Columbia Sportswear earlier this year entered into a five-year agreement to provide Great Britain's national park staff with clothing. Some U.S. National Park Service staff wish a similar deal could be reached for them/Columbia Sportswear
Earlier this year Columbia Sportswear made some news when it became the "official outfitter" of the United Kingdom's national parks workforce. And after releasing a YouTube video that shows off some of the clothing and promotes that deal -- and, of course, promotes Columbia -- the questions arises of whether the U.S. National Park Service should work out a similar deal with one of the large outdoor clothing manufacturers?
Park Service employees look somewhat longingly at the fleece jackets and outwear Columbia produced for their English brethren and wish they had better uniforms and weather-beating gear.
"I'd love to be on a committee to help open up these conversations on gear that can enhance efficiency and safety in each of our unique job duties. There are so many better options out there than polyester blends," one Park Service employee said in a Facebook post.
"Just watching this ad for Columbia Sportswear..... wishing the NPS could partner with a decent Activewear/Sportwear outfitter for our uniforms," wrote another.
The UK deal runs for five years, and provides clothing for about 2,000 park staff.
“Columbia Sportswear is showing a strong commitment to the UK’s National Parks with this partnership. Providing clothing for more than 2,000 staff is a very significant contribution, supporting the very heart of our work," said Jacquie Burgess, chair of National Parks UK. "Columbia will take a leading role in helping to increase public understanding of our wonderful National Parks by sharing the stories of our people and our Parks over the coming five years.”
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I've been a ranger for 5 years and I both love and hate the uniform. I am proud of what the uniform stands for and the traditions and mission it represents. But I absolutely hate how it feels. I'm a woman, and the park service apparently designed uniforms for women after getting a vague description of what women look like, from 30 years ago. The pants are horribly unflattering and extremely uncomfortable. The shirts are blocky and not long enough to tuck into pants effectively. Heaven help you if you are a busty lady like I am. The winter knit pullover sweater is made only in men's sizes. I wear a small and the sleeves are two inches longer than my fully extended fingers. The boots make my feet ache so much I can't even stand to cook dinner at the end of the day. The only thing that fits well is my hat. They need to figure out how to make uniforms that allow us to do our jobs effectively because mine has been at times so uncomfortable I can't focus on anything else.