Rain/hard shell woes for non-chonky fellas

[UpperLeft86]

After ordering my sixth rain jacket / hard shell (not precisely the same, I know, but minus my snowboarding gear I have them do double duty) I'm about at the end of my patience, and could use some input since I've got analysis paralysis at this point.

Currently have a basic Patagonia rain jacket that I've had for ages, and an older version of a Kuiu Chugach. Both work fine, except when I need to wear an insulation layer underneath, as they're too short.

I just bought, and am returning, the Forloh AllClima soft-shell, which super impressive, minus being sized for someone who is either pregnant, or "pleasantly plump" let's say. I'm 6'1" and 175", so definitely on the skinnier side.

I just ordered the Stone Glacier M5, fingers crossed that's a bit slimmer and long enough. I may just keep my Outdoor Research Archangel, which is perfect in cut and burliness (GoreTex Pro, etc) but the problem is it's black (does that really matter? Everything is dark tones here in the PNW) and the GTX Pro is pretty damn loud when moving (again, does that matter? I'm rifle hunting, and would only be wearing it in weather that brings its own ambient noise.)

SO. Any recs for gear that is actually long enough to cover an insulation later, and isn't cut like a beach ball around the middle? Or should I just start pounding the Christmas Oreos and deal with it?

(sorry in advance for the fkn novel.)

 

[jtivat]

This may or may not apply as I am bigger but would think the same proportion. I am 6'6" 225LBS and a slimmer build. I find Kuiu and Arc'teryx to fit great.

 

[isItFallYet]

I use the Kuiu Katana as a shell for snowboarding, fishing, and hunting. It’s an athletic fit and works perfectly.

 

[TaperPin]

It seems to me the OR rain jacket and this mountain hardware are cut fairly long - at least they are longer than my Patagonia.

Men's Firefall™ Jacket | Mountain Hardwear

From peak-to-park, this fully featured shell keeps the weather and the worry out while you’re racing friends to your favorite in-bounds powder stash. Versatile 2-layer performance combined with all the resort-ready features you need for a full day of tree runs, bombing steep moguls, or just...

www.mountainhardwear.com

 

[UpperLeft86]

This may or may not apply as I am bigger but would think the same proportion. I am 6'6" 225LBS and a slimmer build. I find Kuiu and Arc'teryx to fit great.

Appreciate it! I've never tried Arc'teryx stuff yet, but everyone speaks super highly of it. I have a bit of newer Kuiu stuff and it is great. Tried the Super Down LT and it was a little baggy on me, but their pants and other shirts have been A+. Might need to keep trying.

 

[UpperLeft86]

It seems to me the OR rain jacket and this mountain hardware are cut fairly long - at least they are longer than my Patagonia.

Men's Firefall™ Jacket | Mountain Hardwear

From peak-to-park, this fully featured shell keeps the weather and the worry out while you’re racing friends to your favorite in-bounds powder stash. Versatile 2-layer performance combined with all the resort-ready features you need for a full day of tree runs, bombing steep moguls, or just...

www.mountainhardwear.com

Yeah the OR Archangel I have is definitely an alpine cut - long in the arms and torso for reaching up climbing. Works for my body, I just wish the fabric wasn't so loud. I don't have any other experience with GoreTex Pro though.

I actually have that Mountain Hardware jacket. It's great! It's my snowboarding jacket, but in bright red. Wish they'd had that green color when I bought, that'd work nicely.

 

[UpperLeft86]

I use the Kuiu Katana as a shell for snowboarding, fishing, and hunting. It’s an athletic fit and works perfectly.

Great to hear, thanks. The Kutana was on my radar, sounds like I need to give it a try. You feel like the torso is cut long enough to cover your insulation layer? My down jacket is a longer cut, so that's proved to be an issue when it gets rainy.

 

[TaperPin]

Yeah the OR Archangel I have is definitely an alpine cut - long in the arms and torso for reaching up climbing. Works for my body, I just wish the fabric wasn't so loud. I don't have any other experience with GoreTex Pro though.

I actually have that Mountain Hardware jacket. It's great! It's my snowboarding jacket, but in bright red. Wish they'd had that green color when I bought, that'd work nicely.

Cool. I’ve never been around LL Bean goretex, but they always seemed to have tall sizes that pop up doing searches for our youngest tall skinny son.

At one time The North Face had a contract with the National Park Service to make the Mountain Jacket in that nice shade of Park Service dark green. I kept trying to buy one from a park employee, but that must be a big no no since nobody took me up on it. lol

Come to think of it, Carhartt has tall sizes, but their goretex rain gear is a bit on the heavy side and only in black.

 

[isItFallYet]

Great to hear, thanks. The Kutana was on my radar, sounds like I need to give it a try. You feel like the torso is cut long enough to cover your insulation layer? My down jacket is a longer cut, so that's proved to be an issue when it gets rainy.

It definitely is for me. I’m 5’10 though.

 

[MTJake]

I am 6’1” with long arms. I like the fit of badlands gear because it is long enough in the torso and arms and not super baggy. The quality is maybe a half step down, but they also have sales more often.

 

[UpperLeft86]

I am 6’1” with long arms. I like the fit of badlands gear because it is long enough in the torso and arms and not super baggy. The quality is maybe a half step down, but they also have sales more often.

Thanks, I'll give it a look!

 

[roosiebull]

I use the Kuiu Katana as a shell for snowboarding, fishing, and hunting. It’s an athletic fit and works perfectly.

It’s also pretty short in the arms, the Yukon is my go to

I’m also a skinny build and hate stuff with short arms. If the kutana was cut like the chugach or Yukon, it would be my all around favorite, but the arms are too short, so Yukon it is

 

[Wildone]

Glad this topic came up . I'm in the same boat . I had a Patagucci storm shell for probably close to 20 years that the lining finnaly gave way on. Been on a search for a replacement for a while and nearly keeled over when I saw what they are asking for these things now. Any recs for something under 2 hundo? Must haves are pit zips, velcro wrists, hooded, mid thigh and over the butt coverage for snow blowing, non insulated and waterproof.

 

[UpperLeft86]

Glad this topic came up . I'm in the same boat . I had a Patagucci storm shell for probably close to 20 years that the lining finnaly gave way on. Been on a search for a replacement for a while and nearly keeled over when I saw what they are asking for these things now. Any recs for something under 2 hundo? Must haves are pit zips, velcro wrists, hooded, mid thigh and over the butt coverage for snow blowing, non insulated and waterproof.

It's crazy how pricey they get. Under $200 is a bit tricky for sure.

Outdoor Research's new Foray 3L seems really solid. I just tried it on today, and fit was good, not too baggy at all, and the torso was longer than my Patagonia and old Kuiu (which is probably shorter than new Kuiu, to be fair.) Easy to find a 20% coupon to get it to $200, and it comes in gray or coyote brown. Face fabric is 40D, so probably not wildly durable, but not bad. I may end up going that route, as I have a Pro account with them which makes the price hard to pass up. Pretty quiet fabric, too.

Look at Kuiu's Northridge, too. I've not tried it yet, but price is good if you can catch it on sale, and their new stuff all seems to have a pretty athletic fit.

 

[fngTony]

What size are you trying? You probably are a large by most charts but an xl shell would fit nicely over your insulation, a little sloppy if just worn over a shirt or two but you can’t have it both ways.

 

[UpperLeft86]

What size are you trying? You probably are a large by most charts but an xl shell would fit nicely over your insulation, a little sloppy if just worn over a shirt or two but you can’t have it both ways.

I wear a medium to large in most things. I'd look like a kid wearing his dad's jacket in XL. Yeah, your point to not being able to have it both ways is what always gets me, haha. I'm a big fan of "quiver-killer" gear, but this may be an impossible task for a early/mid/late-season rain shell.

 

[JohnB]

I'm 6'2" and 180lb. I tried a Kuiu Kutana and couldn't have been more disappointed in the fit. I have a long neck and big head and the hood literally wouldn't fit over my head with a pack on. The sleeves were also quite short. I seriously prefer hoods that are marketed as helmet compatible and long sleeves that cover your wrists no matter what I do. I currently have an Arcteryx Beta AR in size L and am quite pleased with the fit. I can wear a smaller puffy underneath but something like a First Lite Chamberlin doesn't work. Shop around for deals and you can get one for a more affordable price than the $600 MSRP. I think I paid $330.

Edit: I have a blackish colored coat and figure it stands out a bit in certain situations but I'm not really worried about that as a rifle hunter. The OR Archangel looks like it'd be a great coat.