Canada Goose Chilliwack Bomber Review

In our overall scoring, the Chilliwack is nothing special. Remember, though, that every product that makes it into an OutdoorGearLab review is an excellent product. Because we buy the products we test and dedicate many resources to our comparative testing regimen, we are quite selective. We keep tabs on the entire market and select only the best available. If we were to compile a scoring chart of the whole spectrum of available winter jackets, the Chilliwack Bomber's relative score would look very different. It would be near the top, with the only products beating it being the same products that surpass it in this select list.

Performance Comparison

Canada Goose clothing is marked by excellent hoods. The hood of the Chilliwack is no exception.

Warmth

Canada Goose is known for making incredibly warm jackets. The associations are right there in the brand name. The Chilliwack isn't the warmest jacket they make, but it is still warmer than the most insulating products from some other companies. The Chilliwack is what we'd call a warm "all-around" winter jacket. For even the coldest climates, the Chilliwack Bomber is as insulating as you'll need for walking between transit modes and while taking the dog out to pee.

The high collar and long cuffs lock out the weather.

The Best Buy The North Face McMurdo III Parka has a similar insulation thickness as the Chilliwack, but the cut of the McMurdo extends lower. Overall, therefore, we grant the McMurdo a slightly higher warmth score. The Chilliwack is warmer than most of the jackets we tested.

Weather Resistance

Canada Goose has made the Chilliwack protective enough. Incidentally, "Chilliwack" is a Canadian suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. The external fabric is waterproof and thick. However, the plethora of seams and pockets, along with the fur-rimmed hood make it inappropriate for the wettest of conditions. Water will get through the seams and mat the fur. A jacket this warm is better suited to the coldest conditions anyway. Conditions in which liquid water is a distant proposition.

The short cut is unique in our test. Some dig the comfort and style, while others don't. All notice that the shorter length offers less protection. Thankfully this jacket is plenty warm otherwise.

Comfort

Our review team delivered a mixed bag of feedback on the comfort of the Chilliwack Bomber jacket. The short-torsoed design was the polarizing feature. Long torso testers found the jacket to ride up and leave room for drafts. Others just didn't like the shortcut. A select few, though, liked the unencumbered design of the "bomber" cut. Especially for sitting down in, the shortcut is less confining than a longer design.

For manual labor, the shorter cut allows for a greater range of motion.

Features

The possible features of a winter jacket include the pocket selection, hood, and associated adjustments, wrist closures, and other protective measures. With these, the Chilliwack is pretty well equipped. First, there are abundant pockets. The cuffs of the Chilliwack are simple stretchy knit cuffs. They keep the warm in and are comfortable.

Style

The Chilliwack Bomber is the most uniquely styled jacket we tested. The pilot "bomber" style is bold and stands out. Universally, the feedback we got was strong. Some liked it while others certainly did not. No one was ambivalent about this Canada Goose product. The only other jacket that elicited such impassioned feedback was the Editors' Choice Arc'teryx Camosun Parka. One observer stated about the Camosun, "whoa, isn't that classy." All others found the Camosun neutral in styling.

The utilitarian style of this jacket is complemented by bombproof construction.

Durability

This is a durable jacket. The rugged construction and down insulation could last a lifetime. Unless you are crawling into the engine cowling of a bomber for cold weather repairs, you are unlikely to exert enough force on the Chilliwack Bomber to generate more than superficial wear.

Value

Canada Goose jackets are expensive. There is no way around this fact. It is rare in our OutdoorGearLab reviews that a product exceeds the price of Arc'teryx's offering. Canada Goose does it. Though you get impeccable construction, super-durability, top-notch materials, and high-end performance for the price, we cannot in good conscience call the Canada Goose Chilliwack a "value" choice. This is a luxury item.

Conclusion