Columbia Spire Valley - Men's Review

The Columbia Spire Valley is our go-to for an affordable everyday jacket. It looks as good with jeans and a button-down as it does with shorts and hiking shoes, and the cottony-soft nylon fabric stands out in a sea of slippery technical fabrics. It's not the most water-resistant or breathable, but it's versatile enough that you'll find an excuse to wear it most days.

Wind Resistance

The Spire Valley is made of a soft, cotton-like nylon material that provides solid wind protection for everyday activities. It performed a little above average in our wind-resistance testing and offers reliable protection from breezy conditions during casual outdoor activities. This jacket will keep you comfortable in moderate winds, but it might not hold up to the most blustery days in high alpine conditions.

This jacket offers dependable wind resistance for its intended use — light casual wear, after-work hikes, bike commutes, and the like. This jacket effectively blocks the wind on cold, breezy hikes from town. It's not the most wind-resistant model, but it kept us comfortable with only a T-shirt underneath on chilly 50-degree nights.

At home, we placed every jacket against a fan set to high and felt for air passing through the fabric. The Spire Valley allowed some air through, and we could feel most of it passing through the large zipper.

The hood fits comfortably and stays in place during moderate winds, though it's not designed for extreme conditions. It has a cinch cord that wraps around the face opening, and you adjust the tightness by tying the cord as tightly as you need. It also has zippered hand pockets that protect your extremities when the wind picks up. It has no waist cinch, so you can't tighten it at the bottom hem.

While this jacket doesn't top our wind resistance ratings, it provides a balance of protection and comfort that works well for casual wear. It's designed for everyday wind protection rather than alpine conditions, and in that context, it performs exactly as intended.

Breathability

The Spire Valley offers reasonable breathability for a casual windbreaker, but isn't designed for high-output activities. The soft nylon material manages moisture adequately during light activities like walking the dog or casual hiking, but you may notice some heat buildup during more strenuous, high-output activities.

The Spire Valley is comfortable, and the soft fabric feels pleasant against your skin, even during extended wear. The soft material prevents the clammy feeling you sometimes get with synthetic fabrics, though when you start working hard, you will notice it begins to feel wet as you sweat.

While the Spire Valley doesn't have any specialized venting features, the loose fit helps with overall breathability. As you move, air can flow through the loose-fitting waist and billowy arms. The front zipper is the only other ventilation option besides the looser fit. Unzipping the hand pockets provides a slight amount of extra ventilation.

Versatility

The Spire Valley is not a technical windbreaker, and it doesn't try to be. It is versatile enough for everyday wear and almost any casual, low-output activity. Where some technical windbreakers look out of place anywhere outside of a windstorm, the Spire is at home everywhere else, from urban walks and bike rides to casual outdoor activities such as hikes and camping. We've worn this jacket for everything from dog walks, hikes with friends, running errands, and commutes to work. You can wear it with casual clothing or athletic shorts, and it looks good in both contexts.

This jacket is designed for comfort and everyday use, with a fit that allows for easy movement without looking too oversized. This isn't the jacket you'd take alpine climbing or serious backpacking, where you'd want more specialized features. However, it is more at home in casual settings, where a technical jacket would stand out as “too sporty.”

The jacket includes two zippered hand pockets for everyday carry items. The pockets are sized appropriately for smartphones, keys, and other daily essentials.

Packability

Our size medium Spire Valley weighs 10.6 ounces, making it one of the heavier options we tested. It doesn't pack down to a particularly small size or have a dedicated stuff sack pocket.

The Spire Valley doesn't stuff into its own pocket like technical windbreakers, and the packed size is significantly larger than ultralight wind layers. This isn't a jacket you'd want to carry in a backpack just in case. It's designed to be worn rather than packed.

The weight and bulk make this jacket less suitable for activities where space and weight are premium concerns. During testing, we stuffed it into one of the hand pockets, which does work to pack it to a smaller size. But, it's not nearly as portable as many of the windbreakers we tested.

Water Resistance

The Spire Valley offers adequate water resistance for light precipitation, but if you see a storm coming, we'd recommend you head inside soon if this is your only protective layer. The soft polyester material has Columbia's Omni-Shield coating, which provides basic water and stain resistance, and is suitable for brief showers or light drizzle.

Standing 30 seconds under a constant downpour (replicated by a sprinkler and garden hose in our backyard), the Spire Valley's shoulders were pretty soaked, and our underlayers were wet in several spots — on the shoulders and down the midsection of the front of our shirt. This isn't the jacket we'd want to rely on in heavy or even moderate rains. We'd only trust it in a brief sprinkle or light mist.

Should You Buy the Columbia Spire Valley?

The Spire Valley is a very affordable jacket for everyday use. It's not the most technical layer, and we wouldn't recommend it for high-alpine pursuits. It's also not the most breathable, so if you're looking for a jacket to wear during high-output activities, this isn't the one. However, it is a highly comfortable jacket that looks great and provides adequate wind protection in moderate conditions.

What Other Windbreakers Should You Consider?