Is Columbia Shoes Made in the USA? Columbia has earned its name to be one of the best Sportwear brands. However, many people still ask, are Columbia shoes made in the USA? Read the full guide to find all your answers now.
Columbia Sportswear was founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, and became a worldwide famous brand for its authentic outdoor apparel and hiking footwear which is second to none.
When it was founded, the company used to manufacture all its products in Portland. With the passage of time, its shoes became famous in many parts of Asia and Europe as well as Canada. Although the brand now outsources its manufacturing activity to countries like Vietnam and China, the quality is never compromised.
Columbia has won many hearts with its incredible and innovative designs that offer features for all seasons and types of people. The most popular item by this brand is its hiking boots that offer unmatched protection against heavy winds, rain, and snow.
Here is an in-depth guide on everything you need to know about Columbia, where it manufactures its shoes today, and why it is valued today.
What are Columbia Shoes?
Columbia shoes are one outstanding shoe that bridges the gap between comfort and your favorite thrilling outdoor activity. The brand isn’t just ordinary shoes, each masterpiece has been designed with stabilizing heel, gripping outsole, foot cradling cushioning and a glove-like comfortable fit to keep your feet healthy at all times.
But it’s that something almost all footwear brands claim to be? Glad you asked that.
What makes its customers go head over heels for the brand isn’t its surface-level features that only serve the purpose, when you slide your feet in one of the shoes, you get to understand how Columbia exceeds your expectations with:
- OutDry breathable waterproof materials
- Speed lacing system that tightly ties your laces and unties them with t single pull
- HGS heel stabilizing system offers maximum performance on the trail
- Vibram outsole for improved traction
- Techlite offers long-lasting comfort and high energy return for improved performance
- Ballistic textile upper with welded overlays
Another thing that I personally love about Columbia is how it offers specialized shoes to reach the purpose. For example, if you are a regular hiker who likes to hike for long hikes, a well-cushioned, light, and durable Columbia hiking boot is just enough to make the cut.
However, if you are someone who‘s always up for a challenge then you better go with heavier hiking boots with high ankle height, stiffer soles, and waterproof abilities to help you go through rocky and steep terrains.
Besides that, if you are carrying a heavy backpack, then sturdy boots can easily absorb the punishment meted out by the terrains.
Popular Columbia Shoes For Women
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Is Columbia a Good Brand?
What makes a brand “good” depends on various factors. When we look at the price, the brand is known for manufacturing premium quality Columbia shoes at an affordable price so every outdoor lover can enjoy its wide range of activities and fun. However, this is just a glimpse of the whole picture.
Here are some of the other things that can help you decide how good or bad Columbia is.
Vibram
Vibram soles are one of the few types of soles that are created with rubber lug soles. It takes unique threadwork to create shoes such as the Columbia waterproof shoes that are high instability slip resistance and unmatched performance to make sure you are great at everything you do.
Air Cushion
A cushioning is essential in shoes to make sure your feet are not only secure but have less pressure on sensitive areas of your legs and feet. This includes your ankle and knees which, if not treated at the right time can further deteriorate your health condition with time. Therefore, adequate air cushioning by Columbia truly resonates comfort and credibility to the brand.
Ventilation
The leather mesh and upper of Columbia provide unprecedented breathability and durability to keep you set for the entire trail. They offer an out-of-the-box experience with their ventilation to help you make the most out of your favorite outdoor activities and sustain its passion flaming inside you.
Where Are the Columbia Shoes Made?
The Columbia Sportswear Company was founded in Portland, Oregon to manufacture and distribute sportswear, footwear, headgear, and camping equipment. The small hat company was first started by two German immigrants Tim Boyle who is the son of Gert Boyle, the founder of Columbia.
Today the brand is known to be an industry-leading business that specializes in outdoor apparel and footwear. It has also distributed its merchandise to more than 10,000 retainers in North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
The aim of the brand is to create its own definition of perfection and be home to any outdoor-related item you would want to buy.
Not just that, one thing that most people fail to miss is Columbia is also a reading Skiwear manufacturer in the US that focuses on producing premium quality snowboard apparel and footwear for added convenience.
It also includes sunglasses, scarves, hats, and ski goggles. The family-run business is still moving ahead at an unprecedented pace to make a mark in history.
Who Is the Owner of the Columbia Brand?
The second-generation chairman Gert Boyle and her son, the current CEO Tim Boyle have prevailed their way through countless obstacles and stores to be where they are today. The publicly-traded company has a captivating past which entices many people to learn more, resonate, and form a specific bounding with the brand.
However, if we go even beyond that, the immediate past chairwoman Gert Boyle’s parents, Paul and Marie Lamform embarked on this after flying away from Nazi Germany in 1937 and bought a Portland hat distributorship near Columbia river which is where they got the name from.
This Company Hat Company struggled to comply with suppliers’ restrictions and frustrations until they began to manufacture their own products to become Columbia Sportswear Company in 1960.
That’s not it, in 1970 Nela Boyle, the husband of Gert Boyle died following a heart attack then their son Tim Boyle rescued and took over the company to save it from bankruptcy.
Later, Gert Boyle served as a president from 1970 to 1988 and supported it by being the chairman of the board of directors in 1983 and remained that until she died in 2019.
As you can see, the brand didn’t have an easy road to success. The countless obstacles and challenges helped them be better than yesterday and provide more value with their products. This way you get to see Columbia coming up with innovative advanced systems to give you utmost satisfaction with their shoes.
Is Patagonia Better than Columbia?
Now that your fundamentals of Columbia brands are clear I’m sure you must have many doubts about whether Columbia is really better than its competitors. Whereas Patagonia is a high-end brand that uses all types of recycling and sourced materials to come up with an innovative way to give you satisfaction and endless care.
As for Columbia, it uses a slightly different approach of being affordable and using advanced tech to manufacture shoes that are second to none. Here is full compassion that can help us grasp the idea better.
Price
Columbia is an excellent brand that focuses more on convenience and practicality than anything else. I wouldn’t say there is any brand cheaper or better than Columba, of course, they are, but the quality they offer with that price range makes it easier for both expert and beginner level adventurers.
Now, how affordable? You can expect their price to range from $50 to $500 that only offers features with time and the price.
Whereas Patagonia is expensive. Most of their shoes are priced between $150-899. Although it is pricey, the improved longevity makes it easier to forget to store your shoes for long periods of time. This means the price tags perfectly reflect on their one-of-a-kind features to help you stand above the rest.
Therefore, which one is priced better depends on which quality you are looking for. If budget is our concern, you can never go wrong with Columbia as it covers nearly everything you need to get up and running with your Columbia shoes.
However, Patagonia is only expensive but it also ensures to cover you up with any gear and make sure you’re in the same condition as advertised.
Materials
Materials can play a big role in making sure everything else runs smoothly with the shoe. Columbia uses about 80% of recycled polyester to reduce the company;’s environmental impact and satisfy your needs at the same time.
The chemicals used for manufacturing other shoes are short-chain perfluorinated compounds which are also needed to reduce their environmental footprint.
As for the down insulation materials, all of Columbia materials are RDS certified which means you can also trace the content from humanely proceeded poultry and live-plucking. They also use dye-free fabric to bring out the best in vivid colors of fabric and keep it safe at all times.
Coming to Patagonia, it makes use of the highest quality and sustainable materials that undergoes 6 tests before being used on any of their products. When these outstanding materials come for manufacturing, 56% of its fabrics are Bluesign-certified.
This means all the products are producing maximum quality with minimal resource consumption for efficiency.
Most of their products consist of two types of materials: half recycled and a half depending on the manufacturing product. It also uses a unique H2No Technology which is similar to Gore-Tex but is entirely waterproof and comfortable to wear.
Therefore, both of these brands are doing a fantastic job at coming up with the highest quality material for maximum satisfaction.
Is Columbia Shoes Made in the USA?
Columbia Sportswear is an American success Story that is based in Portland, Oregon. The company is headquartered in Cedar Mill which is an unincorporated area in Washington County in the Portland metropolitan area near Beaverton.
The company emerged to be one of the best brands you can count on for hiking gear, water, and snowshoes as well as highly stylish sporty apparel to become your go-to favorite company for anything outdoors!
Is Columbia a Good Company?
After reading this in-depth guide, I’m sure you must be having trouble drawing up conclusions about whether Columbia is a good company. And why wouldn’t you, after all, you will be investing your hard-earned money into it.
Just like any other brand, Columbia also comes with its own set of perks and cons which are essential to know before you buy anything online. It continues to aim for innovation for its products, especially shoes that only get better with time.
The fact that the brand has a long-term focus on sustainable growth and loyalty, helps them be more responsible in their endeavors and gain more trust in their customers. Although Tim, who reduced the brand from bankruptcy, runs the day-to-day operations, his mother Gert still remains the chairman of Columbia.
Despite having products that break through the market like fire and on everyone’s feet, Columbia still stays true to its roots and keeps its prices reasonable to suit people of all pockets.
Now, this is what makes Columbia an excellent company. However, there may be a few things that might suggest otherwise. Although the brand has enough time to correct its flaws and strive for perfection, it lacks correct sizing which can be a factor that not many people prefer.
It usually runs small so it’s suggested to go for a size bigger if you have frequent sizing issues.
Conclusion
Considering the company’s genuine enthralling history and incredible image, this is the brand that speaks volumes in its products. The motto “It’s perfect, now make it better” perfectly exemplifies the approach they go for to satisfy their customers and being a customer myself, I can totally see that.
Therefore, now that you are fully equipped with all the information regarding the brand, you are all set to go out there, relate with the company, and pick your favorite item that is likely to last with you as long as you want.
Good luck!
