I've been having trouble finding the right fit for a rain jacket. For the past two months I've been casually having a look for a rain jacket without success. I've seen a few that I like but usually I have problems with the fit either being just right but tight around the shoulders or either being too big or too small.

I'm 5'7, athletic with broad shoulders. Sometimes with the large size it will seem just right but a bit short, my shirts always stick out from the bottom. The sleeves are just right but go up about an inch when I extend my arms, which doesn't bother me but I don't know if that's how these are supposed to fit.
The Xl jackets fit better but usually seem baggy and the sleeves are quite long. They all have adjustable cuffs so the long sleeves don't really get in the way but it still feels weird to me with the larger size.


Staff at local stores aren't helpful at all, they say the small ones fit well and say the same thing about the larger ones and keep nudging me to buy.

I don't have much experience with this type of gear so I would like to get some info and advice on the sizing and fit before I decide on which to get.

What are you generally wearing when you try on the rain jacket? I would generally advise sizing it a little big, since it generally will be the last layer you put on. For me that means if it's cold and raining (and I'm not generating much warmth by hiking) I have on a shirt, light fleece, down jacket, and then the rain jacket. My rain jacket can fit over all of that. Of course that means it feels a little weird and baggy when it's warm and I'm not wearing many layers, but it's better that way than needing to put it on when it's cold and having to decide between wearing my rain jacket or my insulation. Of course this can depend on the conditions you generally expect to be hiking in. If it's almost always warm when it rains where you hike it doesn't matter as much.

Not really addressing your question, but this same subforum has a thread ("Rain jackets, what do you use?") discussing various ways of dealing with the rain, ranging from expensive WPB rain jackets to umbrellas to ponchos. Just in case you were interested in considering other options.

Thanks for the input, I'll certainly be having a look at that other forum section you suggested.


I live in Hong Kong where it's warm and humid during the rainy season so there is no need for layering. Maybe in the winter between 12-19C I may need an additional long sleeved shirt underneath but nothing too thick.

Most of my shirts run a size large which means they stick out of the bottom of the jacket when I'm fitting it. That doesn't help with my confusion over which size I'm supposed to get. I"m probably focusing on the wrong thing here but I keep wondering if should buy a bunch of smaller shirts that match the size of the jacket or do I get just go with the larger, slightly baggier ones to match the length of my shirts.