Why are all the eVent Rain Jackets so short

I think because they all use a cut made for climbing mountains (though most I have tried on for fun would’ve been too short for that too) where you don’t want the jacket to get in the way and to not work as a sail in high winds. But truth be told I find most are too short.

Macpac makes one that seems to be a bit longer.

I agree, jackets should be longer

I think it's just fashion, that's how other jackets are

I remember a travel show on PBS where the British guy was wearing a short jacket somewhere in Himalayas but all the locals wore longer coats

Or if you look at 1800s Western U.S. – they all wore long coats

I make my own, go most of the way down to knees, much better. EVent fabric isn't commonly available but there are other good WPB fabrics.

eVent isn't the lightest of materials. I recall Integral Designs bragging how light their jacket was. Yep. About one size too small compared to most others. But how else are you going to advertise for 2 or so ounces lighter?

I have a Packa in eVent that’s long enough to cover my bottom while hiking.

It’s not the lightest rain jacket out there though…In a large mine weighs almost 17 ounces but I’ve been very happy with it. Eddie would probably make one for you out of that new WPB Cuben that ZPacks uses…

Yep, I believe the – in this case – weight craziness is a factor too. A bit unnecessary from my point of view as I would not like to trade in my Gore jacket for DriDucks or non breathable in the situations where I feel those 3 layer fabrics are the right choice. I would however trade for a jacket in wich my kidneys do net get freeze dried in winter.

I believe that the rationale is that they are to be used in combination with shell pants and making the jacket longer would give you double coverage in the areas that overlap adding unnecessary weight and increasing the likelihood of condensation and overheating. Personally I would like to see longer parkas that would work well with rain chaps and or shorts.

I bought a Rab Demand pullover to bike to work in and because there was so much talk about its sizing running small, I ordered a size up. It's actually a tad too big for me, but it covers my bum! So even though there is more room in there than I generally like, it actually works out pretty well as I get a great deal more coverage than I would have. I wish it were a few ounces lighter so I could take it backpacking with less guilt, cause its a great jacket.

with a jacket cut it doesn't interfere with your harness. you also don't need a dbl slider zipper, which are a pita with the new waterproof zippers. there are a couple of parka length event shells made, but they are the exception to the rule.

Its not the current "outdoorsy" style right now

Its that simple ;)

my montane super-fly xt is long enough to cover all of my huge arse :) Maybe the longest I could find and longer then the standard non-XT superfly

Same for my Montane Quickfire, its even longer than my Superfly xt.

I also have a Rab Demand and it definitely covers me bum. At 5'9'' 145 lbs the medium fits perfectly; a tad tight for layering a puffy–workable though. I think that this is a great piece for rainy climes–the pnw for example. Bomber, and pretty light–though not the lightest.

Thanks for the the suggestions,

I'm not worried about Cold, The Lowest recorded Temp in my State was -6C

I'm also not interested in Rain pants, It's just too Hot here.

Andre

Hi Jerry,

I'm not against Making my own, What WPB fabrics you recommend?

questoutfitters.com has two good WPB fabrics – 2.5 layer that's 2.5 to 2.75 oz/yd2 and Hyvent that's 1.8 oz/yd2

call them and ask what's best

or maybe someone here has some experience

check out http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/myog_event_jacket.html for some clues how to do it.