Long Arms and Long Torso

By Terry Dean Ranked #930 - Men's Rain Jackets April 20, 2010

I needed a a slim (I'm 5'8", 123 lb, 38" chest, 28" waist), waterproof jacket that I could wear in snow, rain, and around town in a pinch. The last criterion rules out a LOT of jackets, as most look ridiculous. The caviar/blue-zippered Norrona fit the bill - when it came in, my wife said it actually looked good and that she wouldn't be too embarrassed to be seen with me if I wore it around town. Fit and finish is excellent - I agree with all of the good things that have been said about Norrona's quality. But here are some observations that I want to emphasize:

1) On me, the jacket is "fitted", but I wouldn't say it's "slim", as there is room for layering if you choose well (more later).

2) The sleeves are REALLY long. The armpits hit me exactly where they're supposed to - but then the sleeves could easily cover my thumb (and for suit jackets, I don't wear Short or Long).

3) The sleeves are REALLY roomy, but the cuff has velcro that can cinch down all the way to my [tiny] wrists, even without gloves.

4) Despite the picture above, the front pocket zippers are placed more like the Falketind Gore-Tex Pro model, i.e. on a slant, not vertically. Refer to the Gore-Tex Pro model to better anticipate how it'll look.

5) There are some different textures of materials used. On BC, the entire jacket looks like it's made of a single texture of fabric (it looks like little rectangles in the fabric - like a ripstop nylon). This is not the case - the hood, the top of the shoulders and arms, and the sides of the butt feature some some sort of brushed-like, soft-to-the-touch fabric - I took a picture of it so you can see. Despite the different fabrics, the entire jacket appears to be waterproof.

Overall, I feel that it's a superbly executed jacket - I'm just not used to the sleeve length or torso length.

UPDATE: For layering, I was using MH Compressor, but it just wasn't warm enough for me during my non-active pursuits (e.g. walking to work). So I coupled the Falketind with the MH Nitrous Hooded jacket (BC didn't stock it so I had to find it elsewhere - boo!) and that's a perfect combo for two reasons: the Nitrous is one of the few down-filled jackets I've seen that can fit under the Falketind's athletic fit shell and the Nitrous's torso is cut as long as the Falketind's torso (the MH Compressor is much shorter). Now I can sit outside in the 10-20's doing not a thing a still be warm.

View Details: Norrøna Falketind Gore-Tex Paclite Jacket - Men's

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