Parka length waterproof jacket?

[Patrick R]

This is my first post. So go easy on me. ;) I'm a backpacker/hunter that is not looking to go ultralight so much as I'm trying to lighten my "durable" load of gear. If I can find ultralight and durable – great. If not, I'll settle for "lighter" and durable. I live in socal. But I spend most of my time hiking and hunting in the PNW.

Here's my problem:

I am tall, wide shouldered and long bodied. 6'3" 235 not fat, just built big. I usually require a 2xl/long in jackets. I need a waterproof (goretex, dintex, ?) non-insulated shell jacket for hunting and hiking. In either green, grey, brown, black or some other earth tone. That isn't to expensive ($150-ish?). But everything I find is a waist coat. Waist coats don't work for me. If I bend over or crawl thru the brush it rides up my back. And it's no fun. I don't know who these are made for. I guess people that hike and never bend over. But waist coats seem to be all the rage right now.

So far I've found Driducks. Size is ok as they run big. Would be ok for just trail hiking. But not ok for beating the brush. As they are too fragile. Although I will get a pair for just trail hiking. As they are so small, cheap and lightweight.

Other end of the spectrum is a USGI ECWCS cold weather jacket in Dintex. Runs about $75. Is very tough fabric. Weighs alot and is bulky in my pack. But is a longer style jacket that sort of fits in a long size. I'll pack this if I have to.

But I'm trying to find something inbetween these two. I've visited REI, Sports Authority, Big5 and several other retailers. And searched the h*ll out of the internet. But I can not find a longer length jacket that will work. Is there another material I should be looking for? Should I just settle for a nylon rain jacket? I could probably find one of those in a longer style. And just settle for that as my final layer?

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Westcomb makes a lot of their shells with a generous 31" rear length (neck seam to bottom hem) which is a lot better than most of the rain jackets out there at about 25-27". The Cruiser LT (19oz) and Focus LT (7oz) are two options. You might be looking for even longer still though.

[peter vacco]

this is what peter did to get a longer parka.

first i field tested a much longer parka (LLBEan Really Long Parka) that i had modified to change length.
longer than mid thigh is no warmer than knee length, and some form of belt is necessary if no hipbelt is being used.

this length is backed up by observing inuit (really i just look at them, bit observing sounds more erudite'r) and sure enough, they wear mostly a mid thigh length overcoat whenever it's cold. it's universally belted too. (i could have saved a lot of sewing effort just by looking at pictures i already had of them)

onward to the current gear matrix !

-decided to find a parka that fit, willy nilly not caring if it was sufficiently long, and simply add on an extension. i can;t use a zipper down to the bottom, as i need to lift my legs, so a longer skirt would be just the ticket.
in practice, the skirt could have been better designed to overlap a bit.

the parka is an Integral Designs Thru Hiker Parka. ID (now part of Rab) kindly comp'd me the extra e-vent fabric.
it all works great.
Thank You ID !

cheers,

[BlackHatGuy]

All's you need is a cigar in that second photo and you could do Masterpiece Theatre!

[T kawa]

REI has a NAU trench style jacket ,but really, I wish it covered the crotch too… 34"back, 1.5lbs
I was also looking for a longer than "waistcoat" jacket to cover my butt and most of my thighs… then, unless I expected continous rainfall, i wouldn't bother with rain pants.

[Dustin Short]

Arc'teryx has some hip length parkas that will last you a considerable time, but they are unfortunately usually expensive and outside your $150 range….USUALLY.

Right now departmentofgoods.com (backcountry.com's outlet site) has an XXL Beta SL jacket for 40% off ($155) and there are supposedly some coupon codes floating around in the Gear Deals forum that may bump that up to 50%. This jacket is in dark gray or black. Dept of Goods is legit, but occasionally when they have only one item in stock their online inventory system gets a bit funky.

Anyway the link is below along with a link to the Arc'teryx webpage. You can also usually find good deals on returned items on geartrade.com, especially in XXL sizes. Most are sold by Backcountry.com (returns that can't be sold as new for various reasons…like an REI garage sale) and they're fair with their descriptions of the quality of the item.

http://www.departmentofgoods.com/arcteryx-beta-sl-jacket-mens-arc1020

http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Jackets/Beta-SL-Jacket#Waterproof_Shell

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