What shell will fit me?

A snowHead

Hi all.

I need a new shell, but having trouble finding one that fits well.

If I go for a 'large' the arms are too long, the waist too baggy and the body much too long. A medium generally fits much better but is too tight across the chest and shoulders, even without a down jacket. (I've tried at least one shell from each of norrona, haglofs, arcteryx and marmot and they all have the same issues - at least the models I tried.)

Any recommendations for shells to try? I can't be the only one with this problem...

TIA

A snowHead

Norrøna and Haglofs are brands designed for seven-foot skinny Scandis with long arms. If you are not that shape, try the brands that those who are avoid like the plague! Patagonia and North Face would be a good place to start, maybe Mountain Hardware too.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I pretty much have the same problem. I'm 5'11" with a 47" chest, 34" waist. I have to get an XL to fit my chest and the rest just hangs. Anything from the 'scandi' brands just seems to be for beanpoles, XL essentially just extra tall.

The best fitting piece I've had for a while is a Marmot XL goretex shell, not sure which one. I've just looked and it's no longer a current model, and no shots by googling 'marmot gortex shell'. I don't know wether Marmot have different fits for different models. I also had a Patagonia insulated jacket from a while back that fitted quite snuggly, have you tried them?

Just saw Scarlets post - I tried on a Mountain Hardware (Supercharger?) insulated mid layer jacket - the XL was too small around the chest.

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Just a thought:

Whilst web forums generally are a great gender neutraliser (you don't know what sex someone is, and why should it matter), with this type of query it might help to declare gender.

@Scarlet may know @turbosmurf's gender, so her advice may be tailored to fit (sic) but others may not know and send him/her (@turbosmurf) off down the wrong road.

As a fella I've always had the perception that there's a greater spread in female body shapes, so buying gear has got to be that bit harder. Discuss........

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@midgetbiker, Good point, and no idea of @turbosmurf's chosen gender, but in the case of the skinny fit Scandi brands, the issue applies to everyone afaik.

If you would like to discuss the greater spread of female body shapes (too much coffee this morning?!), then yes, buying gear is harder, but to some degree due to some manufacturers seeming to prefer we didn't exist rather than produce a decent selection of gear. Sound familiar? wink

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

So am I..........

After all it is free

I like Haglofs, and their gear generally suits me well (size 8 - 10, not tall but I like jackets to be quite long) but had major problems with a Haglofs shell which I otherwise loved. I bought it online and picked up in the local Cotswold Outdoor. It looked fantastic - over a T shirt. But I also needed some kind of warm mid layer so aimed to try both on together. The arm holes in the Haglofs shell were too skinny to put ANY thickish mid layer underneath comfortably - and my arms are positively skinny. They were really ridiculously tight. The other problem I had is that there were few mid layers without hoods - which I absolutely didn't want. It was disappointing but saved a lot of money, I guess!

@midgetbiker, great point.

Working on assumption that @turbosmurf is a bloke, I would suggest that he took a look at the Arc'teryx Beta - namely AR (other iterations may have different cuts).

As a somewhat broad - shouldered, 6' tall bloke, I found that the aforementioned shell fits me like a glove in XXL. Assuming (again!) Laughing

that the same cut is carried over to the smaller sizes within the range, it should fit OP well.

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Ahh... I can see that @turbosmurf has clarified things while I took the time to type out my reply (someone wanted my attention briefly).
Well, at least that makes my suggestion relevant.

@turbosmurf, good luck with your quest.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@turbosmurf, have a look at snowboarding stuff. I've used Burton [AK] stuff for skiing; the slightly baggy ones should do it for you.

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The Scott shells are quite short in body and arms.

Thanks all - will follow up on all the recommendations...

You know it makes sense.

I am a female but have broad shoulders long back and arms but slim waist and hips. I a!says but men's jackets to get worth across the shoulders. Women's for just too tight. Btw short legs though always an issue with trousers

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

So I tried everything suggested, and nothing fits really well - and I just can't bring myself to spend £600 on a shell that isn't close to perfect.

In the end I bought a Mountain Hardware shell on sale (thanks @Scarlet) which is about the best so far . I went down to a medium which is a little tight under the arms, but it's a stretch fabric so it's not too bad. And it fits well otherwise.

Can't help feeling that the big brands are missing a trick here. And don't get me started on trousers - just had a pair of Medium Norrona trousers shortened by 11cm!!! I'm 175cm, 5'9" FFS - ok, I'm not going to make the NBA but I'm not exactly a midget either.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Burton AK is good, but the sizing tends to be "fat people", getting fatter year by year. I used to be M, then S, now XS. My weight and physique are unchanged. Their sizing is also inconsistent across the range and also year-on-year. So whatever worked last year, won't necessarily work this year. Just saying.

Most people (who I ride with) don't wear down under a shell, mid-layer stuff is more common. Down is used (say) if you have to stop for lunch and you want to put something *over* the shell, not under. Sure, wear it any way you want, but you may be expecting too much if you want that much space under a shell which isn't a sack. Arm length... wear your mitts "over the jacket" and the arm length isn't really an issue.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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@turbosmurf, really nice of you to come back and let everyone know how it all went down.

Nothing worse than searching a forum (not necessarly this one), reading all the posts with various suggestons, but in vain - because someone didn't bother to come back and inform members of the end result.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Cheers, @snowglider. And thanks again to everyone for the suggestions, much appreciated.

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Just seen this thread. One thing to say, Arctyrix shells come in different cuts. My Zeta hiking shell is quite a slim cut, whilst my Sidewinder winter mountain shell easily has room for a down jacket, fleece layer, merino and me with room to spare.

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@gvj, they do indeed - but I was very specific as regards the model that fitted me (Beta AR). So I presume that's what the OP tried on.

After all it is free

Try Arc'Teryx (North Face or any North American brand). Their Medium jackets are huge on me, the arms were OK but body was huge.

Scandi stuff fits me perfectly being 6'2" and slim I wear Haglofs, but Norrona and Peak Performance also works well.

Just went through a similar issue for my youngest son. He tried North Face, Burton etc but to get the length the stuff didn't fit his waist or chest. We ended up having to get Haglofs as its the only gear that fits his tall skinny frame.

I really do think that clothing sizes have changed for UK and American clothing to cater for expanding (fat) waistlines, I used to buy Large, but I would need a small from North Face now.

Talking about “expedition fit” and the other variants.

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Help!!

What shell will fit me?

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