. It’s the perfect super light weight for our mild, sprinkly Northwest climate. I will take it with me on a trip to Scandinavia this summer as it takes up very little space in a suitcase. I particularly like the Velcro tabs that tighten or loosen the sleeves. Perfect length for a light outdoorsy jacket. The hood is good and pockets are generous. The only thing I’m not wild about is the ties that are meant to tighten the hood. They are a bit weird to use as they can’t be anchored securely once I’ve tightened them.

Have had this jacket for about three years and have loved it. It can be dressed up a little with career pants and a good bag. I can not stand coats, or anything, with collars around my face and with the hoodie and zipper this is quite flattering if you are the type who lives in v-neck tops. I had this in size 3X and it always was generously sized except a bit snug around the bottom hem. I have lost 45 pounds and was so happy to find this in smaller sizes. I was guessing I would need an XL until I read the reviews about the jacket running small. Then I couldn't decide between the 1X and the 2X. A few reviewers said there was a big difference between the 1X and the 2X and that the arms of this jacket run small. Thank you Amazon reviewers, you were right! I just tried on the 2X and even with the 3X being way too large and the 45 pound weight loss, I needed the 2X in the upper arms and hips. The rest of the jacket is roomy.This is a nicely styled jacket with the zipper and the velcro closure over the zipper for extra protection against rain, and the attached hoodie was the deal-maker.However, many of the quality details of the older version of this coat have been eliminated. The style is the same on the outside where it counts, but in a side by side comparison the fine details I loved are gone. This is more a reflection on quality control than whether you should still buy this coat. Yes! You should still buy it, just see if any of these smaller details will bother you: where the older jacket was detailed with a snap closure at the top and the bottom and three easy velcro closures, the newer jacket has no snaps, but 5 velcro closure points on the flap over the zipper. The jackets though purchased 3years apart are mostly the same with other small differences. Sadly, the roomy zippered security inside pocket is gone. I miss it because that was a safe place to keep items if you were out for a walk and didn't want to carry your purse. The entire lining is not as well made as before: the older jacket's mesh lining is much finer and softer, the inside of the hood had the same lining, and at the outer pocket level, for the bottom 8 inches or so, the mesh ended and the interior of the coat had the same, more durable fabric as outside. That supported what was carried in the 2 outer pockets and gave the coat more substance. Now the hood has no mesh lining. The body of the newer coat has a more open, coarser mesh from the shoulders to the bottom of the coat. My coat is black and the mesh lining is black over a white, or gray, lining that is labelled "OMNI-TECH". Both exterior "hand pockets" are still zippered and lined with mesh, but once again, you are putting your items into double mesh pockets without the fabric reinforcement the old pockets had. The old hoodie had an odd flap with velcro at the back--?? must have served some purpose--but I do not know what. The coat does have an inner hanging loop that is nice in restaurants and places to hang it on a hook to dry. Booth coats have sleeves with a little elastic at the cuffs and a great velcro storm strip at the cuffs to pull the coat very tight around your wrists. The Columbia embroidery and the Omnitech stamp on the left cuff are identical. The hood drawstrings are similar but the old hood had a metal grommet at the opening and a longer, more secure tunnel that the cord pulled through at the end, as well as other minor features being finer on the previous hoodie. The drawstring around the hips is also inferior. All told, you have to wear the jacket for your size. I am grateful they are still making the coat. You would never see much difference in the outer appearance, but it is sad the way producers eliminate the quality details and think the consumer won't notice.

I spent Labor Day weekend amusement park hopping and knew in advance to expect afternoon storms. I purchased this jacket specifically for this trip because I’m smarter than the average bear and actually look at that weather app on my phone. So when the skies opened up, instead of running around like the thousands of people scrambling to purchase overpriced plastic garbage bags/ponchos, I grabbed this jacket out of my backpack.First. I am a size 14 and am 5 feet tall with shoes on. I normally wear a large but bought the XL to have extra room. I’m glad I did, because I was able to fit my Lulu cross body underneath with ease, which was helpful because it was raining sideways. The sleeves are adjustable so while they were long, I was able to cinch them around my wrists. The jacket held up to the gusty winds but I didn’t get overheated, even when the rain slowed to a trickle and the humidity felt like a greenhouse.The jacket's zippered pockets really came in handy! I was able to throw my phone in my pocket and not worry about it getting wet, and an added plus is that I could ride the crazy coasters without fear of it falling out.I purchased the white color because it was on sale and am slightly worried about cleaning it when I get home (lipstick got on it) but even if I can’t get it out, I won’t care. This jacket served its purpose well and I couldn’t be happier! I stayed nice and dry, even on water rides.

I needed a packable raincoat for camping as I’ve been caught in a couple of downpours while setting up and breaking down camp. We were heading into a weekend and the forecast called for heavy rain, so I knew ordering from Amazon may be slim pickings but was impressed to find this at such a great price! I think I got it on sale for around $34. It’s incredibly lightweight however, the morning I wore it, I had a short sleeve shirt on and then a sweatshirt on and felt pretty warm! Main thing is it kept me dry although we didn’t have any downpours as the forecast had called for, so I cannot attest to that at this moment. Just some light drizzle. I really like the zip pockets and that the front zipper comes all the way up to keep your face kind of covered, allowed you to adjust the hood if needed. I’m usually a 2x in tops and sometimes I size up to 3x in jackets for layering room, but this worked perfectly. I was able to zip it just fine with thicker clothes on and move around breaking down our tents and camp without being restricted. Love the bright color-it’s not too bright to be obnoxious neon lol! But just a pretty blue. There’s also Velcro at the cuffs but not quite sure how you’d really adjust those to make it tighter around your wrist without it being uncomfortable? Either way, this did the job I needed it for. I was able to fold it up and it would definitely fit In a backpack for hikes. If you’re plus size and on the fence go for it. I’m also 5’7 around 240 if that helps. I’m a big review reader so I like to be specific to help others make decisions. :)