Columbia Powder Lite II in 3XT — The Only Winter Coat I Kept, Measured at 6′8″

The Tall Take

I bought six winter coats this year and sent every one of them back. The coat I actually wear is one I already owned — and it is too long for me by about seven inches. This is the honest version.

Why this one stayed when six went back

Six coats, one tape, one verdict each. The Nautica sailing jacket, the Nautica pea coat, a BGOWATU quilted bomber, a Legendary Whitetails waxed cotton jacket, a Wantdo puffer and an Amazon Essentials mid-length puffer. All six went back, each for a different reason.

The Columbia Powder Lite II in 3XT is the one hanging by the door. Not because it is perfect — it is not — but because it does the one thing none of the others managed, and its faults are the kind you can live with.

Every measurement, by hand

Measured flat and unstretched at 6′8″, 285 lb, on 20 September 2026. The collar is 3 inches, and a collar-up figure quietly adds that to the body length, so both are shown.

One thing that matters and almost nobody states: this coat is older and has been worn. Every other coat on this site was measured unworn and unwashed. Insulation compresses with age and use, so the chest figure here is not perfectly comparable with a coat fresh out of the bag.

The number that decides a winter coat, and nobody publishes it

Chest measured around, across the insulation. Not your chest — the coat’s. It is the figure that decides whether you can get a sweater underneath, and I have never seen it on a listing.

This one is 62 inches around, and it closes over a sweater comfortably.

Here is the part worth knowing. The Wantdo puffer I returned measured exactly 62 around as well — and it closed over a sweater only just. Same number, different answer.

The chest number is not comparable across insulation weights. A thick puffer spends part of that 62 on its own loft, so there is less room inside it than the same figure on a lighter jacket. If you are comparing coats by chest-around, compare like with like — and add an inch or two of margin on anything heavily insulated.

Length — where it lands, and why that is wrong for me

A flat back length is not a distance on your body. Some of it is spent crossing the shoulder blades and the curve of the back. Across the coats I measured, that loss ran 3 to 6 inches, averaging about 4.3.

Net back 35 puts this hem around 37 inches off the floor on me — just above the bottom of the seat. I want a coat at the belt line, 44 inches off the floor. So it sits roughly seven inches lower than I want it, and a flat back of about 28 to 30 is what would actually land there. That is the size I should be buying, not the one I own.

If you like a coat that covers the seat, this length is a feature rather than a fault. It simply is not what I want. The full length arithmetic is here, so you can run it against any listing.

The catch: the shoulder is at my limit

24 inches, seam to seam. Across the coats I have measured, anything from 24 upward has been too much on me — it hangs past the point of the shoulder and the whole coat starts wearing you. This one sits right on that line, which is most of why I describe it as a little big rather than a good fit.

Check the shoulder before you check anything else. Outside that window, no other number saves the coat.

Pros

• Closes over a sweater comfortably at 62 around — the thing six other coats could not do well
• Sleeve length is right at 28 from the shoulder seam, landing at the wrist bone
• Light insulation rather than bulk, so it does not read as a duvet
• It is the one I actually reach for, which is the only review that counts

Cons

• About seven inches too long for where I want a coat to sit
• Shoulder 24 is at the ceiling — a size down may fit better in the shoulder, but I have not measured one
• Mine is worn in, so a new one will likely feel tighter through the chest than these figures suggest

The verdict

Kept. Six coats went back this year and this is the one still in use — but it is kept with a caveat, not a recommendation to buy blind. If you are broad through the chest and you want room for a layer, the 62 is real and it works. If you are lean and you want a coat at the belt, look one size down and check the shoulder first.

I have not measured any other Columbia coat, so nothing here is a claim about how the brand sizes in general. It is one garment, one tape.

Price changes often — check the current price on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Every garment I own, measured by hand — the full sizing database. Coats and sweaters side by side — all ten, measured.

This coat, and the rest of what I have measured, are on the deals page →