WM Flight jacket sizing

[Russell Dewey]

I think I've decided to get a Western Mountaineering Flight jacket but I can't find any info on sizing…doe they run small, big, ~true? The WM website doesn't give a clue, so I thought I'd ask "the community" to see if anyone has any personal experience here! Thanks.

[Nathan Moody]

My medium fits perfectly; I am 5'11", lean build, 155lbs. FWIW, a size large I.D. eVent rain jacket fits over the Flight jacket with minimal down compression, a key consideration in building up my insulation and rain layering strategy! :-)

It's not cut long; I have a short-to-medium torso for my height (learned this while being sized for bicycles) and it does rise above my hips when my arms are raised. But my arms are long and my shoulders are a bit broad, and it accomodates both just fine.

My girlfriend wore it over the weekend, and 5'6", it was a bit oversized for her but generally was totally wearable. I think I'm probably at the upper end of proper fit for a medium.

[Christian Edstrom]

I'm 6'0, 175lbs and wear a large. With the caveat that it's a fairly trim jacket, I think the large fits me perfectly. The sleeves could be 1/2 inch longer maybe.

[Thomas Baker]

I have a question concerning these jackets and was hesitant to start a thread just for that. So I hope you do not mind me butting in here.

My question is, how well does this jacket block the wind? Does it need an outer layer when the wind gets going?

[Nathan Moody]

I didn't find myself in need of additional wind protection when the wind kicked up (sorry, don't know how hard – only got a Kestrel pocket weather station this year! ;-p). As mentioned in my previous post, my eVent rain jacket goes over it as an additional layer of protection, not just in rain, but sitting against things in camp. The skin of the jacket can be a bit fragile.

I do sometimes wear a quite unbreathable 2.5 ounce windshirt UNDERNEATH; it does trap quite a bit of heat and makes a warm jacket even cozier!

[Robert C]

The sizing is true through the chest, short through the torso. I'm 5'11", 150#. I had to sell mine because I was sick of my waist being exposed to the cold when I sat down. Medium jackets and shirts aren't usually too short on me. Also, I had tried on the size large Flight jacket and I was literally swimming in the thing it was so huge. That's another thing: large jackets aren't usually so huge on me.

The Feathered Friends Hyperion is reportedly longer through the torso, and less expensive to boot. I've never used one, but based on my experience with the Flight, I'd recommend the Hyperion over the Flight just for the extra length. Don't worry about the weight difference: the Flight jackets are all about 1-2 ounces over spec anyway. I use a Nunatak Skaha Plus currently and though it's WAY warmer than the Flight and has baffled construction vs the sewn-through baffles of the Flight, I can't praise their sizing conventions because it is also short through the torso (though this may be because I bought it with 2 ounces of overfill).

[Mary Simpson]

I bought the flight when it first came out. They told me that they used a women's med pattern for the men's small. It would have been a poor pattern for a small man because the sleeves are woman length but it is just perfect for me. It weighs 8 ounces for real. I take it even when it is not all that cold because it is the same weight as my down vest and it makes a really nice spoil me pillow. My zipper needs fixing–does anyone remember what kind of warranty WM has?

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