One of the best annual winter traditions of the 2020s, in my view, is the collaboration between Columbia Sportswear and Star Wars. For the last couple of years, we’ve seen a whole lineup of outdoor gear aimed at showing everyone you’re a big Star Wars fan no matter the weather. After last year’s Darth Vader takeover, there was really just one logical place for this year’s lineup to go — the forest moon of Endor.
You can’t have a conversation about Return of the Jedi without a deep appreciation of the Endor arc of the story. It’s action-packed, has some of the best costumes in the whole of the original trilogy, and everyone loves seeing Ewoks lay siege to Stormtroopers. You can see every aspect of Endor in this Columbia Sportswear lineup, and how hard the team responsible for this line worked to make it special for Star Wars fans.
The General Solo Trench from Columbia comes apart into three individually wearable pieces, all containing Star Wars easter eggs.
Like other Star Wars releases, the top product is a $600 modular trench coat modeled after Gen. Han Solo himself. It’s a three-in-one design covered in clever little nods to the character and the film, but Columbia did something new this year.
The inner lining, what Columbia calls its Omni-Heat reflective pattern, contains the Rebel Starbird symbol in gold all throughout. This version of Omni-Heat can be found across this entire line, making it a cool little detail to show off to your friends.
If General Solo isn’t what you’re aiming for, there’s plenty of other options in this lineup. The $400 Endor Issue poncho is a nearly cosplay-ready waterproof poncho with side snaps to fit to yourself and bungees in the arms to keep water out. This one isn’t for the deep cold, but wearing this out on a hike in the woods is a great opportunity for photo ops.
The rest of the winter lineup includes a $150 Endor Issue vest, a $130 matching set of thermal pants, a $220 pair of matching boots and a selection of hats and pullovers with a similar theme throughout. But the real star of the show, in my opinion, is the Ewok fleece jacket for little ones.
Tell me you wouldn’t wear this if it came in adult sizes, I dare you.
Columbia will have these from infant sizing up to youth sizes and all of them have those ridiculously cute ears on top. I’m sure Columbia had a great reason for not also making an adult version of this set, and I’m not at all bitter about it.
This Endor collection comes to Columbia’s website at 10 a.m. ET on Dec. 11. If you’re part of the free Columbia Greater Rewards program you’ll get access to this initial sale 30 minutes earlier. Select parts of this lineup will also be available at a couple of the Columbia Sportswear stores, though historically most of the availability is in the stores closest to the Disney parks. However you manage to get yours this year, you’ll be ready to show off your fandom no matter what the temperature is outside.
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