Columbia Women's Mighty Lite III Vest

I absolutely love this vest, and I am so glad that I bought it!My sister-in-law was raving about her Omni-heat ski jacket, so I wanted to try out the technology. I already have a waterproof ski jacket from North Face, so I decided to look for a vest version of the Omni-heat technology I prefer the mobility and comfort that a vest provides for most of the outdoor activities in which I engage. (I had a "Thinsulate" vest from LLBean that just wasn't working for me-- too bulky for comfort and not warm enough.)The Omni-heat vest performs exactly as I had hoped. I'm one of those people who is cold all of the time. I dress in layers wherever I go because I am never sure what the ambient temperature is going to be like. I have spent far too much time in my life huddled miserably somewhere shivering with cold-- people's houses, restaurants, grocery stores, you name it. I tried not to let my tendency toward cold affect my activities though. So I have been in constant search for jackets/coats/accessories that help me stay warm. I want to give you two examples of how the Omni-heat vest has proven itself to be a high quality product.First, over Christmas vacation, my family and I were on a ski vacation. My husband and I took our children snow tubing. On top of the mountain, it was 5 degrees, with a 20 mph wind and constant snow fall. I decided to replace the inner-liner of my North Face coat with the Omni-heat vest. Since the vest is so thin, it fit very comfortably under the coat-- way more comfortably, in fact, than the inner liner that came with the coat. I was out in the cold/wind/snow for 2 hours and my body was completely and comfortably warm. My hands and feet were numb, but my body was truly warm. It was amazing!Second, I live on the New Jersey coast. I routinely take walks along the boardwalk in the town where I live. There's always a wind. More often than not, it is a cold, south wind. With my North Face coat/liner, I would walk in the dead of winter, but always felt cold and uncomfortable. It got to the point at which I wouldn't even bother going for a walk if the wind were southerly and over 10 mph. A few weeks ago, I took a walk in the wind/freezing rain just to try out the Omni-heat technology. Amazingly, I stayed completely warm. My waterproof coat kept me dry, and the Omni-heat vest kept my totally warm.I'm being so detailed in my description for the other cold people out there. If you are a cold person, then you are going to be amazed at how effective the Omni-heat technology is at keeping you comfortable.As far as the fit of the vest goes, it works well for me. I am the type of person who likes clothes slightly large for comfort. I like to be able to move my limbs around without feelings of restriction. I am 5'5" tall and 120 pounds (fit and slender). I also am a 34D. I usually buy shirts and jackets in a Large to accommodate my bust (though a medium or small would fit the rest of my torso better). I absolutely hate the feeling of shirts or jackets compressing my bust. I bought the Omni-heat vest in a Large. As I had hoped, the Large vest fits comfortably over my bust, and it allows me to comfortably wear sweatshirts or bulky sweaters underneath. The only trouble is that it doesn't have the nice, "fitted" appearance of the vest modeled in the product photo. I like the extra space, and I am trying to stay warm rather than win fashion awards. The vest itself is very thin, and not bulky at all. The thinness of the vest does not detract at all from it's ability to keep you warm.In sum, the Omni-heat vest by Columbia meets my expectations perfectly. I got exactly what I was looking for when I purchased the vest-- a light, comfortable, high-quality vest that provides excellent protection from the cold. I recommend it whole-heartedly!

I live in Wisconsin where we have to own many types of jackets for all of the seasons (I'm not at all disappointed by this!) and the weather can vary a lot from one day to the next. Like a good Girl Scout, I like to be prepared and owning a warm, yet lightweight, vest was something I needed to do. I own a few heavier, down vests but not lightweight ones until I came upon this vest several months ago. I've owned Columbia jackets for almost two decades now and always love their quality so I didn't hesitate to purchase this vest. Prior to buying this vest, I had bought  Columbia Women's Mighty Lite III Jacket, Large, Black  so I knew what to expect for the quality and sizing.The Columbia Women's Mighty Lite III Vest is a lightweight, but warm, vest suitable for many temperatures. It's made with the Omni-Heat technology that uses your body's heat to keep you warm without the bulk so it allows you a lot of mobility. This vest is made in Vietnam of 100% polyester (shell and lining) and the insulation is made of 50% polyester and 50% recycled polyester. It is machine washable in cold water and you can dry it in the dryer on low heat. The vest zips all the way up to my chin and has a piece that covers the zipper so it doesn't irritate my skin. There are two zippered outer pockets big enough for your phone, keys, and other small items. There is also an inner zippered pocket for other small personal items. There isn't a drawstring cord to cinch at the bottom but that doesn't bother me at all.For reference purposes, I am 5'6", 165 pounds with a 36D chest and I ordered a large in the Light Grape color which fits perfectly! I can comfortably wear this with a long-sleeve shirt or a hoodie and I have enough room in the bust and hips without it being too snug. This vest is a slim fit so if you prefer more room, I'd order a size larger. This vest is great for me because I wore it a lot in the fall when temperatures here are cool enough for a vest. I will put this on and hardly notice I'm wearing it because it's so comfortable. I'm warm without being hot and this vest is perfect to wear while running errands, shopping or hauling the kids from one place to another. Since it's lightweight, you can easily fold this up and pack it in a backpack or suitcase for a trip. I wouldn't recommend this vest for extreme, subzero temperatures but it would be great for temperatures above freezing or even a little below freezing if a heavy sweatshirt is worn with it.I ordered the Light Grape because I love purple but, when I got it, it looks more like a royal blue than purple. Luckily, I like blue as well but I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more purple. I have included pictures of my vest and hopefully the color comes across accurately but I also feel the picture shown on here is fairly accurate.I am so happy I found this vest and feel it's worth the investment to buy it! I have kids and spend a lot of time running around with them so it comes in handy a lot. I purchased this vest four months ago and I've worn it many times. In fact, I love this vest so much that I'm considering purchasing another one in a different color! This vest is comfortable, versatile and looks great with jeans and yoga pants. If you want a vest that's warm without the bulk, I recommend purchasing this one!

I was concerned about ordering this vest because there are a lot of people saying it runs small, large, and true to size so I was confused about what size to order. I decided to order both the medium and the small. I am normally a size small and the small fit perfectly. This vest is supposed to be form-fitting and I think that's one of the reasons it looks nice/stylish on, but I don't feel like it is too snug/tight at all. I wear this vest over my thickest sweaters and it still fits perfectly so I'm not sure why some people say it runs small unless it's because they have a small waist and a larger chest? I wear small in all my shirts/sweaters and this ran true to size for me.Thankfully, my mom is always a size medium and the medium fit her perfectly so I was able to give that to her for Christmas instead of having to return it. So I would say that at least with the small and the medium, the vest runs true to size. At least that is my experience. My mom and I both got black ones. I definitely feel the vest is warm but so far I've only used it as an extra layer under a coat for the most part and one time I went running with the vest and a jacket and I ended up taking the jacket off and was fine with the vest.I'll update this review when I have more experience with how warm the vest is. So far I've been wearing it pretty frequently for a month. It's reallllyyy thin material which is nice because it is still warm but it isn't a big, puffy layer. So I think this vest is especially good for layering because of how thin it is.