help sizing for tall/skinny people

[Dylan Snodgrass]

I'm 6'3" and DO NOT fit most manufactures unisex sizing. specifically I'm a size regular but have long arms and anything with sleeves does not fit. Does anyone here have any suggestions as where to find gear that will fit, either off the self or custom manufacture. I'm particularly interested in lightweight rain gear. My suite size is 42 Long and my shirt size is 16 x 36.

[Mike Klinefelter]

Well you shouldn't have to big of a problem. I'm 6'6" and 200 lbs. I have a heck of a time finding stuff to fit correctly. My pants inseam is a 36". Most of the rain pants seem to have about a 31 or 32" inseam. And jackets, they're never long enough in the torso or the sleeves or I'm swimming in them. And from what I've heard, don't even think about the BPL clothing on here. They must think that everyone is under 5'8" tall. So anyway, some product advice. Arcteryx makes some tall pants and possibly jackets. I noticed that Marmot is making the precip jackets in tall sizes now. They also have the precip pants in tall size. Patagonia seems to be generous in their length, sort of the complete opposite of BPL stuff. REI makes some stuff in tall sizes, but not all of it works. The Sahara shirts are too short in the tall size. The Sahara pants come up to a 36" inseam. I'd say don't bother with the OR raingear. I have a Celestial jacket in XL and it's still a bit short in the arms. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[JASON CUZZETTO]

I am 6'2" but a size 2XL… That could be a nice way to put it. I have a large size torso and have many of the same problems.

For pants (not rain) you should try ExOfficio. They have a 36" inch inseam and I think they are some of the best lightweight pants for hiking. Especially the Amphi pants. Cut the swim trunks out.

Try Cabela's. They have a ton of rain gear and I have had good luck with their stuff. They have tons of tall size outdoor clothing and they supply hunters and fisherman.

[Christopher Holden]

For large and tall sizes, also look at LL Bean. They may not be UL, but do sell decent quality gear and have great customer service. We were able to call and get specific measurements for different sizes to make sure no one felt cheated by getting something they weren't sure about.
A bunch of us at work chipped in for a custom order at LL Bean. Custom order was required to get our company logo on the shirt. Someone asked if I was upset for having to pay an extra $5 for the "Long" option. No way. I was happy they had the option!
The wrinkle-free linen shirts were high quality too, not just a sweatshop special.

[Jolly Green Giant]

I'm 6'6" and 265 pounds, so I meet your "tall" criteria but I have a pretty sizeable frame otherwise. I wear a 52 XLT coat and a 37 sleeve with 17 neck….so let's just say I can sympathize with things that are a tough fit.

For me, it has been a process of trial and error and my wife always nags me about how much money I spend on returning things. I wouldn't say there is one manufacturer of UL equipment who "always" has things work. I've typically had quite a bit of luck with mainstream manufacturers like The North Face and Mountain Hardwear, but they don't really make UL stuff. GoLite has many nice things, but few fit. Shirts, jackets, and packs are out, but their pants seem to fit me fine (38 waist/36 leg). I guess the easiest way for me to point you in any direction is to tell you what I have, and TRUST ME, it took a LOT of effort to get to this point.

Pack:
ULA-Equipment, Gossamer Gear and Wild Things fit well. Osprey and Gregory does too, but they aren't UL.

Tents:
I liked the Henry Shire Tarp tent, but even the Double Rainbow wasn't big enough, neither is The One by Gossamer Gear and tents with poles in the middle are always a pain for me. I went with the Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo and feel good about it. In case you were thinking about it, I tried SEVEN different hammock manufactures and none worked for me.

Tarp:
I use a Gossamer Gear SpinnTwinn. When set up correctly, it works well, when put in a storm position (one end down to the ground), the rain splatters on the ground and into my face. I'm having a "beak" (similar to Ray Jardine's design) sewn in to fix this problem. Otherwise, you may want to custom-make one.

Sleeping Bag:
I had a custom bag made of eVENT from Feathered Friends and love it. Most other sleeping bag manufacturers will work fine if they have a "long", but few are UL. I'm also using the BPL UL 180 quilt and trying to decide if I like it as it is a little narrow for me. Based on your dimensions, I actually think it would work very well for you.

Clothing:
My biggest gripe thus far has been clothing. Again sticking with the UL theme, little has worked. Recently my quest was to find a UL eVENT jacket and after going through SIX(!!!) manufacturers, I gave up on it and decided to see if eVENT becomes more mainstream in America. Most merino wool manufacturers (SmallWool) in XXL work well for me. The BPL Cocoon Pro 60 Parka and Pro 60 Zip Pant fit very well and are truly UL. Rab makes a nice pair of eVENT pants if you're interested.

Shoes/Hats:
No real problem for me. Size 14 in shoes and 7.5 in hats. Most manufacturers carry them. I have a Tilley LT and a GoLite baseball cap. I wear Merrell GTX shoes, but I'm leaning towards getting a pair of Inov-8 as I don't really like the Merrell's too much.

[JR Redding]

Dylan – I'm a big guy myself. Since you asked about rain gear… I use Red Ledge pants and a system 3 jacket from Eastern Mountain Sports. (This one in the link is similar – http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442595969&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488338559&bmUID=1214407915219)

The jacket serves several purposes… it's an all purpose shell I use for Spring/Fall/Winter – When I lived in New England rains didn't bother me too much and I rarely wore it unless I was in camp. Since moving to MT I have used it very frequently as an outer shell. Been a good investment. I never had any luck with Frogg Toggs fitting me well so I looked towards more conventional gear. Both brands fit me well.

Most of my shirts and base layer stuff is from Duo Fold. They seem to fit well also.

[Richard Lyon]

Two more cents' woth – I'm 6-4, 200 lb, 46XL suit size, 37 in sleeve; my biggest problem is finding upper body gear that's long enough in the torso and sleeves but not a tent in the waist. I was really pleased to find the MontBell UL Down Inner Parka size XL is a perfect fit, also Westcomb's XL. Wild Things does a good job of trimmer fits in jackets and pants and it has an XL frame for a pack (you usually have to ask). ULA's XL frame is just right for me too

[Jeremy G]

I'm 6'4" 185 lbs and use a Mountain Hardware Quark Rain Jacket that is less than 10 oz. It is plenty long in the sleeves (I have 36-37 length) and the torso.

In other areas, I found that the icebreaker shirts all have plenty long sleeves. The nice thing for both of these is that they are a slimmer fit and thus avoid the bagginess and the extra weight.

I love the MH Quark as it is very breathable. I have either have no condensation/persperation underneath it yet or it is so minimal I have not noticed it yet.

Don't have any advice on the pants as I am on a quest for that myself… I have thoughts of converting to a poncho/tarp and chaps setup and then bring my rainjacket that can duo as a wind shell and rainjacket when the poncho is set up as a tarp. Obviously I would then not need rain pants…

[Brett Peugh]

I am in the same boat in that I am 6'5" and weigh 225#s with a long torso. Here are my suggestions when you need the torso and arm length

wicking t-shirt:Pat XXL Cap 2 ss/ls, MH Wicked T XL ss, Sekri lvl 1 tall ss/ls

wind shirt: Marmot Ion XL/XXL

insulation: Pat Micro Puff Pullover XXL

rain: DriDucks XXL

You can always make some of your own stuff like I have done but this is the stuff off the rack that I know fits me and is pretty easy to find. It may be a little loose around the torso based on your body type but that really does not bother me.

[Dylan Snodgrass]

Wow, I'm stoked by the knowledge and advice from the BPL community, this is my first post/question. While furiously following up some of the tips I stumbled upon something amazing. Fellas… prepare to have your socks blown off big time.

http://www.beyondclothing.com/

Although not "UL" specific it's pretty cool, everything is custom! For once I'm going to have sleeves that fit without wearing a spinnaker sail.

[Mike Klinefelter]

Some really great info here for tall folks.

Jason, where do you get Exofficio pants in 36" inseam? I looked online and the longest I can find is 34", which I see specified as their "long" size. Let me know if you have a source for the 36" inseam.

[P S]

6'4 205 pounds here, long arms (at least 36").

Pretty much anything you find that fits in the sleeves you'll be swimming in. Unfortunately, "slim" or "athletic" fit usually means shorter length wise in the torso and can be a problem. I usually find clothing that has a good waist cinch that I can hide.

Cloudveil fits me. Their clothes are usually very large, but great sleeve length. (XL)

I just got a Patagonia Rain Shadow, and I'm very impressed. It fits well, although like usual, I need to tighten the waist. (XL)

I found Marmot a bit short in the sleeves on a couple Spring items. Montbell may be just right, I've had a Polyester base layer from them and tried on a softshell, seemed to fit just right in the sleeves, little less "swimming" as compared to Cloudveil and Patagonia.

[Anonymous]

I'm also 6'5" and weigh 220#s with a long torso. I'd like to add a few more items to Brett Peugh's list:

Golite Wisp: XXL

Montane Aero Smock: XL

Montane Featherlite Windshirt: XL

Patagonia Specter Jacket: XL

Marmot Precip Jacket Mens: XL

[Eric Fitz]

I feel your pain. I'm 6'3" 165. I have a 31" waist and 36" inseam.

I actually have a lot of things custom made for me, but find shopping in Europe I can actually get things off the rack. American sizes mean nothing and have been growing over time.

The best thing I ever did was get body scanned and measured at Brooks Brothers in NY. They have a scanning booth where you strip down to some supplied trunks and get computer scanned. After that they have a 3D model of your body with all measurements. They follow this up with manual measurements to confirm the model. Once they have this they can make you shirts, pants and jackets. I only get the dress shirts, but they are an amazing deal and fit perfectly. Of course this isn't outdoor gear, but what I got out of the scanning visit was ALL of my measurements. This makes it easy to get things cut to size.

The other thing I do it take off the rack clothes to a good tailor. You would be surprised at the magic some of these people can do. My current guy is Indian and started as a tailor when he was 8. I can buy things at the right length and then he takes the sides in. He doesn't just dart the back to gather the shirts in he actually opens the sides up into the arm and resizes the shirt. I pay about $15-20 for a shirt. Other items like jackets can be ~$50.

I think I end saving a lot of time that I used to spend shopping. It's pretty freeing to not worry about overall fit when shopping and just buy it and take it to your local magician.

I am fortunate enough that I can spend a little more to get things custom made. I also feel good about supporting the cottage industry. There is a good feeling you get when you meet and interact with the person that is making your clothes.

[René Enguehard]

Thanks a lot for that link to Beyond Clothing, it's amazing. Consider me as having my socks blown. :) And their web designer actually knows what he's doing! Crazy!

[Dylan Snodgrass]

A quick follow up from my mission to find a rain jacket that fit. I took the advice of Jermey (thanks dude!) and ordered a Mountain Hardware Quark Rain Jacket. Shockingly it fits. I'm a 42 long (suit), 16×36 (shirt) and weigh 180 lbs. The sleves are more than long enough and the cut of the jacket is slim so I'm not swimming in fabric. If your intrested it's on sale at REI right now.
http://www.rei.com/search?query=Mountain+Hardware+Quark+Rain+Jacket&button.x=0&button.y=0

I'm totally stoked, thanks everyone for the great advice.

[Author]

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