Thinking of getting my little brother a new dog-walking etc coat for his birthday but unlike conveniently 5’10” (but long-armed) me he’s 6’5” and similarly long-limbed. He’s quite slim and it looks like bigger sizes get wider faster than they get longer. I think his trusty old jacket is a Mountain Hardwear synthetic “down” one. If I’d been better at planning I’d have measured his old coat…
I have a very similar build to your brother and have this jacket in a large. Fits me well.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-mountain-trekking-down-jacket-mt500-10-c/_/R-p-12077?mc=8317909&c=BLACK
Climbing brands are the way to go, as they will (hopefully) be designed with longer arms for reaching upwards. I've found "British" brands like Rab, Montane and Mountain Equipment fit me better than most US brands, which can tend to be a bit boxy in the body. Decathlon stuff tends to be pretty good, although the fit can be a bit hit or miss, the Forclaz stuff tends to fit me well but I wouldn't say the arms are super long.
I'm a lanky 6'4" and the Montane Icarus works well for me in size medium.
Really? I'm 6'4" and any clothing in medium would have the shoulders drum tight and the cuffs halfway up my fore-arms. My starting point for a decent fit is always Mountain Equipment in size XL, which tend to have good arm length without being as baggy in the body as some other brands. These companies do have different 'cuts' within their ranges, though.
Really? I’m 6’4″ and any clothing in medium would have the shoulders drum tight and the cuffs halfway up my fore-arms.
It’s not just the height though.
I’m 6’5” and skinny as a rake. XL fits like a tent on me, some L’s are OK, and a lot of my t-shirts and jumpers are M. I do have to accept that for a lot of clothes, the arms will be a touch shorter than I’d want.
@montgomery virtually all my outdoor clothing is medium sized - Montane, Mountain Equipment and Rab can all work well. FWIW I'm 32" waist and 39" chest.
I think you're possibly a bit of an outlier there. In my case I was scarred by a 70s childhood spent with trousers and shirts at halfmast and I now Absolutely Can Not tolerate cuffs being halfway up my arms! I'll put up with a bit of bagginess in the body - not Rab or Montane levels of bagginess but, like I say above, I've found ME tend to be a tighter cut.
Mammut has always done slim fitting, long jacket with extended, climbing-friendly sleeves. Rab has longer sleeves than most, but I wouldn't say it's overly long in the torso. Salomon has a slim, long fit too. But Mammut was my first thought, though it's expensive. Swiss brand btw.
Logically you'd expect Dutch clothing to be a good call, but I have no idea if any Dutch outdoor brands would suit - or even exist in the UK market at all.
Mammut are my go to when it comes to trousers.
Virtually all the UK brands seem to think a long leg equals 33" which as far as I can tell must exclude almost everyone over 6 foot.
Mammut's long length seems to equate to about 35" which is great. Arcteryx's long length is pretty good too but obviously $$$.
Also worth noting the model on the Montane website is 6'1" and wears a medium so looking at the pics on there is a decent guide as to what will work for the taller amongst us.
Thanks, that's really helpful! I guess he's quite a medium build, must have been about 16 stone when he rowed very seriously at uni but was a good and much lighter cross-country runner before that - now he just walks the dog and works too much and forgets to eat. So it sounds like a large with long sleeves will be ok - he's probably less fussy about fit than me, I'm always amazed how he'll squeeze himself into cars etc but I guess you get used to doing that when you're that tall!
